MSc in Forest and Nature Management
As a graduate from the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management, you are an expert on forest and nature management. You have completed a modern and international management course which enables you to develop the world’s forests and natural areas in a sustainable manner.
Animals, plants, humans and the climate are all dependent on nature. This is where, among other things, we get clean drinking water, timber for building materials and find space for outdoor activities.
You have the competences required to lead the way towards sustainable development.
The language of the study programme is English.
Read interviews with student Jakob Svendsen-Tune and student Anne Sophie Freltoft Knudsen.
Content:
Admission requirements
Profile
Career opportunities
Structure
Teaching
Student life
Application
Contact
To get admitted to the MSc programme, you must have a degree from a relevant BSc programme.
The following BSc programmes at the University of Copenhagen give direct access to the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management:
• Natural Resources (core module course in Nature Management)
• Natural Resources (core module course in Environmental Science)
• Forestry and landscape engineer
The following BSc programmes may give access to the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management if courses on economics, ecology and social sciences form part of the BSc programme (see link to specific admission requirements below):
• Natural Resources (core module course in Horticultural Sciences)
• Animal Science
• Landscape Architecture
• Agricultural Economics
• Biology-Biotechnology
Other BSC degrees in natural science may also give access. Read more about the specific admission requirements here.
Graduates from the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management are sought-after, and the programme offers plenty of opportunity for making a career in Denmark as well as abroad.
If you choose this programme, you acquire competences which:
- Enable you to manage forest and natural areas in a way which does not impact the environment and the climate
- Prepare you for advising and managing companies engaging in production based on natural resources in a way which offers a financial profit as well as takes the environment into account
- Enable you to contribute, by means of legislation, to finding a sustainable balance between ecology, economy and the global community’s need and requirement for forest and natural areas
What competences will I acquire?
The programme also provides you with knowledge and tools within, for example:
- Forest biology, soil and ecological cycles
- Economy, management and the rules and legislation which govern our use of forests and nature
- Strategic and holistic management, planning and administration
- How to take responsibility and turn ideas and visions into action
- How to collaborate and negotiate to resolve conflict
- The programme provides good opportunities for study stays abroad
Graduates from the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management find employment in both the public and private sectors and can work with forestry, nature and the environment worldwide, e.g. you can work:
- As a head of section or head of division in a ministry, e.g. the Danish Ministry of the Environment
- With nature and the environment in the municipalities
- As a nature and environmental manager in the municipalities
- With managing and implementing nature restoration projects
- As a nature interpreter or within other types of communication in the natural area
- With sustainable management and project management in private companies, e.g. within corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- As a project manager in consultancy firms
- As a forest supervisor or master of forestry in a private forest or state forest district
- As a forestry consultant on private forest properties in Denmark and abroad
- Within research and education at universities and other institutions of higher education
Structure
The programme consists of compulsory courses, thematic courses, elective courses and a thesis. You will also have the opportunity for internships or own study trips during your studies.
In your first year, you follow a thematic course which focuses on forest and nature ecology and how to handle this. You learn about the functions of forests and nature, and you use your knowledge to solve real-life cases.
On another thematic course, you, as part of a team, develop a long-term plan for handling a selected area.
Six months have been reserved for elective courses, which gives you the chance to target your programme within the subject areas that you find interesting. You can, for example, develop your competences within economics, tropical forestry, management and communication.
Excursions and field work constitute major elements of the programme. This allows you to learn to solve problems in, for example, private companies or organisations. You can also choose volunteer work, or you can take part of your programme abroad.
Thematic courses
In block 1, your theme is the ecology and operation of forests and natural areas. Here, you learn about the functions of forests and nature, and you convert your knowledge into practice by studying specific examples from the real world and preparing a plan for future sustainable operation.
There will be excursions and a study trip during which you will gain an insight into what problems look like in practice and how they are solved.
Later on in the programme, you will follow the thematic course ‘Sustainable Forest and Natural Resource Management’.
The course reviews all the knowledge which you have acquired and which you need to combine with a view to preparing a long-term general plan for the management of a given area.
Compulsory courses
During the programme, you must follow the courses:
- Applied Forest and Natural Resource Economics
- Natural Resource Sampling and Modelling
- Conflict Management
- Project Management*
- Innovation, Strategy and Leadership*
* One of the two courses must be passed.
These courses equip you with tools to handle issues at a high level from many angles.
Elective courses
You have six months of elective courses, which is your chance to build your personal profile according to your interests.
You can, for example, expand your programme with more economics, tropical forestry, management/human resources, landscape management or communication. You can take courses at the Faculty of Life Sciences, but you can also follow courses at other faculties or universities in Denmark or abroad.
Thesis
The thesis concludes the programme. You have six months to complete a project which, for example, can be based on a specific area, a company, a theory or a current issue.
You can write your thesis either on your own or in a group.
Once you have completed your thesis, you gain the title Master of Science (MSc) in Forest and Nature Management (in Danish: cand.silv.)
The programme is organised as follows:
*) One of the two courses must be passed.
A block is 9 weeks long and equals 15 ECTS.
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The dark fields are the compulsory courses |
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The medium-coloured field is the thesis |
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The light fields are elective courses |
Instruction is in the form of lectures, seminars, practical and theoretical exercises, and there will be a good deal of project work. You will be working both independently and in project groups.
There is a well-established collaboration with the business community that ensures excellent prospects for internships or project collaborations, providing you with a unique experience and a good network.
Student life at LIFE is absolutely unique – both with regard to the physical and the academic environment. The Gardens, which are part of the Frederiksberg Campus, are popular among both students and locals. In the summer months, you can drop by Café Væksthuset located in an old greenhouse for a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a delicious sandwich.
As a student, you can join student clubs and societies of a more or less academic nature. Regardless of whether you are interested in choral singing, sports, the theatre or a special academic subject, there is a club for you.
The faculty has a large number of international students who contribute to the dynamic and exciting student life. You will also have plenty of opportunity to travel abroad in connection with your studies.
Would you like to hear from a student what it is like to study on the MSc programme in Forest and Nature Management at LIFE? Then you can read interviews with student Jakob Svendsen-Tune and student Anne Sophie Freltoft Knudsen.
Applicants with a BSc degree from Denmark must apply before 1 April to start the programme the following September.
Applicants from Scandinavia, the EU and Lichtenstein must apply before 1 April to start the programme the following September.
Applicants from countries outside Scandinavia and the EU must apply by 1 January to start the programme the following September.
Tuition fees
Read more about application processes, tuition fees and scholarships.
You are always welcome to contact the faculty’s student counselling service, LIFE Student Services, if you have any questions about the programme, student life etc.
You can contact Student Services on tel. +45 3533 3533 or by email to .
Each spring, the faculty’s MSc programmes host open house events. At these events, you have the chance to meet directors of studies and students, who can tell you more about the programme.
Mikkel Oliver Stubgaard, - last update:9 February 2012