Scholarships for forestry students offered by colleges and universities provide some of the best funding opportunities for students to pay for their tuition in school. These opportunities are only available to eligible students attending specific programs.
Unlike loans, scholarships are an incredible source of financial assistance for college students. Scholarship funds are free money given to students, which means you don’t have to pay them back over time.
This can vastly reduce financial stress, minimize student debt, support student performance, help you focus more on your studies, lead students to future job opportunities, etc. In this article, we will take a look at some scholarships that are available for forestry students.
Table of Contents
What is Forestry?
Forests cover one-third of the earth’s land mass, performing vital functions and supporting the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people. Forests are home to more than half of the world’s land-based species of animals, plants, and insects. Hence the study of forestry.
Forestry is the art and science of protecting, conserving, and managing forests, tree plantations, and natural resources. It is an applied science that uses biological, physical, ecological, social, political, and managerial sciences to protect, manage and conserve forests.
Forestry is an art because although the sciences ensure reliable information, it is up to the foresters to use their judgment and techniques to achieve the desired outcome from forests.
While forests have always been one of the key reasons ensuring human survival on this planet, the pressing issues of environmental change and resource depletion have made it more important than ever to handle forest resources effectively.
How forest studies help the Environment
Since forest ecosystems are incredibly important to the planet, the field of Forestry is just as important to the environment as it is for our communities and economy.
Forestry as a multi-disciplinary and complex profession involves the management of many values in addition to timber, including biodiversity, wildlife habitat, water quality, recreation, employment, and community stability.
Forestry can involve a more holistic study of the systems that provide us with natural resources or it can involve wide-ranging specializations.
Such specializations range from genetics to forest ecology, from wildfire science to climate change, from watershed management to fish and aquatic ecosystem management, from forest pathology to entomology, from plant biology to conservation and forest policy, from geographic information systems software to business modeling, and more.
Forest studies help us know the vital role the forest plays in the existence of life on Earth. Such as in the purification of the air we breathe, filtration of water to get potable water, prevention of erosion, and its activity as an important buffer against climate change.
Furthermore, forest studies avail us with the opportunity how to handle forest resources and species for conservation and preservation.
As many of the world’s most endangered animals depend on forests for their survival. Which is a substantial role in achieving a sustainable future
Benefits of Forest Scholarship
In today’s world, financial assistance is necessary for many university students, and scholarships are the most desirable form of financial aid. Several scholarships are based on merit, awarded as recognition for certain achievements, and other types are needs-based.
Either way, they are beneficial because they are seen as prestigious and can enhance your resume as well as help you pay for your education. Scholarships are given with the aim of no repayment unlike loans and are of benefit to the students. Some of the benefits are:
- Educational Benefit
- Financial Benefit
- Personal Benefit
- Career Benefit
1. Educational Benefit
Whereby the scholarship pays for the student’s education which reduces the risk of dropping out and not getting the degree.
2. Financial Benefit
Scholarships are essentially free money, students can instead focus on their careers instead of worrying about how they will repay their student loans. By removing financial barriers, scholarships make education and career goals easier to achieve.
3. Personal Benefit
The money and security afforded by having a scholarship allow students to be more selective regarding how they spend their free time.
Students can then use their time wisely and make the most of it. For example, instead of working at any minimum-wage job, you can find to support yourself, you can select work that is meaningful and also adds value to your degree.
4. Career Benefit
Earning a scholarship can make one a more attractive job candidate.
10 Scholarships for Forestry Students
Forestry scholarships offered by colleges and universities provide some of the best funding opportunities to pay for school. When you are opportune to get the right scholarship, you’re good to go towards achieving your career in forestry
Discussed in this section are some ample forestry funding scholarship programs.
- Applied Forest Ecology Scholarship
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Kentucky
- Consortium Scholarship
- Oregon State University Scholarship
- Private Scholarships in Forestry
- Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau Scholarships
- Southern Wood Council
- Pacific Forest Foundation Scholarship
- Northland Wood Council – Northpine Scholarship
- Rayonier Student Scholarship
1. Applied Forest Ecology Scholarship
The Ecological Society of Australia and an anonymous donor are providing an honors or Masters level student scholarship in the field of applied forest conservation science.
The scholarship supports a student conducting research into issues important to the management and sustainability of forests.
The award covers terrestrial and freshwater ecology and is open to both field and lab-based work. Projects which include social or economic components are welcome.
