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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Your college experience is about more than the classroom. Join one of 65+ clubs and organizations, or create your own.
See the world via Williamsport. Take your education abroad and get hands-on experience learning about your industry on a global scale.
Internships are key for career preparation. Apply your knowledge to the workplace and learn about the industry first-hand.
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.
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
Uniforms and tools are available for purchase through The College Store.
Graduate Data from December 2014 through May 2019:
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.
Penn College graduates are in high demand. Employer participation at the Career Fair is proof. Attracting 400+ organizations, this popular event is hosted twice per year and introduces students to all types of businesses from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
