Education

Most jobs in forestry require some post-secondary education. To be a silviculture surveyor or a compliance and enforcement officer, you should enrol in a two-year diploma program. If you want to be a professional forester, you will need a degree.

We’ve listed forestry-related programs offered in B.C. here. If you are interested in other programs that will lead to a career in forestry, use the "Program Search" at the B.C. Education Planner. It’s the fastest way to get details on over 1,500 programs at 27 colleges and universities in B.C.

• Forest technology programs
• University transfer programs
• Forestry and forest related degree programs
• Advanced and graduate studies
• Forestry training programs (fire suppression, scaling, chainsawing and more)

Forest Technology Programs

	Institution	Location	Certification	Duration
Forest Resources Technician	B.C. Institute of Technology	Burnaby	Diploma	1 year
Forest Resources Technology	Northern Lights College	Chetwynd	Diploma	2 years
Forest Technology	B.C. Institute of Technology	Burnaby	Diploma	2 years
Forestry Diploma	Selkirk College	Castlegar	Diploma	2 years
Natural Resource Technician Certificate	Nicola Valley Institute of Technology	Merritt	Certificate
Natural Resource Technology Diploma	Nicola Valley Institute of Technology	Merritt	Diploma	2 years
Forest Resources Technology	Malaspina University College	Nanaimo	Diploma	2 years
Forest Resource Technology	College of New Caledonia	Prince George	Diploma	2 years
Resource Management Officer Technology	Malaspina University College	Nanaimo	Diploma	2 years
Renewable Resources - Fish, Wildlife and Recreation	B.C. Institute of Technology	Burnaby	Diploma	2 years
Recreation, Fish & Wildlife Technology	Selkirk College	Castlegar	Diploma	2 years
Applied Coastal Ecology (formerly Coastal Integrated Resource Management)	Northwest Community College	Prince Rupert	Certificate or Diploma	1 year, 2 year or post-grad options

University Transfer Programs

	Institution	Location	Certification	Duration
Forestry University Transfer Program	Thompson Rivers University	Kamloops	N/A	2 years
Forestry University Transfer Program	College of New Caledonia	Prince George	N/A	2 years
Forest technology - degree programs	Selkirk College	Castlegar	Diploma	2 years

Forestry and Forest Related Degree Programs

	Institution	Location	Certification	Duration
Forest Resources Managment	University of B.C.	Vancouver	B.S.F.	4 years
Forest Operations	University of B.C.	Vancouver	B.S.F.	4 years
Forest Science	University of B.C.	Vancouver	B.Sc.F.	4 years
Natural Resources Conservation	University of B.C.	Vancouver	B.Sc.N.	4 years
Wood Products Processing	University of B.C.	Vancouver	B.Sc.W.	4-5 years
Natural Resource Science	Thompson Rivers University	Kamloops	B.N.R.Sc.	4 years
Forestry major Natural Resources and Environmental Studies	University of Northern B.C.	Prince George	B.Sc.	4-5 years
Environmental Sciences	University of Northern B.C.	Prince George	B.Sc.	4-5 years

Advanced and Graduate Studies

	Institution	Location	Certification	Duration
Certificate in Forestry Geoscience (undergraduate in earthsciences or physical geography)	Simon Fraser University	Vancouver	Advanced certificate	1 year (post-graduate)
Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Graduate Programs	University of Northern B.C.	Prince George	Various	Various
Forestry Graduate Programs	University of B.C.	Vancouver	Various	Various

Forestry Training Programs

	Institution	Location	Certification	Duration
Natural Resources Extension Program (cruising, contracts, law, faller training, S-100 fire suppression, etc)	Malaspina University College	Nanaimo	Various	Various
Basic Compassing and Mapping, Beetle Probing, Chainsaw Safety/Falling and Bucking, Fire Suppression, Scaling and more	Thompson Rivers University	Williams Lake	Various	Various
Forestry - Part-time training	B.C. Institute of Technology	Burnaby	Various	various
Chainsaw / Faller Bucker Environmental (Residue and Waste Surveys, Log Grading / Scaling) General Interest Global Positioning Systems	Northern Lights College	Chetwynd	Various	various

 

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Forestry Facts — Did You Know?

• The anti-cancer drug "taxol" is made from the bark of the Yew tree.
• Every 1,000 cubic metres of harvested wood creates one and a half B.C. jobs.
• An average house requires 15,000 board feet of lumber.
• Tree cellulose is a thickening ingredient in ketchup, ice cream and thousands of common foods.
• Disposable medical lab coats are made from the woven fibres of western redcedar, B.C.’s official tree..
• Wood is the only renewable, biodegradable, natural and non-toxic building material in the world.
• Car door panels and dashboards can be manufactured from wood fibres.