Mountain Forestry

Mountain forests fulfil a multitude of functions worldwide. They are ecologically complex and biologically diverse, and one currently finds nearly half of the world’s biodiversity hot spots there. Plants and animals which have evolved in the isolation of mountains demonstrate a special adaptability to the extreme variability of the topography, climate and soils. Many mountain forests have thus reached a high degree of endemism.

With the establishment of a Master of Science in Mountain Forestry, BOKU, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, recognises the need for formal education in mountain research and science. The curriculum emphasises interdisciplinary work and learning by doing, and it fosters intercultural communication and team-work, participatory thinking and bottom-up approaches.

objectives:

• To provide a focussed and specialised education in managing mountain forest resources with a global perspective.
• To teach students to recognise and solve problems occurring in forest management and conservation in mountain regions.
• To strengthen interdisciplinary approaches in mountain forestry, integrating aspects of engineering, socio-economics, natural sciences and other subject-specific fields in mountain forest management.
• To provide methods and approaches appropriate for complex social and economic environments with special emphasis on developing countries.
• To strengthen international co-operation and to create a global network of mountain foresters.

Career prospects

As a graduate of the International Master's programme in Mountain Forestry students gain a wide range of technical, academic, and interpersonal skills enabling them to obtain top professional positions in both the national and international arena. Graduates are not only restricted to professional activities in highland or mountain regions but may be fully integrated into general forest sciences within research and development institutions, the public and private sector, non-government organisations or communitiy services. Graduates work in areas such as forest management, forest extension, wildlife management, forest policy and practice, research as well as administration.

Curriculum of Mountain Forestry

The first term will give you a general overview of issues relating to mountain forest management and science. The theoretical and practical background taught at this stage will form the basis for a better understanding of the subject. Working in teams, you will become familiar with typical working situations in mountain forestry.

In the second and third term you are learning to understand:

• the specific ecological situation of mountain forests
• the pressing forest and land use problems in mountain areas
• how to manage and restore mountain forests in a sustainable way

To summarise the lessons learnt and to demonstrate practical applications in the field, another field camp will take place. The main objective will be to learn how to manage specific technical or ecological problems in a sustainable way, while taking local people’s needs and requirements into account.

During the last term you will have time to finalise your thesis. While some students will conduct field-work in Austria during the summer, others will do research and fieldwork in their home countries. Seminars under the guidance of the respective supervisor will accompany this work and help you to find answers to questions which might arise during your field work and to get some feedback from our scientific staff as well as your fellow students. At the end of the term, all students will present their theses, and if their work is considered successfully completed, they will be awarded the degree "Master of Science in Mountain Forestry" ("MScMF").

Start of Mountain Forestry Courses
Winter Semester with 1st of October,
Summer Semester with 23rd of February

Admission period Winter Semester (=Allgemeine Zulassungsfrist) 10.09. - 12.10.2008

(additional period (Nachfrist): before 30.11.2008

Admission period Summer Semester (=Allgemeine Zulassungsfrist) 09.02 - 13.03.2009

(additional period (Nachfrist): before 30.04.2009