Forest Technology
About this program
Imagine a career where you could spend your days outside? You can make this happen when you define your future in Forest Technology. This program takes a hands-on approach that prepares you for technical and mid-management positions in forestry production, wood processing, federal and state agencies, and manufacturing industries. Learn everything from GPS/GIS technology and data collection tools to botany and wildlife. And you’ll do it in our state-of-the-art Earth Science Center, experimental forest with 200 acres of timber, and fully equipped sawmill.
Forest Technology is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
Next steps...
You're on your way to becoming a tomorrow maker.
8,000
Square-Foot Sawmill
200
Acres of Timber
Opportunity to Earn 4 Certifications
Careers
- Forest fire control
- Wildlife habitat improvement
- Timber estimation, marking, and stand improvement
- Location and survey of forest property lines
- Government agencies
Courses
At Penn College, we believe your educational experience should go beyond specialized skills. Real-world ready means taking a broader approach that builds communication skills, inspires collaboration, and encourages exploration of arts, history, and science.
Specialization requires in-depth knowledge and high-level proficiency. Students learn and apply major-specific concepts, skills, and methods.
- Dendrology (FOR111)
- Forest Mensuration (FOR113)
- Forestry Equipment & Safety Operation (FOR103)
- Forest Surveying I (FOR120)
- Photogrammetry (FOR122)
- Advanced Forest Mensuration (FOR124)
- Forest Ecology (FOR127)
- Forest Products (FOR210)
- Forest Surveying II (FOR232)
- An Introduction to GIS/GPS (FOR243)
- Silviculture (FOR236)
- Forest Protection (FOR250)
- Timber Harvesting & Equipment (FOR252)
- Wildlife Management (FOR245)
- Forest Recreation (FOR237)
- Forest Land Management (FOR249)
Perspectives are points of view, offering a variety of ways of understanding, interacting, and influencing the world. Students identify, explain, and utilize the approaches used by academics and professionals to study, analyze, or understand problems, and offer solutions.
Foundations are the practical, intellectual, and social skills: communication, collaboration, critical and ethical thinking, quantitative thinking, and technological literacy that are crucial to every student at every stage of education and at every stage of life.
- English Composition I (ENL111)
- Information, Technology & Society (CSC124)
- English Composition II (ENL121) or
- Technical & Professional Communication (ENL201) or
- Fundamentals of Speech (SPC101) or
- Interpersonal Communication (SPC201)
- Technical Algebra & Trigonometry I (MTH123) or
- College Algebra & Trigonometry I (MTH181)
Featured Video
Virtual Tour
Get a glimpse of the Schneebeli Earth Science Center. As a student in the forest technology program, you’ll spend much of your time here. The ESC, just 20 minutes from campus, is located on over 400 acres of the “great outdoors.” Explore the trail system, a pond and a fully functioning mill.
Facilities
Earth Science Center
Gain real-world experience at our Earth Science Center where you’ll work in three experimental forest sites, which are home to 785 acres of timber. And our 8,000-square-foot sawmill houses lots of industry equipment like a dehumidification dry kiln, dozer, John Deere 440C skidder, CAT D3 skidder dozer, John Deer 380 forklift, and a 2011 tandem International logging truck with Prentice loader.
Student Experience
Katalynn interned on a reservation, helping the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Rocky Mountain Region assess woodlands within a 445,000-acre reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.
"I was out in the wild all summer, interacting with trees and wildlife! There aren’t many majors that provide that – let alone the chance to have an internship in such raw country.”
Katalynn Thomas
Forest Technology
Tour Schedule
Seeing is believing.
Think Penn College might be a good fit for you? Make plans to visit and discover what hands-on learning is all about.
Mar 1
Undergraduate Open House
Saturday, March 19 AM - 3 PM
Apr 6
Undergraduate Open House
Sunday, April 69 AM - 3 PM
Industry Partners
Work with experts to become an expert
Penn College's strong partnerships impact every step of your journey – from your first day in the classroom and labs, to career placement (oftentimes before graduation) and beyond.
SAF-Accredited
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) has awarded Penn College’s Forest Technology program re-accreditation through 2031. Penn College is one of only two SAF-accredited Forest Technology programs in Pennsylvania, and one of only 24 nationally recognized SAF-accredited Forest Technology program in the United States.
Student Life
Lead and put your skills to the test
Forestry Club
Organize and participate in social, leadership, and professional activities related to careers in forestry. Members plan and participate in college and community service projects, fundraising, and the Woodmen’s Competition.
Student Organizations at Penn College
Your college experience is about more than the classroom. Join one of 65+ clubs and organizations, or create your own.
Penn College News
Monday, December 9, 2024
Penn College students receive PLNA scholarships
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Lost hikers? Emergency managers are all in
Sunday, October 20, 2024
October's recruitment harvest continues
Study Abroad
Gain global experience
See the world via Williamsport. Take your education abroad and get hands-on experience learning about your industry on a global scale.
Internship
Your knowledge in practice
Internships are key for career preparation. Apply your knowledge to the workplace and learn about the industry first-hand.
Student Experience
The community as their classroom
Forestry students tour lumberyard in heart of Appalachian hardwoods
Forestry students recently traveled to Bingaman & Son Lumber Inc. for an industry tour. Students learned about the process from beginning to end, starting with receiving green lumber from over 100 different sawmills to sorting, grading, stickering, kiln drying and secondary manufacturing, finishing with a tour of a facility that thermally modifies wood to be resistant to natural decay. The process, an emerging technology employed by only a handful of businesses in the U.S., allows Pennsylvania hardwoods to be used in high-performance outdoor applications for which they traditionally have not been selected.
More Information
The educational program in Forest Technology leading to an Associate of Applied Science in Forest Technology is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
This major is subject to the transfer standards established by the College (see http://www.pct.edu/catalog/TransferringCredits ). Exceptions must be approved by the school dean.
View the Forest Technology Required Tools
Uniform/Safety Protection
- Leather work gloves
- Safety glasses
- Safety toe boots
- Stihl Arborist Birch Orange Hard Hat Helmet with Ear Defenders & Visor
Uniforms and tools are available for purchase through The College Store.
Graduate Data from December 2014 through May 2019:
- Forest Technology has had 122 graduates, and a 93.8% placement rate.
- The Forest Technology graduation rate is 63%.
- Average starting salary as reported by graduates is $32,440.
Alternative Credit refers to academic credits earned through means other than traditional college course completion, including: credit by exam, articulation, proof of competency gained in high school, work/life experience, and advanced placement.
Visit the Alternative Credit Options page for requirements and procedures and for information on credit through Advanced Placement.
- Mr. Doug Beaulieu, Forester, Wagner Lumber, LLC.
- Ms. Renee Carey, Executive Director, Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy
- Mr. Gerald L Hoy, '02, Forester, PA DCNR, Bureau of Forestry
- Ms. Sarah E Johnson, Northern Area Forest Health Specialist, PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry
- Mr. Jeffrey Liedtka, '07, Vice President of Forestry Operations, King's Sawmill, Inc.
- Mr. Brian A Rider, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association
- Mr. Scott Shaffer, VP of Yard Operations, Bingaman & Son Lumber
- Ms. Amy Shields, Executive Director, Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group
- Mr. Ray Wheeland, Owner, Wheeland Lumber Company, Inc.
- Mr. Curtis Wolfhope, '91, '92, Sales Representative, Lewis Lumber Products, Inc.
