At which campus can I study this program?
Program Description
The objectives of the major are to train forestry field personnel in the technical aspects of evaluating, managing, and protecting forest resources. Laboratories held in the Michaux State Forest, adjacent to Penn State Mont Alto, stress field applications of classroom theory. Written and oral communication skills are stressed in all courses. Graduates of the program are employed by private businesses including forestry consulting firms, sawmills, and other wood products manufacturers; public agencies including federal, state, and municipal forest resource management and recreation programs; urban tree service companies, pulp and paper manufacturers, surveying firms and landscaping firms, utility companies, and other businesses requiring personnel skilled in field inventory procedures, analysis, and presentation.
Some graduates transfer their credits to bachelor's degree programs such as forest ecosystem management, wildlife and fisheries science, recreation park and tourism management, biorenewable systems, environmental resource management, plant sciences, biology, and business management.
What is Forest Technology?
Forest Technology involves the study of forestry, the science of forest ecosystems, their function, and their conservation and sustainable management. This includes learning about trees, plants, forests, and the wildlife and people that use them; identifying, measuring and sampling, mapping and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS); learning about wood properties, forest insects, diseases, and the effects of fire; and how to best manage them.
You Might Like this Program If...
- You enjoy being outdoors and want a career working outside
- You have a desire to help the forest environments and the wildlife and people that depend on them
- You want to contribute to the sustainable use and management of natural resources
Entrance to Major
Students must have a minimum 2.0 GPA to change to this Associate degree after admission to the University.
Degree Requirements
For the Associate in Science degree in Forest Technology, a minimum of 64 credits is required:
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education | 21 |
| Requirements for the Major | 58 |
15 of the 21 credits for General Education are included in the Requirements for the Major. This includes: 3 credits of GN; 3 credits of GS; 3 credits of GQ; 6 credits of GWS.
Requirements for the Major
To graduate, a student enrolled in the major must earn a grade of C or better in each course designated by the major as a C-required course, as specified by Senate Policy 82-44.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| BIOL 127 | Introduction to Plant Biology  | 3 |
| CAS 100 | Effective Speech | 3 |
| ENGL 15 | Rhetoric and Composition | 3 |
| FORT 100 | Introduction to Forestry | 1 |
| FORT 140 | Forest Surveying | 3 |
| FORT 170 | Forest Harvesting and Operations | 3 |
| FORT 175 | Forest Products Industry Tour | 1 |
| FORT 200 | Wood Identification and Properties | 1 |
| FORT 220 | Forest Ecosystem Protection | 4 |
| FORT 230 | Introduction to Remote Sensing | 2 |
| FORT 240 | Forest Soils and Hydrology | 3 |
| FORT 250 | Forest Management Practices | 3 |
| GEOG 160 | Mapping Our Changing World | 3 |
| GEOG 161 | Applied Geographic Information Systems | 1 |
| MATH 21 | College Algebra with Analytic Geometry with Applications I | 3 |
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| FORT 105 | Forest Measurements | 3 |
| FORT 150 | Dendrology | 3 |
| FORT 110 | Forest Inventories | 3 |
| FORT 160 | Silvicultural Practices | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| MGMT 100W | Survey of Management | 3 |
| or MGMT 301W | Basic Management Concepts | |
| Select 6 credits of the following: | 6 | |
| Arboriculture | ||
| GIS for Natural Resources Management | ||
| Introduction to Wildlife Management | ||
| Outdoor Recreation | ||
General Education
Connecting career and curiosity, the General Education curriculum provides the opportunity for students to acquire transferable skills necessary to be successful in the future and to thrive while living in interconnected contexts. General Education aids students in developing intellectual curiosity, a strengthened ability to think, and a deeper sense of aesthetic appreciation. These are requirements for all associate degree students and are often partially incorporated into the requirements of a program. For additional information, see the General Education Requirements section of the Bulletin and consult your academic adviser.
The keystone symbol appears next to the title of any course that is designated as a General Education course. Program requirements may also satisfy General Education requirements and vary for each program.
Foundations (grade of C or better is required and Inter-Domain courses do not meet this requirement.)
- Quantification (GQ): 3 credits
- Writing and Speaking (GWS): 3 credits
Knowledge Domains
- Arts (GA): 3 credits
- Humanities (GH): 3 credits
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS): 3 credits
- Natural Sciences (GN): 3 credits
Note: Up to six credits of Inter-Domain courses may be used for any Knowledge Domain requirement, but when a course may be used to satisfy more than one requirement, the credits from the course can be counted only once.
Exploration
- Any General Education course (including GHW and Inter-Domain): 3 credits
University Degree Requirements
Cultures Requirement
3 credits of United States (US) or International (IL) cultures coursework are required and may satisfy other requirements
Writing Across the Curriculum
3 credits required from the college of graduation and likely prescribed as part of major requirements.
