Studies & Degrees in Forestry
Forestry Study Programs
Forestry is the science and practice of managing forests and woodland: growing, protecting, harvesting and restoring them so that they keep supplying timber, water, biodiversity and recreation. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes foresters and conservation scientists as the people who manage the land quality of forests, parks, rangelands and other natural resources. In Spain the traditional name of the field is ingeniería de montes, and it is taught as an engineering degree.
A forestry student combines natural science with technical and economic subjects. The usual base is botany, ecology, soil science and forest measurement. Then come silviculture (the tending and regeneration of stands), forest management planning, pests and diseases, fire prevention and control, hydrology and the restoration of degraded land, wildlife and hunting management, and wood technology and forest industries. Geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and computer modelling are standard tools, and field work is a large part of every programme.
Qualifications and levels
- Vocational training in Spain. The Técnico Superior en Gestión Forestal y del Medio Natural is a grado superior of 2,000 hours in the Agraria family. According to the ministry's TodoFP portal, it leads to jobs such as forestry foreman, coordinator of forest fire prevention and extinction units, nursery manager and forest ranger (agente forestal).
- Bachelor's degree in Spain. Ingeniero Técnico Forestal is a regulated profession. Order CIN/324/2009 requires an official bachelor's degree (grado) of 240 ECTS credits: 60 credits of basic training, 60 credits common to the forestry branch, a block of 48 credits in a specific technology (forest operations or forest industries) and a final project. Universities usually call the degree Grado en Ingeniería Forestal y del Medio Natural or a similar name.
- Master's degree in Spain. The profession of Ingeniero de Montes requires an official master's degree. Under Order CIN/326/2009, bachelor's and master's training together must total at least 300 ECTS credits.
- Other countries. In the United States, foresters typically need a bachelor's degree in forestry, natural resources or a related field, according to the BLS. Degree names vary: Forest Ecosystem Management at Penn State, or a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management with a Sustainable Forest Management option at the University of Washington. Professional master's degrees such as the Master of Forest Resources, and research master's degrees and PhDs, follow.
In the United States and Canada, the Society of American Foresters (SAF) accredits degree programmes in forestry, urban forestry, natural resources and ecosystem management, and forest technology. SAF stresses that accreditation is not a ranking; it shows that a programme meets the standards set by the profession. Not every option inside a degree is accredited, so check the exact programme.
Where to study
SpainExchange lists 110 active schools for forestry. The United States has the most, with 28. Algeria, Germany, Canada and Brazil have 4 each, Argentina has 3, and Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Costa Rica, South Korea and Bosnia and Herzegovina have 2 each. The rest are spread over many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, which reflects how local the subject is: tree species, climate, ownership and forest law differ from one country to the next.
Among the listed schools in the United States are The Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, the University of Washington and Yale University. Penn State describes its major as science-based, focused on ecology and management, with more than 9,000 acres of forest, outdoor laboratories and research plots at or near its main campus; its forestry programme was among the first accredited by SAF, in 1935. Elsewhere, the list includes the University of Sarajevo, the University of Novi Sad, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Makerere University in Uganda and Can Tho University in Vietnam. Ask each school which forestry degree it currently offers.
The language of instruction is normally the national language, so the choice of country usually decides the language. Students who want to work as foresters in a particular country should study there or check how a foreign degree is recognised, because the profession is regulated in Spain and licensed in several US states.
Careers
Foresters work for public forest services and national parks, forest owners and timber companies, the wood, pulp and biomass industries, consultancies, fire services, environmental organisations and research institutes. The work mixes office planning with days in the field.
For the United States, the BLS counts 40,900 jobs for conservation scientists and foresters in 2025 and projects growth of 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations. No comparable official figure for Spain was found for this page. For world forest data, the reference is the Global Forest Resources Assessment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), last published in 2025 and based on official national data.
Frequently asked questions
Is forestry an engineering degree?
In Spain, yes: the professions of Ingeniero Técnico Forestal and Ingeniero de Montes are regulated engineering professions with a 240-credit bachelor's degree and a master's degree. In the United States and many other countries, forestry is a science degree in a college of agriculture, natural resources or the environment.
How long does it take to study forestry in Spain?
The higher vocational qualification has 2,000 hours, normally two academic years. The bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits, normally four years. The master's degree for Ingeniero de Montes brings the total to at least 300 credits.
What is the difference between forestry and environmental science?
Forestry trains students to manage forest land and its products, with technical subjects such as silviculture, forest measurement and management planning. Environmental science is broader and less centred on the management of one type of land.
Does accreditation matter in the United States?
SAF accreditation shows that a forestry programme meets the profession's standards, and several states have a licensing or credentialing process for foresters. Check the rules of the state where you want to work.