The primary focus of the program is to provide a better-educated workforce that recognizes the importance of fire as an ecological and cultural process; plans and implements fire and other fuels management treatments; and more effectively manages wildfires to mitigate undesired impacts. A unique feature of this program is the integration of coursework that includes indigenous burning and traditional ecological knowledge. Additionally, the program allows students to expand the breadth of their degree program by selecting an interdisciplinary emphasis in a related topic of study.
This program provides students with sufficient background in the science, management, and policy of fire. Students will gain knowledge on the causes, mechanisms, and impacts of fire across scales and for a range of vegetation types. The program also meets the requirements of a Certified Wildland Fire Academic Program by the Association for Fire Ecology.
Graduates of this program are prepared to apply their fire science and ecology knowledge and skills to various natural resource management problems. Given the on-going trends of increased wildfire frequency, size, and severity in many regions of California and other western states, there is a growing need and demand to increase workforce capacity across the public and private sectors.
The major focuses on the science and management of wildland fires and does not include topics specific to structural or municipal firefighting.
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