Forestry

Program Overview

The BAgrSc Forestry program prepares students for leadership roles in forestry, natural resource management, and related industries. Focusing on forest ecology, management, and utilization, the program emphasizes practical skills through field trips, work placements, and project work. Graduates can pursue careers in forestry management, wood processing, environmental agencies, research, and private ventures.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The BAgrSc Forestry programme is designed for students who wish to become forest scientists or leaders in the forestry profession, or who wish to develop a career in related disciplines such as natural resource management, land-use planning and the timber processing industry, in Ireland and abroad. The programme aims to:

• Equip students with the education and skills to enable them to provide leadership within the forestry profession.
• Help students develop an overall view of forests with regards to their ecological, economic, socio-cultural, environmental and utilisation functions.
• Provide students with the scientific basis for the balanced management of the forest resource that is consistent with the principle of sustainability.
• Help students develop the ability to think analytically and provide them with the knowledge necessary for professional decision-making in forestry and related disciplines.
• Equip students with skills in the areas of computer applications, information technology, communications and professional development.

Outline:

The four-year programme combines biological, management and utilisation modules.

Stage 1:

• Includes a full range of core science subjects as well as an introduction to forestry.
• Core modules: CHEM00020, FOR10020, MATH10230, PHYC10180, RDEV10020, RDEV10030, BIOL10010, BIOL10030, CHEM10010.
• Option modules: BSEN10010, CPSC10010, HORT10020, RDEV10040.
• Students must choose ONE of the Spring option modules.
Students may choose further option modules in place of elective modules.
• Students must take elective credits amounting to 10 credits.

Stage 2:

• Develops the applied sciences needed as well as forestry skills through modules in silviculture (growing trees) and forest biometrics.
• Core modules: AERD20030, AESC20060, FOR20040, FOR20100, HORT20070, MICR20010, BSEN20010, CPSC20040, FOR20050, FOR30340, RDEV20140.
• Option modules: FOR20120, GEOL20110.
• Students can take one of these option modules or instead any other elective credits adding up to 5 credits.
It is recommended that students aim for a balanced workload of 30 credits per trimester.

Stage 3:

• Gains a greater understanding of forest ecosystems.
• Core modules: FOR30400, FOR30420, FOR30430, FOR40140, FOR30070, FOR30180, FOR30320, FOR30410.
• Option modules: FOR30050, GEOL20110.
• Students can take one or both of these option modules or any other elective credits adding up to 10 credits.
• A period of Professional Work Experience is mandatory and must be undertaken in Stage 3.

Stage 4:

• Focuses on individual and group projects, which form the major component of marks towards the degree.
• Core modules: FOR40160, FOR40140, FOR40150, FOR40130, FOR40170.
• Option modules: AESC40660, FOR20110.
• Students can take one or two of these option modules or any other elective credits adding up to 10 credits.

Assessment:

• Concluding stages place considerable emphasis on individual and group projects, and these form the major component of marks towards the degree, rather than a final examination.

Teaching:

• The programme is based on core and elective modules and is designed around a mixture of lectures, tutorials, practicals, presentations, field trips, work placements, case studies and projects, often employing multiple learning approaches in combination to optimise the learning environment.
• The elective modules allow students to deepen their knowledge of a particular area or to widen their understanding of subject(s) outside the core areas.
• In the later stages of the programme, the emphasis is on preparing students for entry into the forestry profession or to start a scientific career, using individual field studies and projects that reflect the activities and responsibilities of university-educated professional foresters and scientists, such as professional forestry practice, work placements, a forest establishment project, multi-criteria forest inventories, a forest management plan and a scientific research project.
• All these make use of modern ICT, such as remote sensing, geographical information systems, electronic mensuration equipment and computerised decision support systems.

Careers:

Forestry graduates find employment in all areas of the sector, including:

• State and semi-state agencies
• Forest management and consultancy
• Wood processing and renewable energy
• Environmental agencies
• Education and research
• Forestry contractors
Many graduates set up their own forestry businesses. Research to Master’s and PhD levels is available.

Other:

• Currently 9% of Irish land is under forestry and the objective of the State is to increase this to 17% by 2030.
• In Stages 3 and 4 there are opportunities to go abroad for a semester or as part of your project work, or for your Professional Work Experience.