MF Curriculum Courses

Students are required to choose courses from the lists in each category, as indicated in the program outline below  The capstone course is a requirement.

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    Program Courses

    A. Basic Knowledge

    1. Biological Sciences

    Three courses from three different topic areas. Substitutions for individual courses are allowed, but must be approved.
    a. Tree Physiology, Morphology, and Taxonomy
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 652
    Wood: Structure and Function
      Brodersen
    ENV 671
    Dendrology: Woody plant Taxonomy & Identification
    Duguid
    W 1:00-5:00
     
    ENV 679
    Plant Ecophysiology
    Brodersen
    Tu 1:00-3:50
     
    b. Forest Ecology, Forest Dynamics
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 660
    Forest Dynamics
    Duguid
    Tu,Th 10:30-11:50
     
    c. Ecosystem and Community Ecology
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 717
    Tropical Field Ecology
      Comita
    ENV 723
    Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management
    Freidenburg
    Tu,Th 9:00-10:15
     
    ENV 752
    Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests
    Comita
    M,W 10:30-11:50
     
    d. Forest Health/Restoration
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 650
    Fire Ecology and Management of the US West
      Faculty
    Tentative
    ENV 677
    Ecological Restoration
      Duguid
    ENV 683
    Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration
      Ashton

    2. Physical Sciences

    Two courses from two different topic areas. Substitutions for individual courses are allowed, but must be approved.
    a. Soils and Geology
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 709
    Lectures, Discussions and Applications of Soil Science
    Bradford
    W 9:00-11:50
     
    EPS 110
    Dynamic Earth
           
    EPS 342a
    An introduction to earth and environmental physics
           
    b. Hydrology
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 712
    Water Management
      Anisfeld
    c. Biometeorology and Climate
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 594
    Global Carbon Cycle
    Denning
    M,W 9:00-10:20
     
    ENV 630
    The Physical Science of Climate Change
      Raymond
    EPS 101
    Climate Change
           

    3. Social Sciences

    Two courses, one from each topic area. Substitutions for individual courses are allowed, but must be approved.
    a. Social and Political Ecology & Anthropology
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 685
    Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes
      Garen
    Tentative
    ENV 742
    Fundamentals of Working with People
      DeCew
    ENV 759
    Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science
    Dove
    M 1:00-3:50
     
    ENV 764
    American Cosmologies
    Farrell
    Th 9:00-11:50
     
    b. Policy Science and Law
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 760
    Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective
      Vedder
    ENV 775
    Federal Indian Law
      Faculty
    ENV 821
    Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global
    Sanford
    M,W 1:00-2:20
     
    ENV 824
    Environmental Law and Policy
      Klee

    B. Frameworks and Skills

    One course from each category

    1. Economics

    One course.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 795
    Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models
      Fenichel

    2. Silviculture

    One course.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 659
    The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips)
      Ashton

    3. Measurement

    One course.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 751
    Sampling Methodology and Practice
      Reuning-Scherer
    ENV 758
    Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences
      Reuning-Scherer

    4. GIS

    One course strongly recommended.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 726
    Observing Earth from Space
      Lee
    ENV 755
    Modeling Geographic Space
      Kelly
    ENV 756
    Modeling Geographic Objects
    Kelly
    Th 1:00-3:50
     

    C. Synthesis and Analysis

    One course from each category

    1. Management of Forest Resources

    One course.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 688
    Forest Management and Operations
      Orefice
    ENV 954
    Management Plans for Protected Areas (includes Friday and Saturday Field trips)
    Ashton
    M,W 1:00-2:20
     

    2. Professional Skills - Concentration Area

    Students can take three electives or more (if they can qualify out of bin requirements from prior coursework) — electives are up to the student but encouragement is given to focus on a concentration area of the students own design. The examples of courses given online are just that — they tend to be ones taken by students as electives.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 573
    Urban Ecology for Local and Regional Decision Making
    Grove
    W 1:00-3:50
     
    ENV 760
    Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective
      Vedder
    ENV 767
    Tools for Conservation Project Design & Management
      Vedder
    ENV 956
    Strategies for Land Conservation
      Gentry

    3. Professional Ethics

    Required.
    ENV 009 Professional Ethics

    4. Workshops and Skill Modules

    PSC Short Course

    D. MF Capstone

    The MF capstone course is a requirement.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 626
    Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences
      Queenborough
    ENV 955
    Seminar in Research Analysis, Writing and Communication in Forest Ecology
    Ashton
    W 4:00-6:50
    Ashton

    E. Field Trips

    One week-long field trip.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 668
    Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture
      Ashton
    Tentative
    ENV 670
    Southern Forest and Forestry Field Trip
      Faculty
    Tentative
    ENV 005
    Forest Apprenticeship
    Western Forests Southern Forests