2024 Best Forestry Master's Degree Schools in California

When it comes to popularity, a master's degree in forestry sits in the middle of the road, ranking #182 out of 343 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Forestry Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 9 master's degrees in forestry to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on forestry students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other forestry students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt forestry students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized forestry related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for forestry students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Forestry Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Forestry Master's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Forestry in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in forestry.

Top California Schools for a Master's in Forestry

1

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

6 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a master's degree in forestry. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in forestry from University of California - Berkeley

2

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA

3 Annual Graduates

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in forestry. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in forestry from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Best Forestry Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Forestry Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	183	16
Oregon	158	24

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Rankings in Majors Related to Forestry

Forestry is one of 5 different types of Natural Resources & Conservation programs to choose from.

Forestry Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Forestry, General	9

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Natural Resources Conservation	419
Natural Resource Management	8

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Bureau of Land Management. More about our data sources and methodologies.