Forest ranger education requirements

Q: What degree do you need to be a forest ranger?

You need an associate's degree to be a forest ranger. The educational requirements to become a forest ranger vary depending on the specific duties of the job you are applying for, but most forest rangers have earned either an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree. To prepare for a career as a forest ranger, you should study something related to either forestry or wildlife. Some good degree options are forestry, conservation, or environmental science. Typically, the higher your education, the more job opportunities you will have available to you. Some forest ranger jobs can be very competitive. For example, working for the U.S. Forest Service can be a challenging job to obtain. They specifically look for candidates with higher degrees and degrees in a specialty related to either wildlife or forestry. The National Park Service requires their park rangers to have at least a bachelor's degree. If the degree is not in a specialty specific to the job, then you will need to have completed a certain number of hours of coursework in related areas of study.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a forest ranger. Forest rangers usually study forestry, criminal justice, or environmental science. 49% of forest rangers hold a bachelor's degree, and 33% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 120 real forest ranger resumes to see exactly what forest ranger education sections show.

The most common colleges for forest rangers are the University of Maine and the University of Maine.

There are also many online forest ranger courses to help get the education required to be a forest ranger.

What education do you need to become a forest ranger?

What degree do you need to be a forest ranger?

The most common degree for forest rangers is bachelor's degree, with 49% of forest rangers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 33% and associate degree degree at 11%.

Bachelor's, 49%

Associate, 33%

High School Diploma, 11%

Master's, 3%

Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a forest ranger?

You should major in forestry to become a forest ranger. 23% of forest rangers major in forestry. Other common majors for a forest ranger include criminal justice and environmental science.

Forestry, 23%

Criminal Justice, 12%

Environmental Science, 10%

General Studies, 8%

Other Majors, 47%

Most common colleges for forest rangers

Forest rangers often get their degrees at University of Maine, Western Washington University, and Syracuse University. Here are the most common colleges for forest rangers in the US based on their resumes.

Forest ranger common college	Percentages
University of Maine	9.52%
Western Washington University	4.76%
Syracuse University	4.76%
Western Illinois University	4.76%
New York University	4.76%

Show more common forest ranger colleges

Best majors for forest rangers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Forestry	23.3%
2	Criminal Justice	11.7%
3	Environmental Science	10.0%
4	General Studies	8.3%
5	Fire Science And Protection	6.7%

Show more common forest ranger majors

Best colleges for forest rangers

The best colleges for forest rangers are Duke University, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University.

A forest ranger with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for forest rangers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become forest rangers.

1. North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$9,101

Enrollment

23,708

2. University of California - Davis

Davis, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,402

Enrollment

30,698

3. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

6. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

8. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

9. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

10. Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$14,704

Enrollment

9,447

20 best online courses for forest rangers

Advertising disclosure

1. The Effect of Fires on People, Property and the Environment

Fires impact people, property and the environment in all countries around the world. In some cases, the resulting losses are extraordinary, causing hundreds of deaths, widespread damage to property and contents and significant impacts on the environment. More often, fires may cause a single casualty or affect a single home, though the effects are still highly significant to those affected and collectively are substantial. This course will provide an overview of the challenges posed by fire as...

2. ERPO: A Civil Approach to Gun Violence Prevention Teach-Out

Evidence shows that 1 life is saved for every 10-20 Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) issued. ERPOs are legally issued civil orders that allow people on the front lines to ask a court to prevent a person at imminent risk of harm to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing firearms during a critical period of risk. As of October 2020, ERPO laws have been enacted by nineteen states and the District of Columbia and while some aspects differ by state, the general process for applying...

3. Fire Safety and Prevention Planning

4.4

(1,467)

Become an expert in understanding Fire Safety and Prevention Planning for your workplaces and organizations...

4. NEBOSH FIRE SAFETY

4.4

(252)

Managing Fire Safety in Workplace...

5. Infection Prevention in Nursing Homes

Learn about the role of environment in disease transmission and how to implement standard and transmission-based precautions to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and other infections in your facility...

