Degree Programs

Master's Degree Programs

The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies offers four two-year master’s degrees: the professionally oriented Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) and Master of Forestry (M.F.), and the research-oriented Master of Environmental Science (M.E.Sc.) and Master of Forest Science (M.F.S.). Each of the degrees will serve as preparation for either professional employment or doctoral study. Two-year master’s programs normally require a minimum of four terms in residence, sixteen full courses (forty-eight credits), a summer internship, and completion of the training modules in Technical Skills in the summer just prior to the student’s first term. For individuals with seven or more years of relevant professional experience, a one-year mid-career option is available for the Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry degrees.

Programs of study at the School are, by design, interdisciplinary. They involve application of a wide range of natural and social sciences to problems of natural resource and environmental management.

The required curricula leading to all master’s programs are somewhat flexible to accommodate varying background preparations and career aspirations, and partially structured to ensure professional competence and maximum exposure to the unique diversity of the School and the other departments and professional schools at Yale. The one-year mid-career Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry programs have less structured curricula than the two-year programs. In all cases, only work completed under the supervision of a Yale University faculty member is accepted as credit toward these degrees.

Regardless of their goals or their previous training, most students entering the School are embarking on a transitional process in their education. Each student’s program is determined in continuing consultation with faculty advisers who guide the student’s learning experience from the first week at Yale until graduation. Each program of study is designed to be an extension of previous academic or professional achievement and should provide the student with specialized knowledge and analytical skills that are logical for the student’s objectives and prospective contributions to his or her disciplines.

Programs of study leading to all degrees consist of formal courses, seminars, and individual and group projects. No formal thesis is required for the master’s degrees, but all require a master’s project.

Summer internships are an important component of the School’s master’s curricula and are required for all two-year master’s students. Students pursue a variety of work and research projects in locations worldwide. The School provides significant assistance to students in helping them to identify meaningful internships.

Students interested in careers in research or teaching are advised to seek the Ph.D. in their field of major interest. A master’s degree can provide important preparation for a Ph.D.

Part-Time Program

Students who wish to obtain a degree through the part-time option must complete the same curriculum as full-time students. Participants must enroll for two courses per term and must complete the degree requirements in four years.

Training Modules in Technical Skills

All incoming master’s students participate in three weeks of summer modules, which impart field skills and techniques considered indispensable to students intending careers in environmental research, management, and policy. These modules are a necessary base for subsequent course work at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, provide an orientation to the School, and are offered only during the last three weeks of August.

These modules are required of all first-year master’s students enrolled in two-year programs; they are expected for all one-year midcareer degree program students. Waivers will be granted by the academic dean from one, two, or all of the modules only upon evidence of attainment of these skills through previous course work or professional experience. Course work is primarily in the field and covers three technical areas:

Module I: Urban Ecosystem Analysis—use of the urban areas as a point of study on the patterns and processes that drive urban ecosystems.

Module II: Ecosystem Measurement—sampling methods, research design, data reduction and analysis.

Module III: Land Measurement—surveying, aerial photography, GPS, remote sensing and mapping.

Master’s Project and Independent Research Courses

All students in the M.E.M., M.E.Sc., and M.F.S. degree programs must enroll in one or more courses that officially fulfill degree requirements for a master’s project. Course numbers for these project courses are provided near the end of this bulletin. These are distinct from courses that allow for independent study that is additional to, and not intended for, fulfillment of the project requirement of the individual’s degree program. Project and independent research may be assigned three or more credits, and students may enroll in a sequence of one or more of these courses to complete their research.

Project and Independent Research courses can involve research in laboratory, field, or library, or analytical case studies designed to solve management problems. Typically, projects in the M.E.Sc. and M.F.S. degree programs will comprise intensive research of a scientific nature, whereas projects in the M.F. and M.E.M. degree programs will be more applied and aimed toward satisfying a particular management goal. Master’s degree research often originates with the student, with input and advice from relevant faculty. M.E.Sc. and M.F.S. projects require an official faculty research adviser who oversees the research and with whom the student will work closely; the research adviser need not be the same as the student’s academic adviser. Research for the two management degrees enables students or small groups to study relevant topics in a depth that is not always possible in regular courses. Management projects acquaint students with the literature dealing with localities, problems, and issues relevant to the management of forest and environmental resources, and they provide a means of integrating and testing skills, knowledge, and judgment gained in formal course work. Master degree projects frequently have permitted students to make a significant contribution to local communities or to the academic literature.

Opportunities for other independent study are fulfilled through enrollment in independent study courses. Independent study courses are appropriate for all other non-project study or research in any master’s degree program.

Master of Environmental Management

This degree is designed for students with primary interests in careers in environmental policy and analysis, stewardship, education, consulting, or management dealing with natural resource or environmental issues. The program requires course work in both the natural and social sciences, with a particular focus on the relationship among science, resource management, and policy. The ultimate purpose of the degree program is to prepare students to address complex ecological and social issues with scientific understanding and an ability to make sense of the underlying social and political context.

Students pursuing the M.E.M. degree must take seven courses in fulfillment of foundational training. With the guidance and approval of faculty advisers, each student selects courses in various categories to meet distributional requirements from a preapproved list of courses.

The foundational courses for the M.E.M. are divided into seven distributional knowledge categories. These categories represent the dimensionality of issues confronting current environmental management and represent the breadth of knowledge expected of leaders in environmental problem solving: (1) Earth and Climate Science; (2) Ecosystem Science and Biodiversity; (3) Sustainable Development and Social Ecology; (4) Economics; (5) Policy, Institutions, and Law; (6) Environmental Health and Urban and Industrial Ecosystems; (7) Information and Data Analysis. Each student, in consultation with the academic adviser, will also select an advanced study program for further course work—concluding his or her experience with a master’s project or a term-long internship project (separate from the required summer internship). All students are expected to work with the adviser to build on their foundational training and tailor their advanced education to meet their unique career goals.

Master of Forestry

The Master of Forestry program is aimed at training professionals for administration and management of forest lands, and for mediating and resolving the conflicting values of society that concern forests and their associated ecosystems. Forest systems cover one-third of the terrestrial surface of the earth. More important than this expansive distribution, however, are the numerous and critically important values that forests provide to human societies. Currently the pressures of economic development, population growth, and energy use challenge the sustainability of forest values as never before in human history.

Since 1900, the Master of Forestry program has provided leadership in the education of professional foresters. It is the oldest continuing forestry program in the western hemisphere. Almost all the early foresters in North America had their roots at Yale. Graduates include such notables as Aldo Leopold, M.F. ’09 and Starker Leopold, M.F. ’38, the fathers of forest ecology and silviculture in North America (Clarence Korstian, M.F. ’26; Harold Lutz, M.F. ’27; Stephen Spurr, M.F. ’40; David Smith, M.F. ’46), and nine of the first twelve chiefs of the USDA Forest Service. This program is designed for individuals who want to be at the forefront of forest resource management and policy. The Master of Forestry curriculum is moving resource management to new levels of education using a truly interdisciplinary approach rooted in the biological basis of ecosystems.

For the past ten years Master of Forestry graduates have taken a variety of professional opportunities in forestry. Most start as general practitioners and management officers and with experience move through management to become policy makers and organizers. Employment can be characterized as follows: (1) government and public agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service); (2) international development and conservation organizations (e.g., Food and Agriculture Organization, CARE, OXFAM, USAID, Winrock International, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International); (3) industry, finance, and investment (e.g., World Bank, International Paper Co., John Hancock Insurance Co.); and (4) town planners, land trusts, and conservation organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society). An important proportion of graduates use the degree as preparation for advanced study in doctoral programs.