Preference is also given to projects addressing the conservation of broad suites of species or ecosystem processes rather than studies of single focal species.
The scholarship amount is $3,500, of which $2,000 is to fund research costs and up to $1,500 is to cover travel, registration, and accommodation costs for the successful applicant to attend the ESA annual conference to present the findings of their research.
Applications are open between November 1 and February 28 annually.
2. Department of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Kentucky
The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources offers several scholarships specifically for forestry students, offering them the opportunity to offset costs and focus on their education.
In addition to awards provided by the department, students can also find a list of forestry award opportunities in Kentucky and nationwide. Applicants for this scholarship must show interest in working in the forestry or wood industry.
3. Consortium Scholarships
The consortium offers scholarships for European Union and Non-European Union candidates applying for forestry. The number of intakes and amount of scholarships is fixed according to the fund availability.
It is not a fully funded scholarship, however, the scholarship includes tuition fees (up to 9000€ / year, valid for 2 years), Free Health insurance, travel of about 500€, and monthly allocation for living and housing (200-300€/month). The scholarship is awarded according to the candidate’s Curriculum Vitae quality and motivation.
4. Oregon State University Scholarship (OSU)
Oregon State University’s College of Forestry awards more than half a million dollars in scholarship funding each year for post-baccalaureate learners. Eligible students must maintain full-time enrollment, and the College of Forestry must be listed as their primary college and must also maintain at least a 3.0 GPA to keep their funding.
The department opens the application for this scholarship on November 1st and closes it on February 15th annually.
5. Private Scholarships in Forestry
Several private awards exist, besides scholarships awarded by individual colleges and universities and they can be used at many different schools. Nonprofit organizations, community foundations, professional associations, and other socially-focused groups offer these awards.
While more competitive than college awards, the applicant pool is usually smaller than a more populated program area, such as a business. This scholarship is available in Missouri institutions, for students that are working towards a graduate program in forestry, fisheries, wildlife, parks and recreation, or soil and water conservation.
6. Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau Scholarships
Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau (Forestry Scholarships) offers an amazing opportunity for anyone considering studying forestry science, forest engineering, or forest management next year. It is a fully funded scholarship.
7. Southern Wood Council
The Southern Wood Council Forest Products Scholarship is for a student from the Otago/Southland region who is enrolled in the Bachelor of Forestry Science or Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Forestry) degrees at the University of Canterbury or a Wood Processing related degree.
The scholarship has been set up by the forest products industry in the lower South Island to encourage and support outstanding students each year for their final three professional years of study.
The Scholarship is worth $1500 including GST per annum for the three final years of professional study (total scholarship value of $4,500 including GST).
In addition, if a Bachelor of Forestry Science or Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) student is required to complete a thesis or research project as part of their study, the Council will work with the student to try and find a suitable project from within the region. There may also be opportunities for summer vacation work with one of the Southern Wood Council member companies.
8. Pacific Forest Foundation Scholarship
This scholarship is open to students living in California, British Columbia, or New Zealand that plan to study forest engineering, forest management, forest operations management, or a related degree.
9. Northland Wood Council – Northpine Scholarship
Northland Wood Council scholarship is a scholarship sponsored by Northpine Ltd. It is available for students who enrolled in full-time study relevant to the forestry sector, or an employee within the industry who aspires to improve their skills, knowledge, and value to their employer with extra study with a cash grant of about $2000.
The scholarship started in 2020 and would be awarded annually to eligible candidates
10. Rayonier Student Scholarship
Each year Rayonier offers scholarships for students enrolled in either a Bachelor of Forestry Science or Forest Engineering degree. The scholarship provides financial support of up to $5,000 as well as student vacation work over the summer vacation period.
Incentives in the scholarship include living costs, summer vacation work (of between 10-14 weeks) at one of our 6 locations, assistance with accommodation and travel costs, dependent on location
Conclusion
Being awarded a full-tuition scholarship is the dream of most students because it comes with privileges beyond money, but it also comes with a very huge price.
You have to be at your very best because these scholarships are few and you’ll be having those that have a very high grade, leadership experience, plus extracurricular activities battling the same scholarship with you.
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Ahamefula Ascension is a Real Estate Consultant, Data Analyst, and Content writer. He is the founder of Hope Ablaze Foundation and a Graduate of Environmental Management in one of the prestigious colleges in the country. He is obsessed with Reading, Research and Writing.