Forest Engineering
Pūhanga Ngahere
Qualifications
Overview
Forest engineering is a hybrid of engineering, forestry, and management. It requires people who can combine skills to solve engineering problems in the natural environment, with a focus on balancing economic, societal, and environmental requirements.
Forest engineers construct and evaluate the operational systems that make the forest industry ‘work’. This can include:
- designing and building new roads
- developing or modifying forestry equipment
- planning harvest operations
- optimising transport logistics
- integrating new technologies
- supervising employees and contractors
- ensuring safety standards are maintained.
Forest engineers work with public and governmental agencies. They look after the environment, and may steer projects through the resource consent process. Forest engineering graduates know the forest environment and forest products and processes, and they provide the essential link between the forest and the final product.
- The Forest Engineering programme at UC is the only one of its kind in Australasia.
- Studying Forest Engineering includes courses and expertise taught through Te Kura Ngahere | School of Forestry and Te Tari Pūhanga Metarahi, Rawa Taiao | Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering.
- There is a real focus on 'hands-on' engineering practices, with many field trips to expose students to real-world engineering problems and opportunities.
There is also a Bachelor of Forestry Science at UC.
First year
The first year of the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours is made up of Six compulsory courses taken by all Engineering students, plus courses specific to Forest Engineering:
You also need to complete one other 100-level optional course. Check with a Student Advisor for suggested options.
More information:
- To see what this degree will look like, view the degree diagram on the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours page.
- For guidance on how to structure your first year, visit the Engineering First Year webpage.
2nd–4th years
Once you have completed the first year and successfully applied for entry into Forest Engineering, you will study that discipline within the next three years.
Second year
- Complete the following list of courses
Third year
- Complete the following list of courses
Plus one of:
An external field camp also forms part of the third-year programme.
There is also an opportunity to go on an 8–12 months exchange to specialise in solid wood processing at either the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, or the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. No tuition fees beyond the usual UC fees are due.
Fourth year
- Complete the following list of courses
Plus four courses chosen from the optional list, or any approved 400-level Engineering courses.
Forest engineers have a wide skillset that provides work opportunities both at home and abroad. Graduates can take up employment in the forest industry, but because of the multidisciplinary nature of forest engineering, job opportunities are also available in areas including general engineering consultancy, local and regional councils, government agencies, resource management, and research.
Careers in these organisations are challenging, creative, stimulating, and offer great scope for advancement.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in Forest Engineering.
Contact us
Te Kura Ngahere | School of Forestry
Phone +64 3 369 3500
Email engdegreeadvice@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Forestry building – see campus maps
Postal address
Te Kaupeka Pūhanga | Faculty of Engineering
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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