Skip to Content Find it Fast

This browser does not support Cascading Style Sheets.

Undergraduate Course Catalog 2010-2011

Thompson School of Applied Science

» http://www.thompsonschool.unh.edu/


Forest Technology (FORT)

» http://www.thompsonschool.unh.edu/fort

» Click to view course offerings

Professor: Matthew C. Chagnon, Donald W. Quigley

Students in the Forest Technology program are uniquely prepared for careers in the forest industries and natural resource management in New Hampshire and New England. Classroom lecture is backed up by practical field work in each of the subject areas. The curriculum is accredited by the Society of American Foresters (the first two-year program in the U.S. to earn this designation) and reviewed by an advisory committee representing the full spectrum of forestry organizations in the region. There is strong emphasis on leadership, safety, communication skills, accuracy of field work, data collection, and professional presentation. Unique facilities for teaching and learning include centrally located classroom and shop facilities; 3,000+ acres of University-owned forest land; a new sawmill and forest industries training center; logging equipment; technologically advanced navigation, data collection and analysis equipment; and a faculty with vast field experience in the subject areas dedicated to teaching.

Admissions Requirement


Applicants to the Forest Technology specialization must present at least two years of satisfactory work in both college preparatory mathematics and science (one science being biology, with a lab).


Curriculum Fee

Forest Technology, specialization, $605*

*This one-time, nonrefundable curriculum fee is required to cover lab materials, specialized equipment maintenance, and transportation that is unique to the applied nature of the specialization. The curriculum fee covers the entire two-year course of study for one specialization. Any non-TSAS student may be assessed specific course fees, details of which are included in each semester's Time and Room Schedule. All fees are subject to change.


Forest Technician

Forest technicians help plan, direct, and operate forestry enterprises. Students in the forest technician specialization experience a breadth and depth of instruction. They are exposed to the theory and practice of planting, thinning, and other silvicultural operations, including harvesting supervision. They learn how to design, lay out, and construct roads and trails; how to map and survey property; how to manage woodlands to improve timber quality and wildlife habitat and conserve soil, water, and other natural resources. Graduates work in the wood products-related industries, in public forestland management agencies, with forestry consulting firms or urban tree care companies, and with a range of conservation organizations. Graduates can become licensed in New Hampshire to practice forestry on private lands.


Career Opportunities:

Forestry consultant, fire control technician, mapping technician, Geographic Information Systems/Global Positioning Systems (GIS/GPS) technician, timber and log buyer, log scaler, lumber grader, sawmill technician, arborist, urban tree care specialist, timber cruiser/forest inventory technician, forestry equipment/products sales representative.


Forest Technician Program of Study


First year, Fall Semester

Abbreviation Course Number Title Credits
FORT   261   Dendrology   3  
FORT   263   Forest Ecology   2  
FORT   263A   Forest Ecology Lab   1  
FORT   265   Forest Orientation Seminar   1  
COM   209   Expository Writing and Reading   4  
MTH   203   Algebra and Trigonometry   3  
TSAS   205   Computers in the Workplace   2  


First Year, Spring Semester

Abbreviation Course Number Title Credits
FORT   260   Forest Mapping   2  
FORT   266   Forest Surveying   4  
FORT   270   Applied Silviculture   4  
FORT   275   Forestry Field Practices   1  
FORT   280   Aerial Photography Interpretation   2  
SSCI   202   Social Issues   4  


Second Year, Fall Semester

Abbreviation Course Number Title Credits
FORT   269   Wildlife Ecology and Conservation   3  
FORT   272   Mensuration   4  
FORT   277   Logging   4  
FORT   281   GIS for Foresters   2  
FORT   297   Forestry Work Experience   0  
COM   210   Public Speaking   2  
    Elective(s)   2 - 4  


Second Year, Spring Semester

Abbreviation Course Number Title Credits
FORT   267   Leadership, Supervision and Safety   2  
FORT   273   Managerment Operations and Analysis   3  
FORT   274   Industrial Forest Management Tour   1  
FORT   276   Forest Products   4  
FORT   278   Forest Insects and Diseases   2  
FORT   279   Forest Fire Control and Use   2  
    Elective(s)   2 - 4  

Total: 65 - 69 credits



» Click to view course offerings

^ back to top