Forestry Top-up - Distance Learning

Why study with us? This course is specifically designed for people who have an Higher National Diploma or foundation degree in forestry (or an equivalent qualification) and who wish to study for an honours degree. The course builds on the academic and practical skills you have already acquired. All modules are designed to be highly relevant to professional practice in the forestry sector. What can this course lead to? This vocationally orientated degree will advantage you in pursuing a career in forest and woodland management. Graduates have found work with the Forestry Commission, the Woodland Trust, private estates, local authorities and consultancy companies; some have set up in business or started work overseas with voluntary organisations. Another option is to continue your studies at postgraduate level. Resources and facilities

The National School of Forestry at the Newton Rigg campus of the University of Cumbria provides an exceptional range of facilities for both students and researchers. The campus encompasses over a hundred hectares of Cumbrian countryside, and has been recognised as an incredibly diverse and ecologically rich environment.

We are privileged to offer direct access to a wide range of habitats and forest types on-campus, including; mixed broadleaf woodland, coniferous woodland, willow plantations, a young oak orchard, wetland, arable farmland and pastureland, and associated hedgerows, shelterbelts, ways, and brooks.

In addition to this variety, we also have a large (and growing!) arboretum, a tropical plant house, temperate and research glass houses, and gardens, all on site. We also have excellent new laboratory facilities. This outstanding set of resources enables many classes and field visits to be conducted just outside the lecture rooms, providing an enhanced learning environment where learning is combined with cutting-edge research.

Have a look at our learning resources for Forestry.

Entry requirements Successful completion of a related foundation degree or HND.

Applicants from courses based at institutions other than University of Cumbria will be assessed on their suitability depending upon the modules they have studied.

Credit and UCAS requirements Credit: 240 credits Additional contact information Find out more at www.cumbria.ac.uk/forestry
Course summary Full time, you study six modules in one year. A core module in Forest Resource Assessment and Management Planning is taken as well as either a research dissertation (double module) or a professional practice report (single module). A range of optional modules is offered which allows you to specialise in particular topics such as Remote Sensing and Geographical information Systems, Tropical Forestry, Advanced Silviculture and Strategic Planning for Natural Resources.

The course has a balance of theory and practice. It is assessed through assignments, group work and seminar presentations as well as examinations.

The National School of Forestry is close to the market town of Penrith in Cumbria. This large county with its variations in climate, topography, land use and vegetation is an ideal place to study forest and woodland management. The University owns woodlands with nature conservation and forestry interest, and within a 50-mile radius of the campus are some 100,000 hectares of forests and woodlands managed in various ways.

In the distance learning version of this top-up course you will study six modules at home or at your work place and come to three residential weeks at Newton Rigg. Case studies We asked our students about this course and they said...

“The thing I most like about my course is the organised structure of modules and the quality of teaching.”