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Discover Forestry
Degree Requirements (UK Registrar web site) Contacts Forestry Department
Forests cover about one-third of the land area of the United States and about half
of Kentucky. Would you like to know more about the forests that make camping,
hiking, and fishing enjoyable and play a vital role in our nation's economy
and way of life? If so, a variety-filled career in forestry might be for you.
Foresters are professionals who manage renewable natural resources, including
wood, water, and wildlife. They provide for sustainable use of these natural
resources both now and for future generations.
Your College Courses
As a forestry major, you will take a wide variety of course work in the UK
Department of Forestry and other departments. You will study the natural and
social sciences related to forestry as well as communication, management, processing,
group problem-solving, and administration.
Much of your learning will take place outdoors. In several of your forestry
courses you will visit Robinson Forest, a 15,000-acre school forest located
in eastern Kentucky and managed by the UK Department of Forestry. In an intensive
eight-week summer field camp after your junior year, you will live at Robinson
Forest and develop the practical field skills needed by foresters.
The capstone of the forestry degree program is a course on integrated forest
resource management during your final semester at UK. In this course, together
with other students, you will apply all you have learned in order to develop
a management plan for an actual piece of forested land.
Your Professors
Forestry
faculty members, responsible for teaching
and advising forestry students, are
also active researchers, so they will
teach you the most up-to-date strategies
available for forest management. You
will also learn from practicing professional
foresters through guest lectures and
field trips.
Our low student-to-faculty ratio leads to a friendly, small-college atmosphere
within the department. Your advisor will share your interests and advise you
about course scheduling, careers, job contacts, and other questions or academic
concerns.
Your Future in Forestry
A forestry degree prepares you for many careers in natural resource management, and forestry graduates are in demand by employers. Because the forestry major is a broad, science-based curriculum, it also gives you a solid foundation
for entry into specialized graduate programs.
Here are a few examples of job opportunities:
- City agencies: urban forester.
- Colleges, universities, and research laboratories: staff forester, research forester, county agent, soil conservationist.
- Federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Park Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management): forester, naturalist, surveyor, geographic information systems specialist, wildlife manager, recreation manager.
- Forest products companies: timber procurement forester, landowner assistance forester, wood utilization forester, mill manager.
- Non-profit organizations: hydrologist, land manager, environmental scientist.
- Self-employment: consultant forester.
- State agencies (Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Division for Air Quality, Division of Conservation, Division of Energy, Division of Forestry, Division of Water, Environmental Quality Commission): service forester, district forester, water quality specialist.
A Professional Degree
The
forestry degree is considered a professional degree, because graduates
have learned how to combine knowledge from many different disciplines.
UK’s undergraduate forestry degree is accredited by the Society
of American Foresters, a national organization that is the specialized
accrediting body for forestry education in the United States. National
accreditation ensures that your degree will be recognized by employers
wherever you choose to work in the United States.
Student Foresters
The UK Student Forestry and Wildlife Association is a student organization
that offers recreational and fellowship benefits, leadership
development, the chance to practice classroom skills, and occasions
to meet forestry employers. Members cut and sell Christmas trees
and participate in service projects. The association's meetings
often feature guest speakers on topics as varied as the forestry
profession itself. Previous topics have included birds of prey,
low-impact camping, and forestry practices in Malaysia.
The association is an official student chapter of the Society of American Foresters as well as The Wildlife Society. You will have opportunities to join the parent societies and attend their local, regional, and national conferences. At these conferences you will be able to network with other forestry majors from around the country and be likely to meet your future employer.
Special Opportunities
- Co-op arrangements: Forestry employers sometimes have co-op positions available. Individuals hired as students into these positions alternate between semesters studying on campus and semesters working for their employers.
- On-campus job experiences:
The department of forestry employs several undergraduate forestry
students part-time each semester and full-time in the summers.
These students assist faculty, staff, and graduate students with
their research, teaching, and service activities.
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My classes have already been so useful that I was able
to get a summer job in my career field. I'm in CERES, the
women's fraternity of agriculture, and I get a lot of encouragement
to do well in my classes from my fellow members. In the College
of Agriculture you get to know a lot of people and make friends
you will have for a lifetime.
Sarah Fraley |
 |
The variety of classes kept me interested, never bored, and in my internships I learned a lot while getting paid. I met professional foresters and technicians through the Society of American Foresters. I'm very happy with my job as a forester. If you want to help manage and protect natural resources, get into forestry. Kristy Whitaker |
 |
UK has a great agriculture program
with excellent professors. The forestry courses gave me a
complete understanding of trees, so now I'm able to gain
the confidence of customers. Through my extracurricular activity
in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related
Sciences, I was able to network and get to know the people
in my field.
Dwight Cooke |
Discover Your Future
We encourage you to visit the University of Kentucky to learn more about our forestry degree program.
Contact:
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Forestry
Thomas Poe Cooper Building
College of Agriculture
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40546-0073
Phone:
859-257-7611
E-mail: fordug@uky.edu
Web: www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Forestry/forestry.html
The College of Agriculture is an Equal Opportunity Organization.
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