Total Minimum Credits
A minimum of 60 degree credits must be earned for a associates degree. The requirements for some programs may exceed 60 credits. Students should consult with their college or department adviser for information on specific credit requirements.
Quality of Work
Candidates must complete the degree requirements for their major and earn at least a 2.00 grade-point average for all courses completed within their degree program.
Limitations on Source and Time for Credit Acquisition
Credit used toward degree programs may need to be earned from a particular source or within time constraints (see Senate Policy 83-80). For more information, check the Suggested Academic Plan for your intended program.
Program Learning Objectives
- Forestry Knowledge: Demonstrate knowledge of forestry science, terms, and concepts.
- Technical Skills: Utilize technical skills for measuring and assessing forest and natural resources.
- Communication: Develop skills to communicate with forestry professionals, landowners and the general public through oral and written formats.
- Professionalism: Develop professionalism and respect for all in a diverse work environment.
- Leadership: Demonstrate leadership skills.
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
Mont Alto
Alex Storm
Program Coordinator, Associate Forest Technology Program
1 Campus Drive
221 Science Technology Building
Mont Alto, PA 17237
717-749-6239
ajs6188@psu.edu
Suggested Academic Plan
The suggested academic plan(s) listed on this page are the plan(s) that are in effect during the 2024-25 academic year. To access previous years' suggested academic plans, please visit the archive to view the appropriate Undergraduate Bulletin edition.
Forest Technology, A.S. at Mont Alto Campus
The course series listed below provides only one of the many possible ways to move through this curriculum. The University may make changes in policies, procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. This plan should be used in conjunction with your degree audit (accessible in LionPATH as either an Academic Requirements or What If report). Please consult with a Penn State academic adviser on a regular basis to develop and refine an academic plan that is appropriate for you.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| FORT 100 | 1 | FORT 110* | 3 |
| FORT 105* | 3 | FORT 140 | 3 |
| FORT 150* | 3 | FORT 160* | 3 |
| GEOG 160† | 3 | FORT 170 | 3 |
| GEOG 161 | 1 | FORT 175 | 1 |
| ENGL 15, 30H, or ESL 15‡† | 3 | BIOL 127† | 3 |
| MATH 21‡† | 3 | General Educaton Course (GA or GH) | 3 |
| 17 | 19 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| FORT 200 | 1 | FORT 240 | 3 |
| FORT 210 | 3 | FORT 250 | 3 |
| FORT 220 | 4 | FORT 260 | 3 |
| FORT 230 | 2 | WILDL 101 | 3 |
| MGMT 100W | 3 | CAS 100A† | 3 |
| WILDL 207 | 3 | ||
| General Education Course (GA or GH) | 3 | ||
| 19 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits 70 | |||
- *
Course requires a grade of C or better for the major
- ‡
Course requires a grade of C or better for General Education
- #
Course is an Entrance to Major requirement
- †
Course satisfies General Education and degree requirement
University Requirements and General Education Notes:
US and IL are abbreviations used to designate courses that satisfy Cultural Diversity Requirements (United States and International Cultures).
W, M, X, and Y are the suffixes at the end of a course number used to designate courses that satisfy University Writing Across the Curriculum requirement.
General Education includes Foundations (GWS and GQ) and Knowledge Domains (GHW, GN, GA, GH, GS) requirements. Foundations courses (GWS and GQ) require a grade of 'C' or better.
Career Paths
The Forest Technology degree prepares you for an outdoor-oriented career with opportunities in public and private forestry and in the green industry, providing tree and plant health care.
VISIT THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS CAREER CENTER
VISIT THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF ARBORICULTURE JOB BANK
Professional Resources
Accreditation
In the United States, programmatic accreditation is a non-governmental, peer-review process that assures the quality of the postsecondary education students receive. Academic programs volunteer to undergo this comprehensive review periodically to determine if certain criteria are being met. Accreditation is not a ranking system. It is simply assurance that a degree program meets quality standards established by the profession. The Society of American Foresters is responsible for the accreditation of postsecondary degree-granting programs in forestry, urban forestry, natural resources and ecosystem management, and forest technology. Many academic programs across the country offer a diversity of options or curriculum choices within a degree program -- not all are accredited. The listings on the Society of American Foresters website categorize accredited curricular options within degree programs according to the standard under which they are accredited and candidate curricular options under the standard for which they have candidacy status.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCREDITATION BY THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS
Contact
Mont Alto
FOREST TECHNOLOGY
1 Campus Drive
221 Science Technology Building
Mont Alto, PA 17237
717-749-6239
ajs6188@psu.edu
https://montalto.psu.edu/academics/associate/forest-technology-degree