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2025 Best Forestry Schools

36 Colleges in the United States
2,247 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$43,802 Avg Early-Career Salary
Forestry is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #189 out of the 395 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

College Factual looked at 36 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Forestry Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,247 degrees in forestry to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Forestry School

Best Forestry Schools The forestry program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Forestry rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for forestry schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Forestry Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Forestry
Bachelor's Degrees in Forestry
Master's Degrees in Forestry
Doctor's Degrees in Forestry

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Forestry Schools list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Forestry in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the forestry degree levels they offer.

10 Top Schools in Forestry

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Forestry Degrees Awarded
6.3% Growth in Graduates

North Carolina State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in forestry. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 112 forestry students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the forestry major at North Carolina State University make $17,340 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in forestry from North Carolina State University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WA

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in forestry. UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 forestry students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in forestry from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BS in Environmental Science - Natural Resources & Conservation Program Name

Develop a broad-based interdisciplinary skill set to solve complex environmental problems like climate change, alternative energy and sustainability with a specialized online degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BS in Environmental Science - Natural Resources & Conservation from Southern New Hampshire University
3
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$45,817 Median Starting Salary

Virginia Tech is a great option for students interested in a degree in forestry. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 109 forestry students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Those forestry students who get their degree from Virginia Tech make $2,015 more than the average forestry student.

More information about a degree in forestry from Virginia Tech

4
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
173 Forestry Degrees Awarded
31.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Florida is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in forestry. UF is a very large public university located in the city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #56 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were about 173 forestry students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the forestry program make about $40,013 for their early career.

More information about a degree in forestry from University of Florida

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
57 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$56,550 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Corvallis, Oregon State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 29 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oregon.

There were about 57 forestry students who graduated with this degree at Oregon State in the most recent year we have data available. Those forestry students who get their degree from Oregon State University earn $12,748 more than the average forestry graduate.

More information about a degree in forestry from Oregon State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
7.1% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were about 14 forestry students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in forestry from University of California - Davis

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
73 Forestry Degrees Awarded
2.7% Growth in Graduates

UGA is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 73 forestry students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the forestry major at University of Georgia make $2,759 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in forestry from University of Georgia

8
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$51,421 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Auburn, Auburn is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Alabama.

There were roughly 39 forestry students who graduated with this degree at Auburn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the forestry program at Auburn University make $7,619 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in forestry from Auburn University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
40 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$55,092 Median Starting Salary

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were roughly 40 forestry students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Forestry degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo get an earnings boost of approximately $11,290 over the typical earnings of forestry graduates.

More information about a degree in forestry from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Forestry Degrees Awarded
$41,177 Median Starting Salary

UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Stevens Point. This university ranks 35th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were approximately 60 forestry students who graduated with this degree at UW - Stevens Point in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, forestry degree recipients usually earn about $41,177 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in forestry from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Forestry by Region

View the Best Forestry Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Forestry is one of 5 different types of Natural Resources & Conservation programs to choose from.

Forestry Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Forestry, General 908
Forest Sciences & Biology 387
Forest Technology/Technician 324
Forest Management/Forest Resources Management 300
Forestry, Other 115
Wood Science & Wood Products/Pulp & Paper Technology 100
Urban Forestry 73
Forest Resources Production & Management 40

View All Forestry Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation 22,926
Natural Resource Management 3,039
Wildlife Management 2,446
Fisheries Sciences 506
Natural Resources Conservation (Other) 152

View All Forestry Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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