Course details

Summary

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.

Studying Forest Engineering includes courses and expertise taught through the School of Forestry and the 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. The Forest Engineering programme at UC is the only one of its kind in Australasia.

The UC Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a research-only degree carried out under expert supervision and using world-class facilities.

A PhD involves extensive, sustained and original research and study in your chosen subject, with the results being presented in a thesis that will contribute to intellectual knowledge of the field. It is a mark of intellectual ability, self-discipline and commitment. A PhD prepares you for a number of careers, including as an academic.

The minimum period of enrolment for a full-time candidate is two years and the maximum period four years; most PhD students take between three and three-and-a-half years.

Career opportunities

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.

Entry criteria

Enrolment in a PhD requires completion of a research-focused honours or master's degree at first-class or second-class division 1 level (or equivalent qualifications). Applicants with qualifications from outside New Zealand must have been granted admission to the University.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 575 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum B+ grade; CAE or CPE score of 176 with a minimum of 169 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 64 and no PTE communicative skills score below 58.