Forest Technology

Associate of Applied Science Degree (A.A.S.)
Student cutting tree

About this program

Imagine a career where you could spend your days outside? You can make this happen when you define your future in Forest Technology. This program takes a hands-on approach that prepares you for technical and mid-management positions in forestry production, wood processing, federal and state agencies, and manufacturing industries. Learn everything from GPS/GIS technology and data collection tools to botany and wildlife. And you’ll do it in our state-of-the-art Earth Science Center, experimental forest with 200 acres of timber, and fully equipped sawmill.

Forest Technology is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.

Next steps...

You're on your way to becoming a tomorrow maker.

8,000

Square-Foot Sawmill

200

Acres of Timber

Opportunity to Earn 4 Certifications

Careers

  • Forest fire control
  • Wildlife habitat improvement
  • Timber estimation, marking, and stand improvement
  • Location and survey of forest property lines
  • Government agencies

Society of American Foresters (SAF)
Career Center →

Courses

At Penn College, we believe your educational experience should go beyond specialized skills. Real-world ready means taking a broader approach that builds communication skills, inspires collaboration, and encourages exploration of arts, history, and science.

​​Specialization requires in-depth knowledge and high-level proficiency. Students learn and apply major-specific concepts, skills, and methods.

​Perspectives are points of view, offering a variety of ways of understanding, interacting, and influencing the world. Students identify, explain, and utilize the approaches used by academics and professionals to study, analyze, or understand problems, and offer solutions.

  • Basic Botany (BIO111)
  • Core Social Science Perspective (SSP)

​​Foundations are the practical, intellectual, and social skills: communication, collaboration, critical and ethical thinking, quantitative thinking, and technological literacy that are crucial to every student at every stage of education and at every stage of life.

  • English Composition I (ENL111)
  • Information, Technology & Society (CSC124)
  • English Composition II (ENL121) or
  • Technical & Professional Communication (ENL201) or
  • Fundamentals of Speech (SPC101) or
  • Interpersonal Communication (SPC201)
  • Technical Algebra & Trigonometry I (MTH123) or
  • College Algebra & Trigonometry I (MTH181)
Featured Video

Virtual Tour

Get a glimpse of the Schneebeli Earth Science Center. As a student in the forest technology program, you’ll spend much of your time here. The ESC, just 20 minutes from campus, is located on over 400 acres of the “great outdoors.” Explore the trail system, a pond and a fully functioning mill.

Earth Science Center
Facilities

Earth Science Center

Gain real-world experience at our Earth Science Center where you’ll work in three experimental forest sites, which are home to 785 acres of timber. And our 8,000-square-foot sawmill houses lots of industry equipment like a dehumidification dry kiln, dozer, John Deere 440C skidder, CAT D3 skidder dozer, John Deer 380 forklift, and a 2011 tandem International logging truck with Prentice loader.

Student Experience

Katalynn interned on a reservation, helping the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Rocky Mountain Region assess woodlands within a 445,000-acre reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.

"I was out in the wild all summer, interacting with trees and wildlife! There aren’t many majors that provide that – let alone the chance to have an internship in such raw country.”

 

Katalynn Thomas

Forest Technology

Tour Schedule

Seeing is believing.

Think Penn College might be a good fit for you? Make plans to visit and discover what hands-on learning is all about.

Nov 3

Undergraduate Open House

Sunday, November 39 AM - 3 PM

Register

More tour dates are on the way.

But let's customize a tour for you now. Call, chat, or email for options.

Need a different date?

Let's customize a tour for you now. Call, chat, or email for options.

Contact

Admissions Office

Industry Partners

Work with experts to become an expert

Penn College's strong partnerships impact every step of your journey – from your first day in the classroom and labs, to career placement (oftentimes before graduation) and beyond.

SAF-Accredited

SAF-Accredited

The Society of American Foresters (SAF) has awarded Penn College’s Forest Technology program re-accreditation through 2031. Penn College is one of only two SAF-accredited Forest Technology programs in Pennsylvania, and one of only 24 nationally recognized SAF-accredited Forest Technology program in the United States.  

Student Life

Lead and put your skills to the test

Forestry Club

Forestry Club

Organize and participate in social, leadership, and professional activities related to careers in forestry. Members plan and participate in college and community service projects, fundraising, and the Woodmen’s Competition.

