Master’s in Management of Forestry Businesses

The Master's in Management of Forestry Businesses focuses on the business and organizational aspects of the forestry and timber industry with a view to strengthening management skills. The core forestry subjects are explored in more depth and supplemented by interdisciplinary qualifications and skills.

Objectives of the degree program:

Specialization and broadening of business management expertise

• e.g. accounting for forestry, taxes in agricultural and forestry operations, financing
• specialization in forest economics (e.g. profitability of tree species, forest investments...)
• comparisons of forestry businesses
• recruitment and human resources management
• internal and external financial reporting

Specialization of forestry expertise

• approaches to diversifying forestry operations (e.g. renewable energies, burials, CO2 credits, etc.)
• inventory sampling, logistics, silviculture
• legal aspects of forestry management and politics
• wildlife management

Additional skills

• project management (e.g. project acquisition, project controlling)
• setting up a business (e.g. founding your own company or taking over a business)
• communications and public relations

This 3-semester degree program consists of compulsory modules, the Master's thesis and elective modules which can be chosen from those offered by the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt or another university in Germany or abroad.

Teaching

The program is taught in a variety of formats, including

• lectures for imparting knowledge
• seminars to explore the subject matter in more depth
• exercises in seminar groups that transfer theoretical knowledge to practical application
• project work and term papers
• field trips

You will be allocated 18 weeks to write your Master's thesis.

The degree program is interdisciplinary; some of the lectures are held in cooperation with the Department of Business Administration at FH Erfurt.

After three semesters, the Master's program Management of Forestry Businesses leads to a second professional degree - a Master of Science (M. Sc.) in Forestry.

Our annual field trips include:

• Center Forst
• Die Waldmärker®
• EU commission and parliament
• Graf von Westphalen
• Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg administration
• Ehreshoven Castle
• Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds foundation 

Application period

• 15.05. until 15.09. of the current year to begin studying in the winter semester
• 01.02. until 15.03. of the current year to begin studying in the summer semester

Entry requirements

• An undergraduate degree or degree from a state or state-recognized university of cooperative education in a Bachelor's or Diplom program in the field of forest science, forestry, forest engineering or international forestry with at least 210 credit points and an average grade of 2.4
• Applicants with a final grade of between 2.5 and 3.0 must provide evidence of at least 12 months of professional experience in a forestry or timber business following their undergraduate degree
• This degree program is taught in German and therefore requires all students to have at least C1 level German skills. More information on applying to FH Erfurt as an international student can be found here.

When does the program begin?

You can begin this degree program either in the summer or winter semester.
The winter semester starts at the beginning of October.

The future is in your hands

The Master’s in “Management of Forestry Businesses” focuses on forestry operations, building on the knowledge acquired in the Bachelor's degree and supplementing it with specific forestry subjects. Particular attention is paid to economic issues that are highly relevant in a forestry operation. The Master's degree enables graduates to make decisions and manage a forestry business cost-effectively. This broadens the professional spectrum of the Master's degree compared to the Bachelor's, particularly for managerial and advisory work in the forestry and timber industry, research, politics and development aid.

Main areas of work for our graduates:

• management of public or private forestry businesses, forestry service and contracting companies, landscape management associations, etc.
• work in the higher forestry service of the federal states and German government
• management of forestry associations 
• independent advice and support for private forest owners
• independent freelance expert in the forestry and hunting sector
• managerial activities in medium-sized and industrial companies in the timber and paper industry as well as in associations and societies
• national and international management consultancies in the forestry and timber industry
• managerial positions in banks, insurance companies and companies involved in agricultural and forestry operations
• academic collaboration in research institutions, political parties and parliamentary groups
• environmental management in companies
• work in development aid and international organizations (e.g. FAO, World Bank)