Two-year program The broad objective of the two-year M.F. program is realized by requiring a multidisciplinary suite of formal course work coupled with a progressive synthesis of knowledge in a significant project. It is realized through the provision of an array of local, regional, national, and international trips to witness the practice of forestry in diverse settings. It is realized further through the provision of employment in the management of the Yale Forest and a host of internships offered through the auspices of the Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry and the Tropical Resources Institute. Finally, it is realized through the active program of workshops, visiting speakers of national and international repute, and publications of the Yale Forest Forum.

The teaching objectives of the M.F. program are (1) to integrate knowledge about forests, natural resources, and society to form a sound basis for making management decisions; (2) to provide electives and other educational opportunities to specialize by focusing on a particular land use or management issue concerning forest ecosystem management; and (3) to provide opportunities for independent problem solving, critical thinking, and self-development. All core courses at F&ES are designated as natural, social, or quantitative science, and all students must take a mixture. The capstone course addresses management skills and, in particular, leadership. Flexibility of the choice of course within the required topic areas of the M.F. curriculum allows the student to tailor required courses to a desired specialization. Sample specializations have included community development and social forestry; protected areas management; extension and education; consulting and business; watershed health and restoration; tropical forest management; agroforestry; and industrial forest management.

The two-year program leading to the Master of Forestry degree as the first professional degree in forestry is accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot and six other pioneer foresters, SAF’s role as accrediting body for forestry in the United States is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation. For this reason, the degree is widely accepted in other regions and countries with similar professional standards. In recent years there has also been a growing recognition of required professional licensing and registration for all resource managers in the United States, particularly in the Northeast and West Coast regions, or for individuals working in any of the federal agencies, e.g., U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. In most of these states and agencies, resource management can be practiced only by individuals who have met certain educational and experience standards. An accredited professional degree is usually the first requirement. A minimum of two full years in residence and sixteen full courses (forty-eight credits) is required for completion of this program.

One-Year Midcareer Master’s Degrees

The midcareer M.E.M. or M.F. degree program is intended to permit practicing environmental and forest managers to build on their work experience in order to learn additional skills that will enable them to pursue their career goals more effectively. To this end, those admitted into the program must have at least seven years of directly relevant professional experience in the environmental or forestry field that is sufficient to provide a corpus of experiential learning equivalent to one year of academic study at F&ES. So that the admissions committee may fairly judge each applicant’s work record in light of this requirement, it is incumbent on the applicant to explain how it has been satisfied by career work experience. Relevant work experience is not the sole criterion for admission into this degree program; the breadth of prior academic training is also considered, and those applicants who are better prepared (see Preparation for Admission) are more likely to succeed in this competitive admission process.

The midcareer degree program is not an option for persons seeking to make an abrupt change in the direction of their careers. Nor is it suitable for those who have acquired seven or more years of work experience that is tangentially related to environmental or forest management. Normally, voluntary services will not be considered equivalent to career experience needed for acceptance into this degree program.

The one-year midcareer Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry degree programs have less structured curricula than the two-year programs. Attendance at the Training Modules is expected, and the successful completion of 24 credits of course work and independent study is required. One year in residence is normally expected, as is initial enrollment at the start of the fall term.

Master of Environmental Science/Master of Forest Science

The Master of Environmental Science and the Master of Forest Science degree programs are expressly designed for students wishing to conduct research that contributes toward basic and applied knowledge in any of the fields taught at F&ES, such as ecology, hydrology, economics, or policy. These degrees are intended to provide students a deeper disciplinary focus than the Management degrees, while holding to the core value of F&ES, that students be allowed flexibility in course election in order to meet their educational goals. The Master of Environmental Science is intended for students who wish to work broadly in environmental science fields. The Master of Forest Science is intended for students who wish to work in forest-related topics. The course of study includes formalized School-level training in the philosophy and practice of science. Training is provided through key courses in combination with extended project research and disciplinary and nondisciplinary electives. The scientific research required for this degree will be conducted in close collaboration with an F&ES faculty adviser. It is therefore expected that each student will identify and work with such an adviser no later than the end of his or her first term. The Master of Environmental Science and Master of Forest Science programs require the student to produce a “scholarly product.” This product may be in the form of a traditional master’s thesis or a paper submitted to a refereed journal. A minimum of two full years in residence and sixteen full courses is required for successful completion of this program.

Joint Master’s Degree Programs

The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies supports several curricula that work concurrently toward two degrees from different administrative units of Yale University. Opportunities for development of joint-degree programs exist with the School of Architecture, Divinity School, School of Engineering & Applied Science, Law School, School of Management, the School of Public Health, the Graduate School’s International Relations program, and the International and Development Economics program of the Graduate School’s Department of Economics. Joint-degree programs with Pace Law School and Vermont Law School constitute additional options. Applicants are urged to apply to both units at the same time. All of these programs are subject to several general guidelines.

Applicants must apply to, and be accepted by, both units of the University according to normal admissions procedures. A minimum of one and one-half years (3 terms) and 36 credits is required at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. For successful integration of the two programs, it is recommended that students spend a complete academic year (two semesters) at one school, the following academic year at the other school, and then split the final year between the two schools.

On successful completion of the formal joint-degree program, the student will be awarded one of the four F&ES master’s degrees, together with the joint degree as follows:

1. School of Architecture—Master of Architecture: M.Arch. I, four years; M.Arch. II, three years.
2. School of Divinity—Master of Arts in Religion, three years; Master of Divinity, four years.
3. Law School (Yale Law School, Pace Law School, and Vermont Law School)—Juris Doctor, four years.
4. School of Management—Master of Business Administration, three years.
5. School of Public Health—Master of Public Health, three years.
6. Department of Economics, International Development and Economics program—Master of Arts, two and one-half to three years.
7. School of Engineering & Applied Science
8. International Relations (Graduate School of Arts & Sciences)—Master of Arts, two and one-half to three years.

For questions about the joint-degree programs, please consult the F&ES Office of Admissions at fesinfo@yale.edu or call 800.825.0330.

Special Students

For those who do not wish to pursue a full-time degree program, F&ES offers the option of special student status. Applicants interested in this option must follow normal admissions procedures and are expected to meet the regular admissions requirements. There is no application deadline for special students; applicants can submit applications at any time. Special students may be registered for a period as short as one term and may enroll in a minimum of one course or elect to take a full program of four courses per term. Under normal circumstances, no one may hold special student status for more than one academic year. No degree or certificate is granted for special student course work. Students will receive official transcripts recording course work completed.

Doctoral Degree Programs

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is conferred through the Graduate School of Yale University. Work toward this doctoral degree is directed by the Department of Forestry & Environmental Studies of the Graduate School, which is composed of the faculty of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Doctoral work is concentrated in areas of faculty research, which currently encompass the following broad foci: agroforestry; biodiversity conservation; biostatistics and biometry; community ecology; ecosystems ecology; ecosystems management; energy and the environment; environmental biophysics and meteorology; environmental chemistry; environmental ethics; environmental governance; environmental health risk assessment; environmental history; environmental law and politics; environmental management and social ecology in developing countries; environmental and resource policy; forest ecology; green chemistry and engineering; hydrology; industrial ecology; industrial environmental management; plant physiology and anatomy; pollution management; population ecology; resource economics; silviculture, social ecology; stand development, tropical ecology, and conservation; sustainable development; urban planning; urban land cover change; urban geography; and water resource management.

Requirements for the Doctoral Degree

All courses listed in this bulletin are open to students working for the doctoral degree. Additional courses are available in other departments—e.g., Chemistry; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Economics; Geology and Geophysics; Management; Mathematics; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Political Science; Sociology; and Statistics—and are listed in the bulletin of the Graduate School.

A doctoral committee will be appointed for each student no later than the student’s second term in the program. The committee consists of a minimum of three faculty members from the Yale University community. When appropriate for their research areas, students are encouraged to suggest committee members from other universities. Doctoral students work under the supervision of their doctoral committees. The committee should be chaired or co-chaired by an F&ES ladder faculty member.

