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Forest resource specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a forest resource specialist. Forest resource specialists usually study social sciences, wildlife management, or ecology, population biology, and epidemiology. 65% of forest resource specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an diploma. We analyzed 19 real forest resource specialist resumes to see exactly what forest resource specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for forest resource specialists are the Southern Methodist University and the Southern Methodist University.

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

What education do you need to become a forest resource specialist?

What degree do you need to be a forest resource specialist?

The most common degree for forest resource specialists is bachelor's degree, with 65% of forest resource specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are diploma degree at 12% and diploma degree at 6%.
  • Bachelor's, 65%
  • Diploma, 12%
  • Master's, 6%
  • Associate, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 11%

What should I major in to become a forest resource specialist?

You should major in social sciences to become a forest resource specialist. 25% of forest resource specialists major in social sciences. Other common majors for a forest resource specialist include wildlife management and ecology, population biology, and epidemiology.

Most common colleges for forest resource specialists

Forest resource specialists often get their degrees at Southern Methodist University, Purdue University, and Oklahoma State University. Here are the most common colleges for forest resource specialists in the US based on their resumes.
Forest resource specialist common collegePercentages
Southern Methodist University30.77%
Purdue University7.69%
Oklahoma State University7.69%
Indiana University South Bend7.69%
Appalachian State University7.69%

Best majors for forest resource specialists

Best colleges for forest resource specialists

The best colleges for forest resource specialists are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Vanderbilt University.

A forest resource specialist 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 resource specialists. 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 resource specialists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

2. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

3. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

5. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

6. North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$9,101

Enrollment

23,708

7. University of New Hampshire

Durham, NH • Private

In-state tuition

$18,499

Enrollment

12,668

8. Clemson University

Clemson, SC • Private

In-state tuition

$15,374

Enrollment

19,564

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

20 best online courses for forest resource specialists

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1. Tropical Forest Landscapes 101: Conservation & Restoration

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Conserving and restoring tropical forest landscapes offers an opportunity to address pressing environmental and social challenges. Effective conservation and restoration initiatives support multiple objectives, including ecosystem functioning, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security, and economic growth. This seven-week course explores the technical, social, and funding aspects of this timely topic. You will learn: 1. The importance of tropical forest landscapes and the actors...

2. Decision Tree and Random Forest Classification using Julia

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This guided project is about glass classification using decision tree classification and random forest classification in Julia. It is ideal for beginners who do not know what decision trees or random forests are because this project explains these concepts in simple terms. While you are watching me code, you will get a cloud desktop with all the required software pre-installed. This will allow you to code along with me. After all, we learn best with active, hands-on learning. Special features:...

3. Project Schedule: Monitor & Control Specialist (Accredited)

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4.6
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Schedule Management: Monitor & Control Schedule, Analyze Schedule, Solve Project Schedule Problems Earn CPDs & PDUs...

4. Project Charter Specialist (Accredited) Project Management

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4.6
(552)

What is Project Charter? Components? Template? Example? Document Project Charter? Project Charter Specialist Earn PDUs...

5. Manage Resources in Azure

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In this course, you will learn how to work with the Azure command line and web portal to create, manage, and control cloud-based resources. You will look at all three approaches to deploying cloud resources and how to make an informed decision about which one to leverage for your services. You'll also quickly look at the service models supported by Azure which can help you determine the services you should start with when planning out an Azure deployment. You will learn how to install the Azure...

6. Plant Bioinformatics Capstone

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The past 15 years have been exciting ones in plant biology. Hundreds of plant genomes have been sequenced, RNA-seq has enabled transcriptome-wide expression profiling, and a proliferation of "-seq"-based methods has permitted protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions to be determined cheaply and in a high-throughput manner. These data sets in turn allow us to generate hypotheses at the click of a mouse or tap of a finger. In Plant Bioinformatics on Coursera.org, we covered 33 plant-specific...

7. The Operations Management Training Program

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4.1
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Learn how to design, plan, direct, and improve all the activities that transform resources into goods or services...

8. Internal Controls - Design, Implementation and Monitoring

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Become a compliance specialist, maintain strong internal controls for SOX or FCPA, prepare for internal & external audit...

9. Manufacturing Operations - Planning, Management and Control

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Cutting-Edge Production Management Methods That Will Help You Outperform the Competition...

10. Project Management Office (PMO) Setup Guide

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PMO Step-by-Step Implementation Plan...

11. Operations Management: Supply Chains, Products and Services

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Master Supply Chain Management and Product and Service Development in Manufacturing and Service Organizations...

12. Master Course in Human Resources 2.0

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Strategic human resource management, strategic planning, recruiting, training, HR management,Labour welfare...

13. Product and Service Management

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Know the Work that is Involved in Getting a Product Onto the Shelf and a Service Ready for Effective Delivery...

14. ServiceNow IT Service Management (CIS - ITSM) Practice Tests

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Prepare for the Service Now Certified Implementation Specialist exam in IT Service Management (CIS-ITSM)...

15. Time Management And Goal Planning: The Productivity Combo

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The ultimate guide to time management hacks to effectively set and achieve your goals by empowering productive habits...

16. Certified Lean Specialist Lean Management (Accredited)

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Lean Management Lean Manufacturing Lean in Service Lean Specialist Lean Certification Lean Part 1 Earn PDUs...

17. Decision Trees, Random Forests, AdaBoost & XGBoost in Python

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Decision Trees and Ensembling techniques in Python. How to run Bagging, Random Forest, GBM, Ada Boost & XGBoost in Python...

18. Project Management - Complete Guide For A+ Project Managers

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Complete guide to project management - stakeholders, planning, cost, quality, risks, feasibility, methods & resourcing...

19. Certification Course in Human Resource Management

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Curriculum commensurate to Top B School's Management Program : with downloadable resources, quiz, assessments & exercise...

20. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

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Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

Top 10 most affordable universities for forest resource specialists

The most affordable schools for forest resource specialists are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for forest resource specialists 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 resource specialists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

5. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

8. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

9. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for forest resource specialists

The hardest universities for forest resource specialists to get into are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for forest resource specialists 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 resource specialists 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

6. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

8. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,448

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for forest resource specialists

The easiest schools for forest resource specialists to get into are Barry University, notre dame de namur university, and d'youville college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a forest resource specialist 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 resource specialists.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

4. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

5. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

6. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

7. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

8. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

9. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average forest resource specialist salary by education level

According to our data, forest resource specialists with a Bachelor's degree earn the highest average salary, at $58,838 annually. Forest resource specialists with a Associate degree earn an average annual salary of $57,897.
Forest resource specialist education levelForest resource specialist salary
High School Diploma or Less$53,555
Bachelor's Degree$58,838
Some College/ Associate Degree$57,897

Forest resource specialist education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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