Sustainable Forestry and Agroforestry Option

Both agroforestry and sustainable forestry are integrative fields, relying on concepts and principles from the disciplines of biology, ecology, economics, sociology, and ethics. Although the components of these two specialty areas are present at OSU, they are not embodied in the curricula of any single educational unit of the University. Students select courses in consultation with their graduate committee from various departments in the Colleges of Forestry, Agriculture, Science, Liberal Arts, and Business. A course of study in these specialty areas is constructed from existing course offerings designed to fit individual student needs and meeting the approval of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee.

In addition to core courses, students choose classes from within each of two general areas of emphasis: (1)Biology, Ecology, and Production, and (2) Social Values, Policy, and Ethics.

Although there is no fixed set of courses for this option, the following are frequently selected and illustrate the broad range of options available.

Core Courses: FS/SOC/PHL 591, Sustainable Forestry (3 credits) is an integrative course that exposes students to ethical, social, and ecological issues of natural resource development. Students are challenged to look at systems of natural resource use and to design programs or policies that meet local, regional, or global needs.

In addition, students specializing in Agroforestry take RNG 577 Agroforestry (3 credits), which explores the breadth of agroforestry systems worldwide.

(1) Biology, Ecology, and Production
Students will further their understanding of the structure and function of ecosystems, the responses of such systems to management and to natural and human-caused disturbances, and the role of such disturbance in local, regional, and global phenomena. Studies might include plant and animal species interactions, physical or biological processes in soil, water or air, remote sensing, or landscape-level processes in relation to human-imposed systems. In addition, this emphasis adds the dimension of production and management both for commodity and ecological processes–elements considered separately in other Forest Science specialty areas.

Examples of possible courses include the following (18-24 credits required):

(2) Social Values, Policy, and Ethics
Students will further their understanding of the values and the cultural, economic, political, and social forces that affect forest systems and shape forestry and agroforestry policies. Within this area of emphasis, students take classes selected from two groups of courses: (a) Policy and Values, and (b) Economics, Politics, and Management.

At least two courses must be selected from each group (15 credits minimum).

(a) Policy and Values. Policy and Values classes focus on human values and world views about nature, the environment, and natural resources in western and non-western cultures, as well as on the institutional, cultural, and ethical systems that embody such values. Examples of courses include the following (6-12 credits):

Other courses may be substituted with approval of the student’s academic committee.

(b) Economics, Politics, and Management. Economics, Politics, and Management classes examine the economic, legal, and political factors that affect land use and resource management in forest and agroforestry systems. Examples of courses include the following (6-12 credits):