6. Major Depression in the Population: A Public Health Approach

Public Mental Health is the application of the principles of medicine and social science to prevent the occurrence of mental and behavioral disorders and to promote mental health of the population. This course illustrates the principles of public health applied to depressive disorder, including principles of epidemiology, transcultural psychiatry, health services research, and prevention. It is predicted that by 2020 depressive disorder will be the most important cause of disease burden in the...

7. Basic Fire Safety Awareness

4.3

(776)

Basic Fire Safety Awareness - Your Gateway towards Career in Fire Safety...

8. Fire Safety: Become A Fire Safety Expert

4.3

(484)

Become an expert in Fire Safety, Fire Hazards Control, Fire Evacuation Plans, and Fire Risk Assessment...

9. Systems Thinking In Public Health

This course provides an introduction to systems thinking and systems models in public health. Problems in public health and health policy tend to be complex with many actors, institutions and risk factors involved. If an outcome depends on many interacting and adaptive parts and actors the outcome cannot be analyzed or predicted with traditional statistical methods. Systems thinking is a core skill in public health and helps health policymakers build programs and policies that are aware of and...

10. Mantaflow Fire & Smoke Simulation Guide in Blender

4.7

(335)

Learn everything there is to know about the Fire and Smoke Simulation in Blender!...

11. Sales Fire: B2B Sales & Business Development for Startups

4.6

(584)

The Ultimate Sales Methodology for Business Development & B2B Sales to Learn Sales Strategy, Sales Skills & Deal Closing...

12. Build Powerful Compliance Programs & Prevent Corporate Fraud

4.4

(289)

Learn everything you need to know to build an effective and powerful compliance culture and prevent corporate fraud...

13. Fire Starter Sessions Video Workshop with Danielle LaPorte

(1,189)

Strengthen your voice. Prioritize what's sacred. Define success — on your own terms. For Creatives & Entrepreneurs...

14. Preventing Workplace Harassment 101

4.6

(5,746)

Avoid inappropriate or questionable conduct and respond properly to harassment situations...

15. Preventing and Surviving an Active Shooter Incident

4.5

(4,367)

Active Shooter/Violent Intruder Prevention and Response...

16. Social Media Crisis Prevention

4.2

(277)

Get practical skills to protect your reputation and your organization against a social media meltdown...

17. Occupational Health & Safety Training

4.4

(1,198)

Workplace Health and Safety Course For Employees & Managers...

18. Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, India 2013

4.5

(827)

A complete guide to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment at workplaces in India. Detailed overview on Sexual...

19. OSHA Workplace Safety (General Industry 6 Hr Class)

4.5

(2,583)

Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...

20. Press Coverage, Publicity & Public Relations For Branding

4.3

(496)

Public relations to reach 100,000+ people with influencer marketing, publicity, and press coverage for personal branding...

Top 10 most affordable universities for forest rangers

The most affordable schools for forest rangers are University of Florida, california state university - los angeles, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for forest rangers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for forest rangers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

8. John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,270

Cost of attendance

14,177

9. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

10. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Cost of attendance

25,275

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for forest rangers

The hardest universities for forest rangers to get into are Duke University, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University.

Some great schools for forest rangers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for forest rangers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,516

2. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,448

3. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,517

4. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

Admissions rate

30%

SAT average

1,339

5. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

6. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

7. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

8. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

Admissions rate

49%

SAT average

1,347

9. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

10. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

Admissions rate

47%

SAT average

1,390

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for forest rangers

The easiest schools for forest rangers to get into are Wayland Baptist University, curry college, and saint joseph's college of maine.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a forest ranger without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for forest rangers.

1. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

2. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

3. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

4. University of Maine at Fort Kent

Fort Kent, ME • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

1,005

5. Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,099

6. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

7. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

8. Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

67%

SAT average

987

9. William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

994

10. Midwestern State University

Wichita Falls, TX • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,033

Average forest ranger salary by education level

According to our data, forest rangers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $47,427 annually. Forest rangers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $47,200.

Forest ranger education level	Forest ranger salary
Master's Degree	$47,427
High School Diploma or Less	$36,010
Bachelor's Degree	$47,200
Some College/ Associate Degree	$42,971

Forest ranger education FAQs

What degree do you need to be a forest ranger?

What is the best college for Forest Rangers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common protective service questions.

Search for forest ranger jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse protective service jobs