An Overview of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment at Auburn University
The Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment is a flagship institution and the backbone of Alabama’s $30 billion+ forest, wildlife, and natural resources-related enterprises, a significant component of the State’s economic and employment fabric.
With world-class faculty and staff, state-of-the-art labs, field sites, and other infrastructure, the college’s academic programs include seven undergraduate degrees, three graduate certificates, two online master’s degrees, and many other traditional graduate programs in forestry, wildlife sciences, and natural resources.
Auburn’s undergraduate Forestry program is accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF), the accrediting body recognized by the Council on Higher Education. Unique to this university, our students are highly prepared for their careers with nine weeks of hands-on summer practicum field experience. Before or upon graduation, consistently, 100% of our graduating classes are employed.
The college also boasts one of the country’s few sustainable biomaterials and packaging degrees. This undergraduate major incorporates science, engineering, and business courses to prepare students for careers in developing and producing sustainable packaging and products. Graduates find exciting jobs within sustainability divisions of major corporations and packaging and wood product manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and distribution.
On the graduate level, working professionals who wish to advance their careers enjoy the flexibility and convenience of our online programs, which include a Master of Natural Resources and the newly offered Master of Science degree, Forest Business & Investment. The non-thesis Master of Natural Resources (MNR) degree can be tailored to a student’s interest or paired with our online graduate certificates in Restoration Ecology, Forest Finance & Investment, and One Health. The Forest Business and Investment (FBI) Master of Science degree is a non-thesis program that builds upon the working professional’s forestry knowledge while providing expertise in business, finance, and investments specific to the forest industry.
The College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment actively seeks to partner with our stakeholders to disseminate knowledge and information. Most recently, the college has partnered on several projects with equipment manufacturers, including John Deere, Tigercat, and Caterpillar, now Weiler. More importantly, we have hosted several meetings at Auburn, including the FRA Security Group and the Southeastern Policy meeting. We have also assisted with resurrecting the FRA Timber Harvesting Short Course after a 12-year hiatus. Developed to allow students to interact and have open dialogue on practices and challenges that face our industry, this important program helps recent forestry graduates gain new ideas and perspectives about forestry, wood procurement, and timber harvesting from company managers.
Finally, the college is making significant research investments in developing new commercial products from wood residues and other biomaterials. We also strive to address disease threats to pine forests, such as the brown-spotted needle blight, the long-term influences of drought and climate variability, and to advance the Climate-Smart Forestry movement on behalf of landowners and industry.
