2023-2024 Cal Poly Humboldt Catalog 
    
    Dec 11, 2024  
2023-2024 Cal Poly Humboldt Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Forestry, Fire Management Concentration, B.S.


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Cal Poly Humboldt is located in the heart of the coast redwood forest. This environment provides outdoor classrooms for more than half of the forestry courses. Field trips illustrate lecture concepts and teach field techniques.

Excellent on-campus laboratories complement the outdoor lab. Students have access to the college forest, the Schatz Tree Farm, public and private forest lands, and various production centers. Because Humboldt County also has a large forest products industry, Humboldt is an excellent place to study the resolution of environmental issues with economic concerns.

Students and faculty interact with professional forest managers and researchers of the region both in the classroom and in the field.

Forestry is an incorporative discipline, drawing from the biological, physical, social, and managerial sciences. The curriculum aids in understanding the biological complexities of the forest and the interactions between the forest and social and economic demands.

The program provides sufficient background and depth of education to give a sound basis for professional growth within a broad range of forestry-related careers. Our graduates often start as forest rangers, park rangers, fire fighters, timber cruisers, or surveyors. Some hold staff positions in the federal and state agencies, forest products industry, or with environmental organizations

This concentration is for students interested in a career in managing wildland fuels, prescribed fire, fire suppression, or fire ecology. A student who completes this concentration qualifies as a forester for federal employment.

Requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree


A bachelor’s degree requires a total of 120 units. Students must fulfill General Education & All-University Requirements , residency, unit, and GPA requirements as outlined in the Bachelor’s Degree Requirements . This major includes a Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) certified course.

Requirements for the Major (93 Units)


Students must complete all courses in the major with a grade of C- or better. 



Core Courses (64 Units)


The following core courses are required for all forestry majors.

 

Fire Management Concentration (29 Units)


Complete the following concentration specific courses to fulfill the requirements of the major.

Program Learning Outcomes


Program Learning Outcomes identify what a student will learn or be able to do upon completion of their program.

  1. Identify and describe the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of forests and other wildland ecosystems
  2. Explain the ecological, hydrological, edaphic, social, political, and economic structures and processes related to forest and wildland ecosystems across spatial and temporal scales
  3. Measure, calculate, analyze, and model forest resources and associated processes utilizing mathematics, statistics, and geospatial tools
  4. Communicate about forest and wildland ecosystems effectively in oral and written formats
  5. Comprehend and utilize scientific publications in the fields of forestry, ecology, hydrology, rangelands, and soils
  6. Use critical thinking skills to apply multidisciplinary knowledge of forest resources, policy, administration, and economics to manage forest and wildland resources for diverse objectives
  7. Become ethical professionals with a sense of life-long learning and curiosity who contribute to developing sound policy and addressing social needs related to forest and wildland resources

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