Students are required to take the Doctoral Student Seminar, D0005a, in the second term of their program.

Two Honors grades must be achieved before a student is eligible to sit for the qualifying examination. In addition, students are expected to serve two terms as teaching fellows, in partial fulfillment of their doctoral training.

A written and oral qualifying examination (or written comprehensive examination) must be passed in the student’s area of interest and in such subordinate subjects as may be required by the student’s doctoral committee and major professor. The student will be advised as to the nature and scope of the examination prior to or at the start of the term in which it is to be administered. This examination must be completed before the start of the fifth term. It includes a thesis proposal that must be defended before the student’s doctoral committee and other interested faculty.

The director of doctoral studies (DDS) of the School serves as director of graduate studies for the Department of Forestry & Environmental Studies of the Graduate School, administers the doctoral program, and may be consulted about specific problems or questions concerning the program.

Before beginning work, the student must secure approval from his or her committee and the DDS for a proposed program of study and for the general plan of the dissertation. Appropriate advanced work is required. Courses chosen should form a coherent plan of study and should support research work for the proposed dissertation.

The dissertation should demonstrate the student’s technical mastery of the field as well as the ability to do independent scholarly work and to formulate conclusions that may modify or enlarge previous knowledge.

A guidance manual for preparing dissertations is available from the DDS. Candidates must present themselves for the oral defense of the dissertation at such time and place as the student, the DDS, and the committee determine.

Combined Doctoral Degree

DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies offers a combined doctoral degree with Yale’s Department of Anthropology. The purpose and attraction of the degree are three-fold: (1) it combines the disciplinary identity and strengths of the Anthropology department with the interdisciplinary character and possibilities of F&ES, especially in terms of bridging the social and natural sciences; (2) it combines the strengths in ecological and environmental studies of F&ES with the social science strengths of the Anthropology department; and (3) it combines the Anthropology department’s strengths in theory with the emphasis within F&ES on linking theory with policy and practice. The combined doctoral degree offers its graduates great flexibility when entering the marketplace: they can represent themselves as anthropologists and/or environmental scientists, as theoreticians and/or practitioners. They have the credentials to apply for policy-oriented positions with international institutions as well as academic positions in teaching and research. The academic program of each student in the combined degree program is to some extent tailored specifically to his or her particular history, interests, and needs, but there are general guidelines that combined students can be expected to follow, and they are laid out here.

Prospective combined degree students must initially apply either to Anthropology or to F&ES but not to both at the same time. However, in keeping with the current Yale Graduate School application process, they should indicate their interest in the combined degree by marking the application form appropriately. Once the student is accepted in the initially chosen doctoral program, the application file will be considered in the second program and a decision on the combined degree application will be communicated by the Graduate School by the usual deadline for acceptance of admission offers. Such students will be allocated to their initially chosen program as their primary administrative home but will enter Yale as members of the combined degree program. Being turned down for entry into the combined degree program at this point does not preclude re-application after arriving at Yale the following fall term.

Areas of study include agroforestry and forest management, ecosystem analysis, economic botany, economic evaluation of tropical resources, ethnobotany, plant biodiversity and conservation, social processes affecting management of natural resources, tropical field studies, and tropical silviculture.

For more information about the combined doctoral degree, please contact the director of doctoral studies at 203.432.5146.

Focal Areas

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies recognizes that institutionally it is as important to solve problems for local watersheds as it is to address issues related to global climate change. To address such a wide range of environmental challenges, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies has identified nine focal areas that represent the scope and depth of environmental research conducted by the faculty of the School.

Some of these focal areas are new, and some have been at the heart of the School’s mission for a century. At the core of each area is the goal of facilitating outstanding teaching, research, and outreach.

Ecology, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity

This focal area represents the School’s collective scientific endeavor to understand both the interactions of living organisms with each other and the physical and chemical components of their surrounding environment, and the cause of changes in global patterns in species distribution and abundance. Meeting these challenges requires the integration of chemistry and biology, biophysics, physiology, genetics, behavior and evolution, mathematical modeling as well as sociology, anthropology, and policy. The goals of this area are to develop and make accessible the body of natural, social, and political scientific knowledge needed to improve our understanding of the complex interrelationships between humans and the rich diversity of organisms living in ecosystems, and to provide students with a comprehensive set of courses that will enable them to develop an integrated understanding of these issues.

Faculty in this focal area teach on a variety of subjects, including conservation biology; aquatic ecology; methods of ecosystem analysis; forest ecosystem health; human dimensions in the conservation of biological diversity; and management plans for protected areas. Undergraduate courses are also offered, including the study of ecology and environmental problem solving and the study of the local flora.

Faculty David K. Skelly (Coordinator), Mark S. Ashton, Graeme P. Berlyn, Mark A. Bradford, Ann E. Camp, Susan G. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Gordon T. Geballe, Timothy G. Gregoire, John Grim, Stephen R. Kellert, Xuhui Lee, Peter A. Raymond, James E. Saiers, Oswald J. Schmitz, Thomas G. Siccama

Courtesy joint appointments Adalgisa (Gisella) Caccone, Michael Donoghue, Jeffrey Powell, Richard Prum

The Social Ecology of Conservation and Development

This focal area developed out of the realization over the past generation that understanding the social, cultural, political, economic, and historic dimensions of the environment is as important to wise stewardship as is understanding its bio-physical dimensions. A distinguishing characteristic of this focal area is its special focus on the environmental relations of local communities, but students and faculty recognize that it is equally important to understand the ways that such local systems are entwined with extra-local, national, and global markets, politics, and ideologies. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing and critiquing where necessary the orthodox approaches to conservation and development. Teaching and research in this focal area encompass communities, local and national governments, and NGOs, and address such topics as indigenous environmental knowledge, community-based conservation, protected area management, environmental justice, and environmental values, movements, and discourses. Specific courses are offered on such topics as tropical ecosystem dynamics and anthropogenic change; risk and property; society and natural resources; religion, values, and the environment; agrarian societies; sustainable development; energy issues in developing countries; environmental education; and natural resource management policy. Students in this focal area carry out summer research both within and outside the United States, with excellent on-campus financial support available for the social costs of the latter. This area is the focal point within F&ES for the joint doctoral degree program with Anthropology and the joint master’s degree program with International Relations.

Faculty Michael R. Dove (Coordinator), Mark S. Ashton, Robert Bailis, Carol Carpenter, Benjamin Cashore, Susan G. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Amity A. Doolittle, Paul A. Draghi, Gordon T. Geballe, John Grim, Stephen R. Kellert, Florencia Montagnini, James Gustave Speth, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John P. Wargo

Courtesy joint appointments Willis Jenkins, James C. Scott, K. Sivaramakrishnan

Associated center Tropical Resources Institute

Forestry, Forest Science, and The Management of Forests for Conservation and Development

The Forest and Forestry faculty group embraces a new, more holistic, and more practical concept of forest management. The group recognizes that forests worldwide produce multiple products and services from timber supply to water to wildlife habitat. Forestry seeks to manage these ecosystems to yield equitable social, environmental, and economic outputs across the landscape. Moving from a focus on timber to a more encompassing perspective requires many changes in the ways forestry is practiced and how forested ecosystems are managed.

This approach requires a thorough understanding of the entire forest ecosystem and how each component relates to the rest of the system. Science must not only predict outcomes in terms of future timber supplies but also in terms of effects on aquatic systems, wildlife, endangered species, recreation quality, and non-timber forest products. In particular, a better understanding must be gained of the temporal and spatial scale and intensity of perturbations and natural fluctuations and the effects of anthropogenic change on natural systems. Because many of these relationships are poorly understood, forestry must adopt adaptive management techniques to test outcomes in the field and improve our understanding over time. New tools need to be developed that recognize the complex spatial and dynamic relationships across this system. These tools need to describe what is possible across different landscapes, how alternative outcomes can be produced, and over what time frame. This means modeling scenarios for better forest management assessments and the development of more refined decision support systems for generating management options and outcomes.

