Course Focus
The M.Sc. course Tropical and International Forestry provides advanced study in management and conservation of tropical and sub-tropical forest ecosystems. It especially focuses on the ecologically and economically sound management of forest resources and tree-based land use systems. The targeted ecosystems and management systems include natural forests under full protection, close to nature forestry, plantation forestry, agroforestry systems and trees outside the forest. The programme is for students interested in pursuing an international career in forestry, nature conservation, ecosystem research or rural development. The M.Sc. course is a two-year programme with a modular structure. The first two semesters consist of lectures and course work in Göttingen. The modules address topics such as Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology, Tropical Soil Science, Forest Resource Assessment, Bioclimatology and Global Change, International Forest Policy and Economy, and Project Planning and Evaluation. Elective modules can be chosen either from the Faculty of Forest Sciences or from other faculties and Master’s courses, such as Agribusiness or Biodiversity and Ecology. This helps students to specialise and develop an individual profile. In the third semester a student project is conducted, which often includes field studies abroad and uses an interdisciplinary approach. The fourth semester consists of the preparation and defence of the Master’s thesis, which is based on own supervised research.
Target Group
Graduates in forestry or other related disciplines (e.g., agriculture, biology).