Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources
The Department of Urban Forestry and Natural Resources at Southern University offers a Bachelor of Science, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Urban Forestry. Various minor options are available to students including GIS Application, Urban Forestry and Arboriculture, Urban Forest Science or Management, and Urban Agriculture and Community Garden Development.
The central theme of our instruction is that urban forests are essential to our society, and their scientific management is necessary to ensure a sustainable flow of commodity and non-commodity benefits from urban forest ecosystems for the well-being of the citizens of the State of Louisiana and the nation.
The Urban Forestry curricula are designed to prepare graduates who can evaluate, plan, and resolve problems of urban forest ecosystem and contribute to the environmental well-being of urban societies.
The Urban Forestry curricula provide students with knowledge and techniques to manage the nation’s urban and community forests and opportunities to pursue advanced degree studies in many areas of urban forest management, forest ecology, ecosystem assessment, arboriculture, urban hydrology, tree physiology and anatomy, urban tree entomology and pathology, GIS applications, urban soil and wetland, and many other related areas.
The Urban Forestry Program at SU is the most comprehensive Urban Forestry Higher Education Program in the nation and has been recognized as a leader in graduating the diverse, talented next generation of urban forestry and natural resources professionals for the country. The Urban Forestry Program is a non-duplication program in the State of Louisiana and has been designated as Department of Excellence through Faculty Excellence by the LA Board of Regents.The faculty members have strong academic profiles with expertise in many critical areas of urban forestry and natural resources.
The Department has strong partnerships with the local, state, federal and national entities including USDA-NIFA and Forest Service, Society of American Foresters (SAF), International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), etc. through which many internships are available. Many assistantship and scholarship and internship opportunities exist for students pursuing urban forestry degrees.
The graduates are contributing to the workforce in urban forestry and natural resources by being employed by cities, states, federal agencies, arboricultural and consulting companies, and higher education institutions.