Student Organizations at Penn College

Student Organizations at Penn College

Your college experience is about more than the classroom. Join one of 65+ clubs and organizations, or create your own.

Penn College News
08.05.2024

Eight graduate from industry training held at Earth Science Center

Eight individuals, including a Pennsylvania College of Technology alumnus, are among the latest graduates of the National Hardwood Lumber Association’s Inspector Training School. The association held its eight-week course at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center this summer, culminating in a graduation ceremony on Friday that featured an address by state Secretary of Agriculture Russell E. Redding.

08.02.2024

State agriculture secretary helps celebrate newest group of hardwood inspectors

The National Hardwood Lumber Association celebrated the 206th graduating class of its Inspector Training School on Friday at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center. The eight-week course – usually offered in Tennessee – took place for the first time in Penn College’s facilities. Among those addressing the graduates were Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell E. Redding, NHLA Executive Director Dallin Brooks and Penn College President Michael J. Reed.

05.22.2024

'Tree Campus' designation celebrated, trees planted

For the ninth year, Penn College has received notification of its Tree Campus Higher Education designation, and students celebrated by planting trees (Japanese snowbell and Snow Fountain weeping cherry) at the college's Schneebeli Earth Science Center in honor of Arbor Day.

Gain global experience
Study Abroad

Gain global experience

See the world via Williamsport. Take your education abroad and get hands-on experience learning about your industry on a global scale.

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Internship

Your knowledge in practice

Internships are key for career preparation. Apply your knowledge to the workplace and learn about the industry first-hand.

Learn More
Student Experience

The community as their classroom

Forestry students tour lumberyard in heart of Appalachian hardwoods

Forestry students tour lumberyard in heart of Appalachian hardwoods

Forestry students recently traveled to Bingaman & Son Lumber Inc. for an industry tour. Students learned about the process from beginning to end, starting with receiving green lumber from over 100 different sawmills to sorting, grading, stickering, kiln drying and secondary manufacturing, finishing with a tour of a facility that thermally modifies wood to be resistant to natural decay. The process, an emerging technology employed by only a handful of businesses in the U.S., allows Pennsylvania hardwoods to be used in high-performance outdoor applications for which they traditionally have not been selected.

More Information

The educational program in Forest Technology leading to an Associate of Applied Science in Forest Technology is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.

View general transfer information

View the Forest Technology Required Tools

Uniform/Safety Protection

  • Leather work gloves
  • Safety glasses
  • Safety toe boots
  • Stihl Arborist Birch Orange Hard Hat Helmet with Ear Defenders & Visor

Uniforms and tools are available for purchase through The College Store.

Graduate Data from December 2014 through May 2019:

  • Forest Technology has had 122 graduates, and a 93.8% placement rate. 
  • The Forest Technology graduation rate is 63%.
  • Average starting salary as reported by graduates is $32,440.

Alternative Credit refers to academic credits earned through means other than traditional college course completion, including: credit by exam, articulation, proof of competency gained in high school, work/life experience, and advanced placement.

Visit the Alternative Credit Options page for requirements and procedures and for information on credit through Advanced Placement.

  • Mr. Doug Beaulieu, Forester, Wagner Lumber, LLC.
  • Ms. Renee Carey, Executive Director, Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy
  • Mr. Gerald L Hoy, '02, Forester, PA DCNR, Bureau of Forestry
  • Ms. Sarah E Johnson, Northern Area Forest Health Specialist, PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry
  • Mr. Jeffrey Liedtka, '07, Vice President of Forestry Operations, King's Sawmill, Inc.
  • Mr. Brian A Rider, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association
  • Mr. Scott Shaffer, VP of Yard Operations, Bingaman & Son Lumber
  • Ms. Amy Shields, Executive Director, Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group
  • Mr. Ray Wheeland, Owner, Wheeland Lumber Company, Inc.
  • Mr. Curtis Wolfhope, '91, '92, Sales Representative, Lewis Lumber Products, Inc.
  • Career Fair Connections

    Career Fair Connections

    Penn College graduates are in high demand. Employer participation at the Career Fair is proof. Attracting 400+ organizations, this popular event is hosted twice per year and introduces students to all types of businesses from startups to Fortune 500 companies. 

    Learn More About Career Fair