International Forestry

"International Forestry" focuses on the international dimensions of forestry and offers competencies for graduates aiming to work in a range of fields to tackle the complex issues associated with the sustainable management of forests.

This profile aims to provide students with an overview of global forest resources and their use. A profound understanding of different forest ecosystems types and management systems is conveyed. Students will acquire the ability to analyse and assess the institutions and processes influencing
forests & forestry from local to global levels and will learn Key competencies for the analysis and management of forestry systems.

Important facts about this major

Language: English IF2

Teaching form: on-campus

Pace of study: fulltime

Study location: Freiburg

Start: only in winter term

Duration: 4 Semester

Application periode: March 1st - May 15th

ECTS: 120 ECTS (80ECTS modules, 10 ECTS Internship, 30ECTS Thesis)

Costs: 190€ semester fees, 1.500€ study fees (only non-EU students!)

IF3

close interconnections between theory and concepts with case-studies and hands-on experience
interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and research and strong involvement of students in projects
international and diverse backgrounds of students facilitating mutual learning

Programe overview ( download pdf)

This is a general overview. Changes are possible. The current semester plan can be found here. Program overview IF

Module details

1) Forests and Global Change

Forests in the age of climate change
Deforestation and afforestation
Digitalization in forest management

2) Applied Environmental Statistics

introductory module beyond multiple regression

builds on and extends statistical knowledge and its application

standard machine-learning approaches in R or Python

joint module with students from other profile tracks

3) Plantation Forestry

Silviculture, site preparation and nutrient management of intensive tree plantations
Biodiversity, ecosystem services and social benefits of planted forests
Plantations a as sustainable land use form

4) Forest Inventory and Information Systems

Advanced methods of quantitative forest inventory
Spatial information systems
Forest information systems and methods

5) Forest Economics and Management

Basics of business administration
Special features of the economics of forests and forest enterprises incl. forest valuation
Forest economic calculations & optimisation as a decision-making aid

6) Carbon Forestry

Voluntary forest carbon projects
Financing climate change mitigation
Biodiversity and local communities’ safeguards

7) Close-to-Nature Forest Management

Potentials and limitations of alternative forest management approaches
Evidence base for enhanced adaptive capacity in close-to-nature-forests
Silviculture of mixed and uneven-aged forests

8) Integrated Land Use Systems

Integrating forestry and agricultural land use
Food production and biomass production
Enhancing local land-based livelihoods

9) International Forest Governance

follow soon

10) Ecosystem Management

new paradigms for the management of natural resources
1-week excursion to study ecosystem management on the ground
gain research experience in interdisciplinary groups

11) Forest Sciences: Professional and Research Approaches

Self-perception and external perception of the forestry profession
Change of forestry and forest sciences in history
Methods of research and knowledge transfer

12) Forests and Rural Developement

Role of forests and other natural environments in rural development
Competing national and local development pathways
Rural development and nature conservation synergies and trade-offs

13) Forest Legality and Sustainability Regulation

follow soon

Target Group

Best suited to graduates of BSc programmes in Forest Sciences and closely related fields

Interest in work within international contexts
International students who seek to expand their competencies for working in their home country
Students interested in foreign countries and practices

Career Opportunities

IF 5 International job market, including but not limited to:

International organisations (UN level)
Governmental institutions,
(E)NGOs
Forestry and consultancy companies
Research institutions

Application

Requirements

BSc Degree with grade point average of at least 2.5
English C1
At least 30 ECTS in natural sciences and ecology
30 ECTS in Forestry & Natural Resources Management
10 ECTS in Statistics and Geomatics

-> basic knowledge in "R" is assumed