Welcome to the Department of Forest Science at Oregon State University! Unlike other departments in the College of Forestry, we offer only graduate degrees, so our emphasis is on graduate education, research, and dissemination of information to woodland owners, natural resource professionals and the public. Our faculty are acknowledged as world-class leaders in their fields, which span a spectrum of biological disciplines including genetics and tree improvement, tree physiology, forest health, sustainable forestry, agroforestry, community and ecosystem ecology, wildlife biology, and silviculture. Our research spans the full spectrum of scales and levels of biological organization from cellular and molecular to whole trees, stands, landscapes, and regions. The department typically ranks among the top three in the University in securing research funding, with grants and contracts typically ranging from $7-9 million annually.

Research and graduate education in the department are supported by excellent laboratory and computing facilities. In addition, numerous venues for field research are available in the region, including the 11,500 acre College Forest, just 20 minutes from campus, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Cascade Mountains (an NSF Long-term Ecological Research site), and a wide variety of public and private forest lands. Much of our research is done collaboratively with scientists across the university and with federal agency partners located nearby on campus, such as the USFS PNW Research Station, the USGS Forest and Range Ecosystem Science Center, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, department faculty lead seven research cooperatives, whose members include private corporations, and federal and state land management agencies in the region. Finally, the department has strong ties to forestry extension throughout the state, including Extension Specialists in forest health and silviculture, the Statewide Watershed Education Coordinator, and four county Extension Agents that are members of the Forest Science faculty.

Adding to the 22 regular professorial faculty in the department is a large number of courtesy and affiliate faculty members, who collaborate in research and help teach classes and advise graduate students. The department also has a large group of research support faculty, including Research Associates (e.g., post-docs), Faculty Research Assistants, Senior Faculty Research Assistants, and Professional Faculty, who provide essential assistance in carrying out the department's rich and varied research programs. The Research Support Faculty Committee supports these professionals. In addition, the department has a dedicated support staff that provides clerical and technical support in the department office and in other locations on and off campus. Our strong research programs and faculty provide diverse opportunities for graduate study and student support. Typically, 50-60 students are enrolled in graduate degree programs in the department at any one time.

This is an exciting time for forest science, especially at the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. The forests in the Pacific Northwest, like forests in many parts of the world, are expected to provide a variety of services, including clean water, sequestration of CO₂, biotic diversity, recreation and aesthetic value, and a variety of wood products and other forest commodities. Sustainability of these services requires healthy, productive forest ecosystems that are resilient to disturbance. Our goal is to provide the knowledge necessary to understand how forest ecosystems function and to manage them wisely.

We hope that this site gives you a good sense of the Department of Forest Science and our programs. Please let us know if you require additional information.

Tom Adams Department Head