Foresters must learn how society weighs these alternative outcomes. How valuable are these different products and services? Which choice is socially preferred? Foresters must examine existing institutions and laws to understand whether they encourage optimal outcomes in forests across the world. Because various outcomes benefit different people, conflict is inherent in forest management. Conflict resolution, respect of property rights, and recognition of equity concerns must all become forestry skills.

Our view of forestry goes well beyond more traditional forms of management to embrace the very foundations of the social, ecological, and economical values of forests worldwide. This suggests a host of individual research projects for our faculty. Ecologists and silviculturalists need to explore natural regeneration, trophic food webs and community ecology, forest dynamics at stand and landscape levels, and the effectiveness of management. Statisticians need to expand traditional mensuration techniques focused on timber resources to quantify a broader array of relationships including effects on wildlife, water, and non-timber forest products. Modelers need to incorporate all these quantified relationships across space and across time for the entire ecosystem. Economists must expand valuation from what is currently understood to include this new broader array of goods and services. Social ecologists must engage in creative ways of integrating local knowledge into management, and in ways to empower local communities for managing forests for conservation and development. Managers must develop techniques to integrate all of this information so that socially preferred alternatives can be identified over time and space. Policy scientists and lawyers must propose new institutions and rights for forest governance and use and encourage preferred choices to be adopted across the landscape on both a domestic and an international scale. The Forests and Forestry faculty group at the School is on the cutting edge of this interdisciplinary research and the shift to holistic forestry. Not only are we conducting vital research in these areas now; we are also training the leaders of forestry for the future.

Faculty Mark S. Ashton (Coordinator), Graeme P. Berlyn, Mark A. Bradford, Ann E. Camp, Benjamin Cashore, Susan G. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Michael R. Dove, Paul A. Draghi, Bradford S. Gentry, Timothy G. Gregoire, Lloyd Irland, Xuhui Lee, Robert Mendelsohn, Florencia Montagnini, Chadwick D. Oliver, Oswald J. Schmitz, Thomas G. Siccama

Associated centers & programs Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry, Tropical Resources Institute, Urban Resources Initiative, Center for Biodiversity Conservation

Global Change Science and Policy

The goal of this focal area is to address issues arising from major environmental changes that are impacting a substantial portion of the world. The faculty in this focal area are particularly interested in the arena of climate change science and policy and seek to generate new scientific knowledge of the interactions among the atmosphere, the biosphere, and their human dimensions, and to explore innovative approaches to reducing the threats to the global climate system.

Through an interdisciplinary education curriculum, this area seeks to prepare students with the intellectual skills crucial for examining the major global change phenomena, their interactions with anthropogenic drivers, and the international policy and management responses. Courses and seminars in this area include observing the earth from space; a biological perspective of global change; patterns and processes in terrestrial ecosystems; domestic and global environmental governance; designing the ecocity; climate change seminar; and the global change agenda.

Faculty Xuhui Lee (Coordinator), Paul Anastas, Robert Bailis, Mark A. Bradford, Ann E. Camp, Benjamin Cashore, Susan G. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Paul A. Draghi, William Ellis, Daniel C. Esty, Thomas E. Graedel, John Grim, Robert Mendelsohn, Peter A. Raymond, Oswald J. Schmitz, James Gustave Speth, Mary Evelyn Tucker

Courtesy joint appointments Ruth Elaine Blake, Ronald B. Smith, Karl Turekian

Environmental Health

The environmental health concentration is designed to encourage course work and research that explore relationships among environmental quality, human health, and public policy. This knowledge provides a basis for research on how the environment impacts health and for understanding the potential of law and policy to protect public health from environmental hazards.

There are several themes around which students can focus their studies in this area, such as exposure to hazardous substances; metals and the environment; exposure and risk assessment methods; land use, ecology, and vector-borne disease; air pollution and respiratory illness; agriculture, food safety, and human health; climate change and health; consumer products; and environmental health law and policy.

This area is the focal point within F&ES for the joint Master of Public Health program with the School of Public Health. Graduates of the Environmental Health Focal Area are employed in non-profits, private industry, and government agencies, and have continued graduate work in doctoral programs, medical school, and law school.

Faculty John P. Wargo (Coordinator), Paul Anastas, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Michelle Bell, Gaboury Benoit, Graeme P. Berlyn, Florencia Montagnini, Sheila Olmstead, James E. Saiers

Courtesy joint appointment Brian P. Leaderer

Industrial Environmental Management

This focal area is centered on using principles of ecology to transform industry through several research and teaching themes. An overarching theme in this area pertains to accounting for resource and product flows. The focus of materials accounting can be on a single element, a single resource, or on multiple resources such as energy, water, and materials. Students and faculty apply this focus at different scales: from the facility level, to the inter-firm level, to a river basin or other regional site, and indeed globally. Other foci include technology and environment, energy and environmental systems, aligning corporate management and strategy with environmental improvement, as well as with co-operative strategies across firms. Geographically, faculty and students work on projects all over the world with additional focus in the Caribbean, Eastern and Western Europe, China, Japan, Hawaii, and Singapore. Course work in this focal area includes greening the industrial facility; industrial ecology; theory and practice of urban ecology; business concepts for environmental managers; energy systems analysis; and environmental management and strategy.

Faculty Thomas E. Graedel (Coordinator), Shimon C. Anisfeld, Marian R. Chertow, William Ellis, Daniel C. Esty, Gordon T. Geballe, Arnulf Grubler, Reid J. Lifset

Courtesy joint appointments Menachem Elimelech, William Mitch

Visiting faculty Helga Weisz

Associated center Center for Industrial Ecology

Policy, Economics, and Law

Natural resource and environmental policy should be based on our accumulated knowledge of social and environmental processes. The policy faculty teaches students that the key to environmental policy is the appropriate integration of the insights of many disciplines. Three overarching themes are the foundation of research and instruction by the Policy group. First, the group advocates that an organized combination of natural and social science theory be used to guide environmental policy in the best service of society. Second, the group recognizes the importance of empirical analysis. Third, the Policy group is involved in designing optimal and equitable programs to protect the environment. The governance of environmental protection is a central concern of the entire group.

A wide range of courses apply to this area, including Risk and Property; Integrated Resource Planning; Natural Resource Economics; Pollution Economics; Energy Economics; Valuing the Environment; Public-Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment; Environmental Protection Clinic; and Environmental Law and Policy.

Faculty Robert Mendelsohn (Coordinator), Paul Anastas, Benjamin Cashore, Marian R. Chertow, Susan G. Clark, William Ellis, Daniel C. Esty, Bradford S. Gentry, Reid J. Lifset, James R. Lyons, Sheila Olmstead, James Gustave Speth, John P. Wargo, Julie Zimmerman

Courtesy joint appointments David Cromwell, Ernesto Zedillo

Visiting faculty Lye Lin Heng, Nicholas A. Robinson, Simon Tay, Gerald Torres, Gary Yohe

Associated centers Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Center for Business and Environment at Yale

Urban Ecology and Environmental Design

This faculty group works under the premise that the ecological integrity of urban ecosystems has a profound impact on urban health, productivity, and quality of life. They believe that students must have a grounding in new theoretical and practical understanding, be prepared to carry out relevant research, and conduct innovative practices to gain the knowledge and tools necessary to foster healthy natural systems essential for the future well-being of the modern city.

