Master of Forestry
Faculty Advisor: Kevin O’Hara
ESPM’s Master of Forestry degree is the only graduate degree program in California that offers qualifying credit for meeting education/experience requirements for California licensing as a Registered Professional Forester. The M.F. degree gives those persons with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry additional experience for licensing as well as a foundation in the essentials of professional forest management. For more information on licensing, consult the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection.
Master of Forestry Curriculum
The M.F. program has four components: course work, an internship, a professional paper, and an oral examination, and generally takes two years.
Course work: 24 semester units of upper division and graduate courses, of which at least 12 units are at the graduate level. The Forestry Graduate Advisor must approve the program of study and the student’s Guiding Professor to assure advanced specialized training in professional forest resource management.
Internship: Normally with a public or private forestland management organization, the internship provides direct experience in the application of theory to professional land management.
Professional paper: The paper demonstrates a student's ability to assemble and analyze data and to recommend a resolution of an applied forest problem. The paper may be based on the internship or on another supervised professional work experience, or may be a report based on independent analysis. The paper has a maximum time period of one semester for completion and must have Guiding Professor and Forestry Graduate Advisor acceptance and approval.
Oral Exam: A comprehensive oral examination covering forest management is taken after completion of course work and approval of the professional paper. Primary emphasis will be on work done in the period of residence, but students should also be prepared to demonstrate mastery of the major fields of their undergraduate education.
For more information on the Master of Forestry degree, please contact the Forestry Graduate Advisor.