Graduate Program Overview - School of Forest Resources

Graduate PRograms

Students with Dr. Fraver studying in the forest.

At any given time, the School of Forest Resources is home to over 80 graduate students pursuing graduate degrees in various areas related to forest resources. With our first master’s student graduating in 1956, the SFR has graduated over 80 Master of Forestry, 141 Master of Science and 125 Ph.D. students as of August 2019! Many of our graduates have become prominent scientists, faculty members and professionals in their areas of specialty.

Our Advantage

Excelling in the academic world for such a long time could not have been achieved without building on a sound foundation. The research and innovation at the SFR has evolved over the years going through global transitions in research questions and societal needs, contributing to our present knowledge and technology. Relying on this robust foundation, the SFR graduate students learn how to use top-notch unparalleled research equipment, technology and facilities unique to the University of Maine. Our graduate faculty are among the top scientists and researchers in the nation with research contributions going beyond national borders.

Frequently Asked Questions

You should form your graduate committee by the end of the first year of your graduate studies (second semester), and your committee will be formalized when you fill out your Program of Study form (forms for Master’s and PhD students are attached). You can drop or add a committee member later or add and remove courses by submitting the change in POS form.

Please see the attached document for the newly updated SFR PhD, MS and MF program requirements. Please copy and paste the program requirement statement (BLACK text for the relevant program) in your POS form and avoid changing or removing parts of the requirements. If you don’t have transferred courses or not graduating with a concentration, remove the statement related to those sections. For PhD, MS and MF programs, you can transfer 9 and 6 credits, respectively, from another graduate program but courses should not have exceeded the time limit prescribed for a particular program (MS six years and PhD eight years). For the PhD program, all work including coursework and comprehensive exams should be completed in 4 years from admission. Please see the attached 2025 SFR graduate handbook for the SFR MS and PhD concentration names and requirements.

Master’s students are required to have a minimum of three committee members. PhD students are required to have at least five committee members (one of them should be external to the SFR). Normally your primary advisor will serve as the chair of your committee. You may have one additional co-advisor on your committee if needed.

No, you can have committee members from other departments or universities. For the SFR PhD program as explained above, at least one member should be external to SFR. Note that the non SFR committee members can be researchers in government, in industry, or at other UMaine campuses or universities. However, a committee member is not SFR or UMaine full time faculty, they must be formally appointed as a member of the UMaine Graduate Faculty (see the details of how to do this below).

If a committee member is not a UMaine graduate faculty already, please send your external committee member’s CV to me and Amy. We will review the proposed external committee member’s qualifications and if approved, we’ll complete the required paperwork with the Graduate School. Based on the member affiliations, they may be assigned as external/UMS/associate/ or emeritus graduate faculty and can serve on your committee.

Many OPtions to Choose

Our graduate students work closely with leading experts in their field and conduct research in Maine’s North Woods, in state-of-the-art laboratories, or at a number of locations around the world. Nearly all of our MS and Ph.D. graduate students are financially supported with graduate assistantships and paid tuition. Students may choose from a wide range of specialties, including:

Forest ecology and management
Tree biology and physiology
Nature-based recreation and tourism
Natural resources economics
Forest operations science and engineering
Forest-based bioproducts and wood science technology

Student takes diameter at breast height.

Master of Forestry

The University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources offers a program of graduate study leading to a Master of Forestry (MF) degree. The MF program is a professional, non-thesis master’s program. The MF program prepares students for a rewarding career in forest management by enhancing the abilities of professional foresters with prior experience and by allowing a career change for non-foresters.

Master of Forestry Program

M.S. in Forest Resources

The University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources offers a program of graduate study leading to a Master of Science in Forest Resources (MS) degree. Students earning a MS in Forest Resources are expected to complete a thesis on original research that can be submitted to a scientific journal for publication.

M.s. in Forest Resources Program

Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Resources (Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. in Forest Resources is the highest academic degree offered requiring students with excellent academic records and experience. Students are expected to design and complete a dissertation on original research that can be published as several scientific journals papers.

Ph.D. In FOrest Resources Program

graduate Program Contact

Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran
Associate Professor of Remote Sensing of Natural Resources
School of Forest Resources
University of Maine
215 Nutting Hall, Rm. 201B
Orono, ME 04469-5755
207.581.2813
parinaz.rahimzadeh@maine.edu