Because this focal area is inherently interdisciplinary, a wide range of natural science, social science, and policy courses are relevant, depending on student interest and specialty. Students are recommended to take at least one course in each of the following areas: biological environmental sciences; physical environmental sciences; social environmental sciences; quantitative methods and mapping; architecture and engineering; and policy and law. The faculty also encourage students to take courses at F&ES and other parts of Yale with a particular reference to this area, such as urban anthropology; urban poverty and policy; the future of American cities; environmental aspects of the technological society; issues and approaches in environmental education; and sustainable and restorative environmental design.

Faculty Gaboury Benoit (Coordinator), Paul Anastas, Ellen Brennan-Galvin, Mary Cadenasso, Marian R. Chertow, Gordon T. Geballe, Bradford S. Gentry, Thomas E. Graedel; Stephen R. Kellert, Karen Seto

Courtesy joint appointments Michelle Addington, James W. Axley

Associated center Hixon Center for Urban Ecology

Water Science, Policy, and Management

This focal area uses the watershed (stream or river basin) as its unit of analysis, instruction, and action. The global water crisis takes diverse forms, including water scarcity, polluted lakes and rivers, contaminated ground water, spread of water-related diseases, and extinction of aquatic species. The complexity and interdisciplinary nature of these problems necessitate a collaboration of biologists, physical scientists, policy experts, economists, lawyers, and social scientists to design and execute effective restoration and management activities.

Key research and teaching questions include: How can environmental managers wisely protect and restore ecosystems even when they lack full scientific understanding; and how can scientists make their work as useful as possible to environmental managers, without sacrificing objectivity? These are highlighted through course work such as water resource management; aquatic chemistry; coastal ecosystem governance; aquatic ecology; environmental hydrology; water quality control; and water system economics.

Faculty Gaboury Benoit (Coordinator), Shimon C. Anisfeld, Richard Burroughs, Mary Beth Decker, Bradford S. Gentry, Stephen R. Kellert, Jim MacBroom, Sheila Olmstead, Peter A. Raymond, James E. Saiers, Thomas G. Siccama, David K. Skelly, Julie Zimmerman

Associated center Center for Coastal and Watershed Systems

Subjects of Instruction

Courses offered by the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies are described below. The letters “a” and “b” following the course numbers indicate fall- and spring-term courses respectively. Bracketed courses will not be offered during the 2008–2009 academic year.

The courses are arranged in the Bulletin by topic, and the first digit represents that topic area. The topic numbers are as follows: (1) Independent Project; (2) Master Project; (3) Ecology; (4) Environmental Education and Communication; (5) Forestry; (6) Physical Sciences; (7) Quantitative and Research Methods; (8) Social Sciences; (9) Interdisciplinary; (D) Doctoral Courses.

The second digit indicates which of the 7 M.E.M. requirements the course fulfills. The M.E.M. requirement numbers are as follows: (1) Earth, Atmospheric, and Climate Science; (2) Ecosystem Science and Biodiviersity; (3) Sustainable Development and Social Ecology; (4) Economics; (5) Policy, Institutions, and Law; (6) Environmental Health and Urban and Industrial Ecosystems; (7) Information and Data Analysis; (0) Advanced Courses, M.E.Sc. required courses. (Advanced courses will not fulfill a core requirement; they will contribute to the depth of knowledge in advanced study areas.)

The third digit is either zero or 1. A zero indicates that there are no prerequisites; the 1 indicates that there are prerequisites.

The fourth and fifth digits go together and range from 01 to 99. These numerals are assigned by the registrar and indicate that there can be up to 99 courses in each of the topic areas.*

Project courses embrace individually assigned advanced field or laboratory work, or literature review, on topics of special interest to the student; credits and hours for these projects are determined for each student in consultation with the instructor.
Courses throughout the University are generally open to students enrolled in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, subject to limitations on class size and requirements for prerequisites.

Note For updated course listings, please see the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Web site, http://environment.yale.edu/847/courses.

*As an example, Methods of Ecosystem Analysis has been assigned the number 32001:
3 = Ecology (topic)
2 = Fulfills the Ecosystem Science and Biodiversity M.E.M. bin requirement
0 = No prerequisite
01 = Number assigned by the registrar

List of Courses by Topic

Course Descriptions

At F&ES, new courses are often added after this bulletin is printed. Our Web site at www. yale.edu/environment/ will have an updated list, as well as a list of environmental courses available in other departments at Yale.

Ecology

ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY

[F&ES 32002b, Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics and Anthropogenic Change 3 credits. This course has four major objectives: to introduce students to the major conceptual and theoretical questions and approaches in tropical terrestrial ecology; to compare and contrast tropical ecosystems for insights into the similarities and differences of specific regions; to integrate empirical studies on tropical ecosystem dynamics with management concerns; and to explore how anthropogenic change has altered tropical ecosystems. Current topics to be addressed in depth from an ecological perspective include land use and forest fragmentation; timber harvest and plantations; hunting and non-timber product extraction; and synergistic effects of climate, land use, fire, and ecological interactions. This course links an ecological understanding of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics at multiple spatio-temporal scales with problem solving and specific applications in major tropical biomes. Primary scientific literature supplements lectures and discussion. Participants complete a review paper, policy memoranda, and a final interdisciplinary grant proposal. Prerequisites: a basic course in ecology or equivalent. Three hours lecture and discussion. Lisa M. Curran]

F&ES 32006a, Tropical Forest Ecology: The Basis for Conservation and Management 3 credits. This course summarizes ecological knowledge on tropical forest ecosystems and shows how this scientific basis can be used for forest management, conservation, and rehabilitation. Topics include importance of tropical forests: productive and environmental services; ecological characteristics of tropical forests; soils of the tropics: types, fertility, physical properties, and management; nutrient cycling; natural forest structure and composition; the forest microenvironment: light, temperature, and water; high-elevation forests and savannas; tree growth and reproductive ecology; plant species diversity; plant-animal interactions; effects of disturbance; forest succession and regeneration; management of primary and secondary forests; non-timber forest products; plantation forestry: productivity and environmental services; community forestry; ecological and social aspects of agroforestry; rehabilitation of degraded tropical forest ecosystems. Three hours lecture. Florencia Montagnini

F&ES 32007a, Ecosystem Pattern and Process 4 credits. Ecosystem science provides a unique vantage point from which scientists can begin to understand complex adaptive systems. The basis of ecosystem science is to determine how patterns in biological processes emerge from interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment. This course introduces the ecosystem concept, investigates the structure and functioning of ecological systems, studies the response of systems to changing environmental conditions, and applies resulting knowledge to preservation and management issues. Presentation is balanced between terrestrial and marine/aquatic systems. Students must take one of two field options. In the first a cross-section of northeastern ecosystems is visited and studied during a four-hour weekly field trip, assignments and discussions are qualitative, and students receive one credit. The second option is Field Ecology, which is a second three-credit course. Students taking Field Ecology can utilize their final project for both classes. Oswald J. Schmitz

[F&ES 30008b, Topics in the Tropics 2 credits. Seminar course with topics suggested by the faculty and selected by the students based on class interest. The aim is to discuss current papers, review methods, and discuss our research in progress around the selected topical focus. Students critique papers, discuss and debate methods, and offer their work in progress for group input. The course is graded credit/noncredit only. There are no written submissions or examinations. Lisa M. Curran]

[F&ES 30009a, Biogeography, Biodiversity, and Conservation 3 credits. This course is designed to apply the principles of systematics to historic and ecological biogeography and in turn apply these to the conservation of biodiversity. In doing so, consideration is given to the circumscription of terrestrial biomes and speciation and extinction models. Reconstruction of past geologic and climatic events as well as the impact of human activities is related to the current distribution of the biota. The use of this information as related to CITES legislation and the development of IUCN Action Plans is explored through case studies. Dennis W. Stevenson]

