B.S.F. Forestry (extended major)

For more than four decades, NAU has been developing and refining a distinctive forest management major designed to instill in you an awareness of the complexities inherent in contemporary wildland management and to help you develop as an involved citizen as well as a professional land manager. Our major program helps you become well qualified to address the impacts that management decisions and practices have on all resources, including timber, wildlife, range, water, recreation, and scenic beauty.  

 

Our B.S.F. degree is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.  

 

To earn this degree, you must complete at least 120 units of coursework, which we describe in the sections that follow:  

Please note that you may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement; however, you must still meet the total of at least 120 units to graduate. Contact the Student Services Coordinator in the School of Forestry for details.  You will find the forestry program of study checklist on our web site at www.for.nau.edu.

 

Be aware that some courses required for your degree may have prerequisites that you must also take.  Check the courses in the appropriate subject. (You may be able to count these prerequisites toward your liberal studies or general elective credit.)  

   

Please note that you must complete NAU’s diversity requirements by taking two 3-unit courses, one in ethnic diversity and one in global awareness. These courses may be used to meet other requirements within your academic plan if you choose them carefully. Click here for a list of the available diversity courses.

 

Also be aware that NAU requires that at least 30 units of the courses you take for your degree must be upper-division courses (those numbered 300 and above).  

 

Also note that you must complete all required FOR courses with a grade of C or better.

   

 

Admission to the Professional Program

You do not need to apply for admission to the School of Forestry to take courses in the preprofessional program; your admission to NAU is sufficient.  

 

However, application and admission to our professional program is required. You must complete all of the listed lower-division preprofessional courses before you can be admitted to and enrolled in the professional program, which starts with FOR 313, 314, 315, and 316.  

 

You can apply for admission to the professional program after you have completed at least 36 of the 48 units of preprofessional courses. To be accepted into the professional program, you must:  

 

 

If you haven’t yet completed all of the preprofessional courses, you may be admitted conditionally if you meet the grade point average requirements and have successfully completed at least 36 units of this coursework. In this case, you must complete the remaining required coursework with a grade point average of at least 2.5 before you can begin the professional program courses. If your GPA is below 2.5, your admission to the professional program will be canceled. If you wish to reapply for admission to the professional program the following year, please see the Student Services Coordinator.  

 

You will find an admission application for the professional program on our website at www.for.nau.edu.  The deadline for submitting your application for fall term is March 1 each year.  

Preprofessional Requirements  

We devote the majority of the first two years of our unique curriculum to basic studies in the biological, natural, and social sciences and in quantitative and communication skills. When you satisfactorily complete these specified preprofessional courses, you have acquired the background necessary for our upper-division professional forestry program.  

 

The preprofessional foundation consists of the following 48 units (or their equivalent for transfer students), which you must satisfactorily complete before you are eligible to enter the professional program:  

Please note that in preparation for these preprofessional courses, you should have at least three units of high school mathematics, including trigonometry, and one unit each of biology, chemistry, and physics when you enter our preprofessional program. If you lack of any of these units, you may have to take remedial coursework.  

Professional Requirements  

The 53 units in the professional program include a professional core and a focus, as we describe in the following sections. You must earn a grade of C or better in each of these courses to remain in the professional program.  

Professional Core  

This core consists of the following 41 units, in four groups of courses. Please note that you must enroll in all courses within a group in the same term, and you must complete each one with a grade of C or better before you can enroll in the next group of courses.  

 

Semester C and D courses together meet NAU's senior capstone requirement.

Focus  Areas

You choose one of the following focus areas for the remaining 12 units.   All focus areas require a minimum of 6 units in 300- and 400-level courses.  You will find more information about focus areas under academics and research at www.for.nau.edu.

 

Conservation Biology Focus

FOR 230 or 255; FOR 240; 6 units selected from ANT 370, BIO 340, 374, or 478; ECO 325 or FOR 493; ENV 440; FOR 415 or 445, FOR 441; PHI 331; SC 323

 

Ecological Restoration Focus

FOR 282; FOR 382; FOR 408 or 485

One additional 3 unit course selected with approval of focus area coordinator

 

Forest Health Focus

FOR 454;

FOR 452 and/or FOR 453;

If you took both FOR 452 and FOR 453, then select 3 units from the following list.  If you did not take both FOR 452 and FOR 453, select 6 units from the following list of courses.  

FOR 240, 250, 282, 283, 441, 479, or BIO 322 or 411

 

Forestry in the Wildland-Urban Interface

FOR 283;

6 or 7 units from FOR 203, 204, 207, 230, 282, 382, or 447

2 or 3 units from PR 272 or COM 150 or PL 306 or FOR 430

 

Indigenous Forestry Focus

FOR 270; FOR 370

6 units from FOR 230, 250, 282, 382, 415, 441, or 485

 

International Forestry Focus

FOR 415;

6 units from FOR 230, 255, or 441

3 units from ANT 301, 302, 303, 307, or 459 or GGR 240, 241, or 348, or POS 120, 159, 361, 374, or 380, or PRM 300

 

Water and Watershed Restoration Focus

FOR 340, 340L and FOR 465;

One course from CENE 150, GGR 451, or GLG 101/103

One course from FOR 479, ENV 410, GGR 461 or 462, or GLG 430

 

Wildland Fire Focus

FOR 251, 351, 451

One additional 3 unit course from FOR 230, 240, 282, 370, 382, 415, 443, 447, 452, 453, 454, 465, 479; or BIO 478, 479; ENV 440, 495; or GGR 239

 

Individualized Focus

You must develop a 1 page written statement describing the purpose and scope of the proposed focus area and have the statement approved by a faculty mentor.

You must complete 12 units of FOR courses, including a minimum of 6 units of upper division courses (300- or 400-level) that support the purpose and scope of the proposed focus area topic that is developed with approval a faculty mentor.

General Electives  

Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.  

 

You may take these remaining courses from any academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. We encourage you to consult with the Student Services Coordinator to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you. (Please note that you may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren’t used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.)  

 

Click here for information about Forestry undergraduate courses and faculty.