Forestry Bachelor's Degree

A Bachelor of Science in Forestry at Michigan Tech prepares you to protect the world's natural resources with others who are just as passionate as you.

There's no better place to study natural resources than the wild Keweenaw Peninsula, bordered by Lake Superior and blanketed with forests and wetlands (and 218+ inches of snow each winter). First-year students have two outdoor field labs and are all eligible to be paid as Earn and Learn students—an experience that gets you involved in research right away, so you can acquire the hands-on knowledge and skills to land a summer job or internship after your first year. Other schools own forests—but our students explore 3,650 acres of woodland right outside the back door at the Ford Center and Forest. In your junior year, you'll spend 14 weeks learning in these woods, covering the elements of forested landscapes in a blend of classroom and field study through our Integrated Field Practicum.

After graduating, our forestry students are nationally accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF), putting them a step above the rest when it comes to working for federal agencies, large-scale timber companies, nonprofits, and other employers that require this accreditation.

What Will I Study?

Study soil science, biometrics, hydrology, and silviculture. Identify the 37 native tree species of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Learn the 152 trees and plants covered in the Vegetation of North America course. As a member of our scholarly community, you'll build strong working relationships with professors and peers in classrooms, labs, and out in the field for work and play. Both in the classroom and outside it, you'll find many opportunities to dive into the subjects that matter most to you.

• Work with communities, the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and private landowners to assess and develop management plans for forested landscapes.
• Mark and harvest timber.
• Process maple syrup from start to finish at the Nara Family Maple Center.
• Perform field canopy, arborist, and selective harvest practices. Identify tree pests and diseases.
• Learn how to create, manage, and communicate forest data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), land measurement, and remote sensing skills.
• Explore undergraduate research opportunities.
• Build your resume. You'll finish your first year of classes qualified to find a summer job in your field.
• Network with forestry professionals visiting the Natural Resource Career Fair, or connect with faculty SAF leaders in the classroom.

Be Career Ready

As humans continue to depend on forests for a variety of values, tomorrow’s foresters will need to understand how to manage our lands in an era of climate change and sustainability.

Each year, the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science hosts its own Natural Resource Career Fair. ~20 companies from across the US travel to the college in late fall to educate and recruit employees.

What is Forestry?

Forestry is silviculture, combined with sustainability, backed by science.

Forestry is determining the characteristics of forested ecosystems and their connections, discovering the value trees hold to landowners, recreational users, and timber companies. Manage the land based on the needs of those directly impacted, as well as those who will be affected in hundreds of years. Assess the soils, water, and herbaceous understory beneath the trees. Study sugar maple dieback on the northern range, warming experiments in tropical forests, the future of Michigan biofuels (and bioenergy development across the Americas), intensive industrial plantation systems, and family forest conservation. Forestry is about managing forested ecosystems for tomorrow.