[F&ES 30010b, Tropical Field Botany 3 credits. This course teaches students how to identify the most important tropical plant families, with an emphasis on woody taxa. Students learn key characteristics for identification. We concentrate on families that have high economic, ecological, or ethnobotanical importance. We also discuss distribution, habitat, and ecology. The course has a strong practical component, and instructors emphasize vegetative characters to identify families and higher level taxa. The course includes a two-week field trip to Costa Rica. NYBG Faculty: Lawrence Kelly, Fabian Michelangeli]

F&ES 30121b, Biological Oceanography 3 credits. This course explores a range of coastal and pelagic ecosystems and how these environments function as a coupled physical/biological system. Solar energy drives the structuring of the oceans in the vertical dimension, and the formation of both deep and surface currents. These currents are the means by which heat and material are redistributed, and are the determinants of where nutrients are available for support of primary production. The currents and other physical processes also determine the distribution and abundance of organisms from phytoplankton to fish and whales. This natural science course provides a foundation for those interested in the ecology of marine systems and in the management of coastal zones. Recommended prerequisite: college-level biology or ecology course. Three hours lecture. Mary Beth Decker

[F&ES 30022a, Field Ecology 3 credits. A field-based introduction to methodology used by ecologists in field studies. Descriptive studies, comparative analysis, modeling, and experimental approaches are explored using class or small-group projects relevant to major topics in ecology. After E&EB 122b and concurrently with or after E&EB 220a. Limited enrollment. Melinda Smith, David Post, Peter A. Raymond]

WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

[F&ES 32011a/E&EB 370a/670a, Aquatic Ecology 4 credits. An intensive introduction to the ecology of populations and communities in freshwater systems. The aim of this class is to learn the concepts, patterns, and organisms important in lakes and streams along with the major techniques of information collection and analysis. Weekly field trips are used to gather data that form the basis of lab exercises and research projects. The course presumes familiarity with ecological concepts and terminology. Permission of the instructor required. David K. Skelly]

[F&ES 33012a, Species and Ecosystem Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach 3 credits. The loss of global biodiversity is a major problem with profound repercussions for present and future human generations. Professional conservationists now living are the last generation that can prevent the extinction of large numbers of species and the disruption of large-scale ecosystem processes. Professionals must not only apply relevant conservation sciences to these problems, but also bring to bear explicit knowledge about the real-world organizational and policy settings in which they will work and expert skills in influencing those systems. The course combines the problem-solving approaches of the conservation sciences with those of the policy sciences by surveying a range of policy and organizational contexts, theories, techniques, and professional settings using a variety of case studies. We typically have guests who focus on contemporary challenges and offer successful cases from their own experience. Students learn an interdisciplinary analytic framework and apply it to a case of their choice. The role and problem-solving styles of the individual professional in these complex contexts are emphasized. Students must keep a journal. Active student participation is required as well as a presentation and a paper. The course positions students to work for many nongovernmental, governmental, and business organizations, assuming leadership and problem-solving positions. Enrollment limited to sixteen; application required. Susan G. Clark]

[F&ES 30013b/E&EB 326b/526b, Molecular Ecology 1 credit. This course provides an overview of the molecular genetic tools used to investigate ecological and evolutionary processes in natural populations. It is intended for undergraduates with basic knowledge of ecology, evolution, and genetics and for graduate students looking for an overview of the applications of molecular tools in ecology, evolution, and environmental sciences. The use of molecular markers is explored right through the hierarchy of life from studies of genetic individuality, parentage, kinship, population substructure, species boundaries, phylogenetics among species of different levels of similarity. Special topics include conservation genetics, microbial biology, ecological genomics, and environmental impact of genetically modified organisms. Adalgisa Caccone]

[F&ES 30114b/E&EB 660b, Wildlife Conservation 3 credits. The course introduces students to concepts related to gathering and applying scientific information for problem solving in wildlife conservation, including conducting management as adaptive scientific experimentation. The course explores conceptually the kinds of ecological knowledge needed for wildlife conservation, including how species behavior and life history evolves and ultimately how that shapes population demography. Students learn how to formalize that knowledge in a mathematical framework in order to support effective decision making in conservation. Students learn how to apply the tools to real-world problem solving, such as population viability analysis, population viability in the face of habitat fragmentation and destruction, and bioreserves design. The course also deals with the ethics associated with applying scientific knowledge to solve conservation problems. Prerequisite: F&ES 32019 or 32007, and an undergraduate mathematics course. Three hours lecture and one hour discussion. Oswald J. Schmitz]

[F&ES 30016a/E&EB 375a/675a, Molecular Ecology Seminar 2 credits. The seminar focuses on molecular techniques commonly used in the past to address ecology/systematic related questions. The idea is to provide students with knowledge of all possible molecular techniques in the field, so that they can evaluate results in the literature and be able to choose the best technological tool to address a specific research question. The seminar is organized by techniques. In each session the technical aspects of a particular molecular method are discussed in detail, evaluating: (1) different protocols, (2) their limits and merits for different types of ecological and evolutionary questions, (3) the genetic assumptions inherent in each method, and (4) the analytical aspects of the interpretation of the results. The discussion includes actual case studies, which students are challenged to critically evaluate. The two final weeks are devoted to relating these molecular approaches to problems in conservation biology. Adalgisa Caccone]

[F&ES 30017a/E&EB 315La, Molecular Systematics Laboratory 3 credits. The course focuses on molecular techniques in evolutionary biology (DNA extraction, PCR, cloning, sequencing) and their application to field studies of natural history, population genetic structure, mating systems, paternity, and the historical analysis of lineages. The course consists of a series of lectures and independent research projects carried out by each student. Aside from the bench work, experimental design, statistical analysis of genetic data, and phylogenetic reconstruction within and among species are emphasized, illustrating how the disciplines of population biology and phylogenetic systematics increasingly overlap. The course revolves around a few class projects. Each student carries out his/her part of these projects; data gathered by all students is then combined and analyzed together. The primary objectives are to give students both a strong foundation in the systematics and conservation questions and issues that can be addressed with a molecular approach, and a working knowledge of the molecular tools necessary to address those issues. Both of these components are essential to the training of those individuals who will conduct research in these emerging and rapidly growing fields. Adalgisa Caccone]

[F&ES 30018b/E&EB 320b/620b, Conservation Genetics Seminar 3 credits. This seminar is intended to provide an introduction to conservation genetics for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The goal is to provide students with an understanding of the importance of genetic diversity and the means for preserving it. Adalgisa Caccone]

F&ES 32019a/E&EB 365a/665a, Landscape Ecology 3 credits. This course is an introduction to the study of large-scale ecological patterns and processes. Landscape ecology is a relatively young, rapidly changing field. The topics covered reflect the diverse interests of landscape ecologists: species-area relationships, island biogeography, metapopulation theory, individual-based models, cellular automata, models of biodiversity, etc. The application of these concepts is addressed through consideration of species viability, ecosystem management, and the design of nature reserves. Throughout the course the emphasis is on when and how to integrate a spatial perspective into consideration of major ecological questions. Readings from the primary literature augment material covered in lectures. Students complete a project resulting in a manuscript on a landscape-related topic. David K. Skelly

F&ES 30020b, Ecology Seminar 1 credit. The ability to read and understand the literature is a critical skill. This seminar is structured to encourage participation in discussions of papers from the ecological literature. The specific papers to be read vary from year to year; however, each year we focus on papers that have made major contributions to the conceptual foundations of ecology. Many of the papers have direct or indirect relevance to applied issues such as the conservation of species and ecosystems. Seminar responsibilities include active participation in weekly meetings and the leadership of one discussion. David K. Skelly

