Click here to edit using the old editor
{"available": "entirely", "availability": {"status": {"Recruiting Status 23/24":"RP 23/24","Recruiting Status 24/25":"RP 24/25","Recruiting Status 22/23":"RP 22/23"}, "dates": [{"name":"September 2023","month":"September","year":2023},{"name":"September 2024","month":"September","year":2024},{"name":"September 2022","month":"September","year":2022}]}}

BSc (Hons) - Forestry (Top-up)

Looking to develop a career where you protect the world around you every day? Our BSc Forestry Top-Up degree course provides a path into the forestry profession so you gain all the practical know-how to work in a truly worthwhile and rewarding sector.

And, from our campus in Ambleside, you’ll have the opportunity to study in woodlands managed for conservation, timber production and social benefits - all within easy access.

Apply
Book an Open Day


Accredited by:

Accreditation logo

Institute of Chartered Foresters

Forestry (Top-up) cover image

Course Overview

Study professional forestry at our National School of Forestry in the iconic Lake District National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site just minutes from our Ambleside Campus. Gain the skills to start a career in a sector crucial for biodiversity, society and the economy, with a pathway into the National School of Forestry.

On this course you will...

  • Develop hands-on skills with our 150 hours of work experience.
  • Get accredited by the Institute of Chartered Foresters.
  • Use the latest forestry technology, such as remote sensing and drones during your studies, to enhance your employability.
  • Benefits from our more than 50 years' experience educating and training professional and award-winning foresters.
  • Boost your employability through our excellent links with the Royal Forestry Society, Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and many other forestry organisations.
Apply
Book an Open Day

Course Structure

What you will learn

The only course of this type in the UK, this course allows you to further your forestry skills and develop professionally. Our course is perfect for you if you already have an HND or Foundation Degree in forestry or arboriculture and want to upgrade your skills and knowledge to obtain a BSc Honours Degree. There is also the opportunity to gain professional accreditation through the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the forestry sector professional body.

Our National School of Forestry, based in the iconic Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the ideal place to explore the science and practice of managing forests. You'll live and learn on our friendly Ambleside campus, the only university campus in a national park, and also home to the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas.

Modules

Our unique modules allow you to benefit from the practical forestry management experience of our tutors and their high-quality applied research that informs our teaching, your learning and aims to bring about positive change in the natural world.

Year one
  • Dissertation
    You will develop objectives for a self-selected business; evaluate in a structured way the impacts upon a business and plan the resources requires. You will learn to apply a range of business tools and how to write and present a business plan.
  • Forest Management Planning
    This module provides opportunity for students to engage in a systematic and integrated approach to objective-led forest management planning in accordance with the principles and criteria of sustainable forest management.
  • Business Skills
    You will develop objectives for a self-selected business; evaluate in a structured way the impacts upon a business and plan the resources requires. You will learn to apply a range of business tools and how to write and present a business plan.
  • Woodland Conservation (Optional)
    Comparing the concept of conservation to those of ecology and sustainability. Examining how British Romanticism inspired by the English Lake District landscape contributed to the start of the conservation movement alongside with developments in the USA.
  • Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing (Optional)
    The aim of this module is to provide students with the skills and knowledge to plan and implement projects using GIS and remote sensing to solve issues in the fields of conservation and natural resources management.
  • Advanced Silviculture (Optional)
    This module aims to develop further your understanding of silvicultural practices and their role in ensuring the productive and sustainable management of forests across a range of objectives in both temperate and tropical regions.

Attend an Open Day at Cumbria

An Open Day is your opportunity to explore one of 5 campuses, meet your lecturers, and find out how the University of Cumbria could become your new home.

Take the next step towards achieving your dreams.
A student stands in front of a wall splattered with paint.