Why students choose to study for a forestry degree and implications for the forestry profession

Abstract

This paper is concerned with university undergraduate science students; their sources of information and the influences acting upon them regarding their degree choice, including communication with members of the forestry profession. In a study of responses from 119 students studying forestry units at The Australian National University it became clear that students felt that what foresters do, and the nature of the discipline, could be better communicated. When professional foresters had communicated with potential students, however, they had an important and positive influence on students' degree choice. Work experience in resource management, personal acquaintance with forestry professionals, and environmental or forestry management issues also had a strong influence on the degree choice of the students. The premise that university students reject forestry as a degree or a profession because of adverse community perceptions was not strongly supported.