[F&ES 30024b/E&EB 617b, Topics in Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics 3 credits. The course includes discussion of original research from students and post-doctoral associates and reading and discussion of recently published papers in evolutionary and conservation genetics, with special emphasis on population-level questions. Discussion of experimental design, project feasibility, and presentation of preliminary data is stressed. It is intended for graduate students interested in research in these fields at various stages of their career. Open to advanced undergraduates by permission of the instructor. Adalgisa Caccone]

F&ES 30125b, Community Ecology 3 credits. The course provides students in-depth understanding of theory on multiple species interactions and dynamics including predation, competition, food chain, and food web interactions. Considerable emphasis is placed on mathematical modeling to formalize ideas about how species interactions structure ecological communities and to specify the appropriate focus of empirical research, study design, and data gathering. The course addresses contemporary issues in community ecology including scaling from individual behavior to community dynamics, the link between biodiversity and system stability, alternative dynamic regimes, spatially extended systems, and metacommunities. Prerequisites: MATH 222a or222b or equivalent; EEB 220a or equivalent. A course in calculus recommended. Oswald J. Schmitz

Environmental Education and Communication

F&ES 40002a, Environmental Writing 1 credit, half term, or 3 credits, full term. Students in this course should plan to produce one full-length article, 3,000 to 4,000 words, that could appear in a wide-circulation magazine such as Audubon, Atlantic, Sierra, or Smithsonian. One-credit students begin a potentially publishable article; three-credit students complete a publishable article. Admission is by application, which must include a proposed writing topic, at the beginning of the term. For information on applying, please see the course information for F&ES 40002a at https://webspace.yale.edu/fes40002a. Three-hour seminar and writing workshops. Enrollment limited to fifteen. Fred Strebeigh

F&ES 40004a, Archetypes and the Environment 3 credits. This course explores the mythologies, literatures, arts, and folklore of a variety of cultures in search of archetypal characters whose role is to mediate between nature and society. Beginning with sources as early as The Epic of Gilgamesh and ending with contemporary film and media, the course seeks to examine and understand the ways in which diverse peoples integrate an awareness of their traditional and popular arts and cultures. The course makes use of works from a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Tibetan, Bhutanese, Chinese, German, French, and Italian, but all readings are available in English; students with reading abilities in foreign languages will be encouraged to examine primary sources wherever possible. The course includes visits to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Yale Art Gallery. Three hours lecture/discussion. Paul A. Draghi

F&ES D0005b, Doctoral Student Seminar 3 credits. This course is required for all doctoral students during their second term. The seminar teaches how to design and conduct research, communicate the results, and thrive as a doctoral student. Topics covered include reviewing the literature, managing references, selecting a thesis topic, choosing a thesis committee, writing a prospectus, finding research funding, taking comprehensive exams, conducting research, synthesizing data, writing a thesis and scientific papers, critically analyzing proposals and papers, and finding a job. Prerequisites: careful reading of the literature to select a thesis topic; good knowledge of Word, Excel, EndNote (a bibliography management prgram), a graphing program, and a statistics package. Gaboury Benoit

F&ES 40006a, Professional Communication Skills for Non-Native Speakers of English 3 credits. This course helps students to sharpen their language skills in professional communication. Course topics include accent reduction, language accuracy, writing styles, presentation skills, meeting participation, barriers to communication, and types of persuasion in multi-cultural contexts. We first address aspects of intelligibility, exploring how improved word choices and speech clarity affect audience understanding. We then look at the problem of comprehension and discuss strategies for increasing the student’s ability to listen accurately and read efficiently. We also examine common difficulties and cultural differences in the arrangement of information, use of evidence, and academic argumentation. Several sessions are devoted to specific skills, such as negotiating agreements and writing research reports. The course meets for lecture (two hours), and students attend a weekly small group practicum (one hour). The practicum allows students to reinforce new communicative behaviors in oral and written assignments, while receiving feedback from peers and the instructor. As students polish their skills, they improve their ability to express ideas and to interact in both academic and professional contexts. William A. Vance

Forestry

FOREST BIOLOGY

[F&ES 52001b, Local Flora 3 credits. A field course that studies the flora of the Northeast at various local ecosystems one afternoon each week. Students are required to make a labeled collection of woody plants, prepare brief written site descriptions of each ecosystem visited, and carry out a small project and write a paper related to the local flora. Four-hour field trip weekly. See https://classes.yale.edu/fes220b. Mark S. Ashton]

F&ES 50002b, Fire: Science and Policy 3 credits. This course examines the ecological, social, and policy implications of forest and grassland fire. Topics include the historical and cultural role of fire, fire behavior, fire regimes, fire ecology, the use of fire in ecosystem restoration, fire policy in the United States and elsewhere, and controversies around suppressing fires and post-fire rehabilitation practices. Conditions permitting, the course also involves implementing a prescribed fire to achieve management goals in restoring meadow and oak savanna at Yale Myers forest. Ann E. Camp

F&ES 52003b, Forest Ecosystem Health 3 credits. This course is an introduction to the biotic and abiotic agents affecting the health of forest ecosystems, including insects, pathogens, parasites, exotic invasive species, climate change, and acid deposition. The course emphasizes the ecological roles played by these agents, discusses how they affect the sustainability of forest ecosystems, and identifies when and how management can be used to return forests to healthier conditions. The course provides students with the necessary background to determine if stressors are negatively impacting management objectives, to identify the probable stress agents, and to decide what, if any, actions should be initiated to protect forests from further damage. The course includes several field trips. Ann E. Camp

F&ES 50104b, Seminar in Ecological Restoration 3 credits. The purpose of this course is to summarize theoretical and practical ecological knowledge on how to restore or rehabilitate degraded landscapes. Degraded landscapes usually exist in a complex mosaic that is constantly changing. Each of these conditions has characteristics that must be taken into account when developing restoration strategies. Topics include: Concepts and principles of ecological restoration. Types of disturbances, forest succession, and ecosystem rehabilitation. Soil formation and development. Strategies for rehabilitation of soil’s physical and chemical properties. Sustainable agriculture and soil conservation. Reforestation of degraded lands: ecological and socioeconomic considerations. The use of plantations as accelerators of forest succession. Restoration of inland and coastal wetlands. Techniques to control invasive species. The fragmented forest landscape, connectivity and isolation. Agroforestry systems as a tool for recovery and conservation of biodiversity. Biological and economic enrichment of overlogged and secondary forests. Pasture degradation and restoration for productivity, sustainability, and biodiversity. Reclamation of mine spoils. Forest fires. Who does restoration? Community participation and challenges to implementation of restoration projects. Monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects. In addition, seminar presentations by visitors and students and discussion sessions deal with particular aspects of restoration. Prerequisite: F&ES 32007a or 32006a, or equivalent (check with instructor). Three hours lecture per week, three field trips. Florencia Montagnini

F&ES 53005b, Agroforestry Systems: Productivity, Environmental Services, and Rural Development 3 credits. Focuses on factors influencing sustainability of agroforestry systems, the role of agroforestry in rural development, and the environmental services that agroforestry can provide, such as biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and restoration of degraded ecosystems. We start by learning the principles that we can use to understand agroforestry systems: environmental variables in agroforestry (light and water); soil productivity and sustainability in agroforestry; nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. Then we learn how to design agroforestry systems: agroforestry components: multiple-purpose trees; nitrogen-fixing trees; economic aspects. Examples of subsistence-oriented and commercial agroforestry: shifting agriculture and improved fallows, home gardens, agrosilvopastoral systems, and alley-cropping. Specific types of agroforestry are more widely practiced, responding to ecological and socioeconomic conditions of each region: Semi-arid ecosystems; highlands; temperate regions. Finally we focus on the functions that agroforestry can provide: environmental services: biodiversity conservation and carbon storage; social functions: agroforestry as a tool for rural development; agroforestry and fuelwood production; current trends in agroforestry research and extension. In addition, seminar presentations by students and discussion sessions deal with particular aspects of agroforestry of interest to students. Three hours lecture per week, two or three half-day field trips. Florencia Montagnini

