Forest Products

The University of Idaho College of Natural Resources is home to the largest accredited forest products program in the nation. Our faculty is recognized nationally and internationally for their expertise and research work in the forest products field.

When pursuing your master’s degree in forest products, you will learn proven practices for keeping our forests healthy and for promoting the sustained growth of our forests for future generations.

We offer a Master of Science in Forest Products with an emphasis in:

• Bioenergy
• Forest operations
• Forest products business management
• Structural systems
• Timber harvesting
• Wood chemistry
• Wood composites
• Wood construction and design

As a student in the program, you’ll learn how to apply scientific principles and technology to protect our natural environment. Field trips, hands-on projects and lab work will teach you critical concepts centered on effective forest management, ecosystem management and restoration.

You'll take courses in physical and social sciences. Depending on your specific interest areas, you may also study business and marketing, management, sales and conservation of natural resources.

By blending an ecological and biological educational background with business management skills, you will be well equipped to make an impact in the marketplace or in a government agency as a forest engineer, forest manager, wood product specialist, timber market analyst and more.

Prepare for Success

If you want to pursue an advanced degree in forest products, you should be interested in learning more about business, construction, forestry, sustainable wood and biomaterials-based products. You should have a strong desire to work independently and with a team to develop innovative solutions for the conservation, practical management and responsible use of our forests.

Your First Year

Entrance into the College of Graduate Studies program is highly competitive. Admission normally requires completion of undergraduate course work in the area of natural and social sciences. If you don’t have an undergraduate degree in one of these areas, you may be required to make up deficiencies as determined by their advisory committees.

Depending on your degree emphasis, you may take the following forest products classes:

• Wood Composites (ForP 436/536)
• Operational Analysis in Timber Harvesting (ForP 439)
• Nondestructive Testing of Structural Materials (ForP WS535)
• Forest Ecosystem Management: Practices and Issues (ForP 545)

What You Can Do

With a master’s in forest products, you may become a :

• Forest engineer or manager
• Forester
• Production and operations manager
• Arborist
• Procurement forester
• Chief of natural resources
• Timber market analyst
• Wood truss and wall panel designer
• Design engineer in wood manufacturing
• Wood product specialist
  

Opportunities

Employment opportunities are plentiful in the forest products industry as business and governmental leaders recognize the need for skilled individuals to develop effective conservation strategies. Your ability to create innovative manufacturing processes that keep pace with our changing forests will also give you a competitive edge in the job market.

Nearly 100 percent of our students have a job offer before or soon after graduation. Federal, state and conservation agencies, nonprofit groups, and nongovernmental agencies that have employed our graduates include:

• Boise Cascade
• Potlatch Corp.
• Precision Craft Log Homes
• Trus Joist MacMillan
• U.S. Forest Service
• Weyerhaeuser

Current Research

Faculty members of the forest products program work collaboratively with students in a variety of research areas. Current projects are investigating fuel reduction methods to lessen the impact of wildfires.

The Inland-Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium, a multi-institutional group which includes the University of Idaho, has made significant discoveries in the area of forest products and wood chemistry. Here are a few examples:

• Harvesting small-diameter timber. Improved harvesting production systems that reduce costs and minimize impacts to the site.
• Comprehensive information system. Developed a comprehensive electronic information system on the Inland Northwest’s primary and secondary wood-using industries.
• Strand composites modeling. Fundamental knowledge was developed on wood strand composites that will allow better utilization of small diameter timber and accommodate flexible manufacturing.

Activities

Student Chapter of Forest Products Society
Student Chapter of the National Association of Home Builders
Logger Sports

Hands-On Experience

From field trips to assistantships, you'll expand your learning beyond the classrooms and labs and into our nearby forests and wilderness areas.

Graduate students are incredibly active in multiple research areas. You may conduct research in such areas as:

• Wood chemistry
• Timber harvesting
• Business and forest management
• Wood construction and design

 Below are examples of current graduate student research projects:

• Cointegration of North American Softwood Lumber Markets: Driven by Demand? N. Plesha, 2008
• Plasticization of Wood by Benzylation. L. Ma, 2007
• Chemistry of Wood Plastic Composite Weathering. J.S. Fabiyi, 2007
• Developing a Model System in Vitro to Understand Tracheary Element Development in Douglas-Fir (Pseudostuga mensiesii). K.V. Pillai, 2007
• The Effect of Utilizing Micrometer Sized Wood Fibers in Wood Plastic Composites. L.W. Gallagher, 2006

Facilities

The College of Natural Resources offers labs fully equipped with a heated wood press, dry kiln technology and advanced technical instruments for the development of bio-based materials. The University of Idaho Experimental Forest is also located nearby, where members of the College of Natural Resources student logging crew learn about timber harvesting.

Learn about our other College of Natural Resources facilities.

Faculty Involvement

An extremely diverse group of faculty challenges students both in and out of the classroom. Lab and field facilities are used both on and off campus.

Thomas M. Gorman
Department Head and Professor
Research Specialty: Wood construction and design
» tgorman@uidaho.edu

Armando McDonald
Professor, Wood Chemistry & Wood Composites
Research Interests: * Biobased composite materials research which includes fibre modifications and product prototype development * Synthesis of carbohydrate, protein, and polyphenolic based polymers for use as thermoplastics and adhesives * Synthesis of core-shell polymer systems * Chemical characterization of genetically modified lignin in trees * Characterizing the volatile emissions from wood processing operations * Structural characterization of immunoprotective lilpopolysaccharides (LPS) of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum
» armandm@uidaho.edu