6 Forestry Master's Degree Programs in Spain

The basic objective of the Master's in Forestry Engineering is to provide students with scientific, technological and socio-economic training and preparation for the profession of Forestry Engineer, whose main professional activities are forest planning and management issues; reforestation and plant production; wildlife management; the protection and conservation of the natural environment; forest industries, renewal energies; evaluation of natural systems, resources and their use, among others. The degree entitles the student to practice a regulated profession, and therefore the design of the competences is in accordance with the provisions established by the Government (Order CIN/326/2009).

The general objective of the title of "Master in Forestry Engineering" is the training of senior technicians trained to plan, project, organize, control and direct natural spaces and the goods and services provided by the forestry field. Among its objectives are to protect the soil, conserve and regulate water resources, ensure the continuity of species of wild flora and fauna, improve the rural environment and take advantage of forest resources, both for their transformation by industry and for direct enjoyment. .

Forestry Engineering is a profession that has traditionally worked in multidisciplinary environments in the management and planning of the natural environment. The use and extraction of information from spatial databases has been a traditional task of forestry engineers but the advent of the revolution associated with the so-called "big data" makes it necessary to take a qualitative leap in the training of these professionals. The challenges currently faced by forest management are of great significance due to the magnitude of the problems (climate change, invasive species, biodiversity crisis, etc.) and the growing demand for goods and services by society. At the same time, there is an increasing amount of information, highly relevant for decision-making in forest and environmental management, collected in large databases that require specific training for their management and analysis. For this reason, it is necessary that these professionals have a good integrated knowledge of management systems and methods applied to the forestry world, but at the same time, they have the capacity to work in different fields such as database management, computer programming, data analysis, decision making through operational research techniques, or geographic information systems and remote sensing.

The Interuniversity Master in Forest Fires. Comprehensive Science and Management (MasterFUEGO), offered jointly by the Universitat Politècnica de València together with the Universitat de Lleida and the University of León, is a unique master's degree in Spain and Europe that trains professionals specializing in forest fires, both from public administrations and in companies.

The Máster Universitario en Ingeniería de Montes from the Polytechnic University of Valencia consists of 90 ECTS (1.5 academic years), with a common part of 60 ECTS and another with five synthetic and applied specialties: Mediterranean Forest Management; Natural Environment Planning; Protection and Conservation of Vegetation and Fauna in Natural Spaces; Forest Products and Forestry Adaptive to Climate Change, which include aspects of public and private activity, and that take advantage of current potential and resources. They are established in relation to the environment, landscape and activities of the forestry sector, under principles of sustainability.

Data Science is bound to be one of the most important tools for environmental management thanks to its potential to work with complex systems and large amounts of information. The master´s degree enables students to address practical problems in the management of natural resources by applying sound scientific methodologies for their analysis and solution. The master programme also aims at increasing knowledge about ecosystem and natural resource management with tools such as modelling, simulation, machine learning, bioinformatics, geo-statistics and spatial analysis. The professors, engineers and researchers who teach the master are leaders in their field. Students will have the opportunity to do internships in leading companies. This qualification gives access to doctorate studies and it allows for a Double Master with Forestry Engineering.