Sustainable Forest Management

The Master of Sustainable Forest Management (MSFM) program is a comprehensive 9-month course-based master’s program designed to prepare students for careers in professional forest land management.The program focuses on equipping students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective forest land managers who contribute to the health, sustainability, and productivity of forests.

TheMaster of Sustainable Forest Management (MSFM) offered by University of British Columbia consists of field-work experience as well as course work, with students completing graduation requirements the following April.Students in the MSFM program come from various backgrounds with bachelor degrees in ecology, physical geography, environmental sciences, forestry or allied disciplines.

The MSFM provides advanced study in natural resource stewardship. Program components include: tree and stand dynamics, forest to landscape: structure and function, forest management, economics and administration of forestry, leadership skills, communication and critical reasoning, information acquisition and analysis, professionalism and ethics.

Career opportunities:

The MSFM curriculum is accredited by the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board, and by the Society of American Foresters. With real world experience and hands-on projects, graduates of the MSFM program are well positioned for employment. After graduation, you will know how to design and implement site and landscape level plans that integrate the environmental, social and economic components of sustainability. Graduates are now employed in both the public and private sector, primarily in Western Canada.

Courses include:

• Fundamentals of Sustainable Forest Land Management

• Land Information Acquisition and Analysis
• Landscape-Level Forest Land Management

• Professional Communication

• Working with Diverse Knowledge Systems in Sustainable Natural Resources Management

• Forest and Conservation Economics (elective)

• Forest and Environmental Policy (elective)

• Advanced Geomatics for Natural Resource Management (elective)
• Supplementary coursework or Directed studies in specialization (elective)