F&ES 52006a/MCDB 660a, Structure, Function, and Development of Trees and Other Vascular Plants 3 credits. This first course in a four-course sequence focuses on two aspects of plant life: (1) basic processes that drive plant systems, such as fertilization, embryogeny, seed development, germination, seedling establishment, maturation, and senescence; and (2) basic structure and function of plants (such as root systems, leaf formation and development, height, and diameter growth). Differences between different groups of seed plants are analyzed from structural, functional, ecological, and evolutionary standpoints. Special attention is given to woody plants and their importance in the biosphere and human life. Wood and bark structure and formation in tropical and temperate trees are discussed from the standpoints of evolution and ecophysiology. Plant cell types are discussed in the context of how they evolved and their molecular and structural adaptations in terms of strength, storage, and water and solute transport. Prerequisites: general biology or botany or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Graeme P. Berlyn

[F&ES 50107b, Research Methods in Anatomy and Physiology of Trees 4 credits. Advanced investigative techniques with emphasis on instrumentation, experimental design, execution, and analyses. After a series of class experiments and demonstrations are completed, each student selects a personal project under the direction of the instructor and prepares a minidissertation complete with literature review, materials and methods, results, and discussion. Weekly seminars and progress reports on the projects are required. Prerequisites: F&ES 52006a and 52008b and permission of the instructor. Four hours lecture/laboratory. Limited enrollment. Graeme P. Berlyn]

F&ES 52008b, Physiology of Trees and Forests 3 credits. Topics in mineral nutrition and cycling; mycorrhizas; symbiosis; nitrogen fixation; photosynthesis; water relations; ecophysiology; and the physiology of trees and forests, primarily at the individual tree level with extensions downward to the cellular and biochemical level and upward to the stand and ecosystem level. Other topics include the ecology and adaptation of species and forests, both temperate and tropical. Two one-and-one-half-hour lectures per week. Graeme P. Berlyn

F&ES 50010a,b, Forest Carbon Science 3 credits. This seminar is conducted each term. Experts from around the world are invited to present. Students are expected to actively engage with the visitors and to develop synthesis and review papers that are published as a monograph. The theme for the fall is the industrial ecology and life cycle analysis of forest-derived carbon in energy and wood product industries. For the spring the topic covers the management and manipulation of forests for carbon sequestration and storage. Mark S. Ashton, Thomas E. Graedel, Reid Leifset, Mary Tyrrell

FOREST MANAGEMENT

F&ES 50011b, Managing Resources 3 credits. The challenge of resource management is to provide the many commodity and non-commodity objectives people demand from the terrrestrial ecosystems across time and space. This management can be cost-effective and applicable to many places with the proper integration of management and social scientific knowledge. Students master the scientific basis, methods (and reasons for the methods), and technical tools for landscape (forest) management. The course covers managing an ecosystem with concerns about water; agriculture; grazing; wildlife; timber; recreation; people; and wind, fire, avalanche, and flood hazards. The class examines the basic issues and describes tools and techniques for analyzing and managing. A case study of a specific area is used for many of the analyses. The course covers systems concepts; decision analysis; area, volume, and other regulatory systems; silvicultural pathways; growth models; wind and fire hazard analyses; habitat and biodiversity analyses; water management models; carbon sequestration pools and changes; cash flow; operations scheduling; portfolio management; monitoring; and continuous quality improvement and adaptive management. Class includes lectures and exercises in which students integrate these subjects. Chadwick D. Oliver

F&ES 52012a, Global Resources and the Environment 3 credits. The world’s climate, soils, water, plant and animal species, mineral and organic resources, and people are neither equally nor randomly distributed throughout the earth; and each has changed and will continue to change. Both the distribution and change can be understood (at least to some extent) based on “uniform processes” that occur repeatedly throughout the world. Students can better understand behaviors of one aspect of the environment at one location if they have a global overview of many aspects and their behaviors and interactions. The course has three objectives: (1) To give students an understanding of the present global distribution and changes with time of the resources, people, and other factors including climates, geomorphic areas, water, species, human communities and populations, agriculture, forest products, inorganic commodities, and energy. (2) To give students an understanding of how to access and utilize information on global resources. (3) To give students an understanding of important issues and management approaches, including species protection and extinctions, resource depletion and sustainability, catastrophic events, soil and water maintenance and degradation, atmospheric change and carbon sequestration, populations and life styles, resource substitution and economics, consumption, recycling, and substitution patterns and potential changes (through lectures, readings, analyses, and case studies). Chadwick D. Oliver

F&ES 52013b, Principles in Applied Ecology: The Practice of Silviculture 4 credits. The scientific principles and techniques of controlling, protecting, and restoring the regeneration, composition, and growth of natural forest vegetation and its plantation analogs. Analysis of biological and socioeconomic problems affecting specific forest stands and design of silvicultural systems to solve these problems. Applications are discussed for management of wildlife habitat, bioenergy and carbon sequestration, water resources, urban resources, timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Recommended: some knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and resource economics. Four hours lecture. One hour tutorial. Seven days fieldwork. Mark S. Ashton

F&ES 50114a, Management Plans for Protected Areas 6 credits. A seminar that comprises the documentation of land use history and zoning, mapping and interpretation, and the collection and analysis of socioeconomic, biological, and physical information for the construction of management plans. Plans are constructed for lands managed by the Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations, private industrial and nonindustrial landowners, town land trusts, city parks and woodlands of New Haven, New York, and Boston, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Prerequisites: F&ES 52013b or 52016a; F&ES 32114b; F&ES 84002b; or permission of the instructor. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Mark S. Ashton, Thomas G. Siccama

[F&ES 50115b, Rapid Assessments in Forest Conservation 3 credits. An advanced interdisciplinary course concerned with assessing the protection and management of biologically diverse, complex forested ecosystems that produce various goods and services. Examples of independent case analyses concern landscape management of biogeographic regions in the Pacific Northwest, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Belize, central and southern Mexico, and the Panama Canal Watersheds. Students are encouraged to travel on extended class field trips to these regions. Prerequisites: F&ES 52013b or 52016a; F&ES 32114b; F&ES 84002b; or permission of the instructor. Three hours lecture. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Mark S. Ashton, Susan G. Clark]

F&ES 52016a, Forest Dynamics: Growth and Development of Forest Stands 3 credits. This course introduces the study of forest stand dynamics—how the structure and composition of different forest types change over time (from regeneration to old growth). Understanding the dynamic nature of forest stands is important for creating and maintaining a variety of critical wildlife habitats on the landscape, managing for sustainable supplies of wood products and other forest values, or predicting the risks and managing the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Through lectures, discussions, and field trips we explore forest development processes and pathways, concentrating on the biological mechanisms driving forest structural change and the roles of natural and human disturbances in initiating and altering stand development trajectories. We make use of New England forests as living laboratories, while discussing how similar patterns and processes of forest development are played out in forests around the globe. Ann E. Camp

[F&ES 50117b, Analysis of Silvicultural Problems 3 credits. An advanced course exploring the silvicultural options for problem stands. Problems can be both biological (fire, pathogens) and social (multiple value conflicts, property rights). Solutions are sought through synthesis and analysis of relevant literature for case studies. Quantitative silvicultural and economic techniques are used for comparative evaluation of solutions. Prerequisites: F&ES 52013b or 52016a; F&ES 84001a or 84002b; or permission of the instructor. Next offered fall 2010. Mark S. Ashton]

[F&ES 50118a, Seminar in Advanced Silviculture 3 credits. This course considers selected topics in silviculture or silvicultural related courses. Students work through the peer review publication process on