Forestry

Forestry is the study of forest ecosystems and the environmental components and processes (biological, physical, and chemical) that affect them.

Forestry majors at Sewanee are broadly trained to integrate traditional forestry coursework (dendrology, silviculture, forest ecology, and natural resource management) with courses outside the department in Biology, Chemistry, Economics, and Mathematics. Courses in soils, hydrology, natural resource policy, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), wildlife management, urban forest management, and tropical and boreal forestry are also either encouraged or required. Forestry majors participate in the department’s junior presentations seminar and senior capstone interdisciplinary field course along with all students majoring in geology or natural resources and the environment.

Requirements for the Major in Forestry

The major requires successful completion of the following:

Course Requirements 1
CHEM 100Topics in Contemporary Chemistry4
or CHEM 120 General Chemistry (Lab)
or CHEM 150 Advanced General Chemistry (Lab)
FORS 121Introduction to Forestry (Lab)4
FORS 211Dendrology (Lab)4
FORS 262Forest and Watershed Restoration (Lab)4
FORS 303Soils (Lab)4
or FORS 314 Hydrology (Lab)
FORS 305Forest Ecology (Lab)4
FORS 312Silviculture4
FORS 319Natural Resource Management and Decisions4
FORS 332Oral Presentations2
GEOL 121Physical Geology (Lab)4
Select one of the following:4
An additional lab course in Biology (BIOL)
An additional lab course in Chemistry (CHEM)
Field Investigations in Biology
Entomology
Island Ecology (Lab) ( (summer program))
Foundations of Global Warming
Select one additional course in Forestry (FORS)4
Total Semester Hours46
Additional Requirements
A comprehensive examination
Department capstone requirement, which may be satisfied by:
a. Completing independent study project that culminates in a technical paper or a presentation at Scholarship Sewanee which as been approved by the department chair as fulfilling this requirement; or,
b. Completing a summer research experience, such as an NSF REU or Sewanee SURF which as been approved by the department chair as fulfilling this requirement; or,
c. Completing ESCI 450 during the spring semester of their senior year.
Footnotes

Writing-Intensive Course in the Major Requirement

Students majoring in Forestry or Natural Resources and the Environment can satisfy their writing-in-the-major requirement by:

  1. Successfully completing a designated writing-intensive course in the department, or
  2. Successfully completing three Forestry and/or Geology designated “writing portfolio” courses. Written and edited scientific papers from each writing portfolio course are to be compiled into a scientific writing portfolio by each student, and maintained by the advisor.

The following courses are designated as writing portfolio or writing-intensive courses in the Department of Earth and Environmental Systems. Other courses may be approved as such during some years. In exceptional cases and by faculty permission, one of the three writing portfolio courses might be fulfilled by FORS 444 or GEOL 444.

Writing Portfolio Courses in the Department of Earth and Environmental Systems (three required):

Forestry Major
FORS 204Forest Wildlife Management (project report)4
FORS 262Forest and Watershed Restoration (Lab) (class paper)4
FORS 305Forest Ecology (Lab) (lab report or paper)4
FORS 312Silviculture (lab report or paper)4
FORS 319Natural Resource Management and Decisions (project report)4
Geology Major
GEOL 222Historical Geology (Lab) (term paper)4
GEOL 305Economic Geological Resources (Lab) (field trip report)4
GEOL 314Hydrology (Lab) (lab report)4
GEOL 320Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (Lab)4
Natural Resources and the Environment Major
FORS 204Forest Wildlife Management (project report)4
FORS 262Forest and Watershed Restoration (Lab) (class paper)4
FORS 305Forest Ecology (Lab) (lab report or paper)4
FORS 312Silviculture (lab report or paper)4
FORS 319Natural Resource Management and Decisions (project report)4
GEOL 222Historical Geology (Lab) (term paper)4
GEOL 305Economic Geological Resources (Lab) (field trip report)4
GEOL 314Hydrology (Lab) (lab report)4
GEOL 320Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (Lab)4