The MFC program is course-based, which means course-work forms the majority of the requirements to obtain the degree.

Full-time students complete the program in 16 months.  Extended full-time students (EFT) are allowed an extra year to complete the program (28 months), while paying the same academic fees as regular full-time students.  EFT students do however pay full-time incidental fees for each year of registration.  EFT students must complete First Year Fall courses in the order indicated, however courses beyond First Year Fall can be completed in any order except that the internship course must be completed before the capstone project course.

Part-time students will work with Faculty staff to build an appropriate schedule.

The start date for all program options is September.

An eight-day field camp in Haliburton Highlands kicks off the program in September. It provides an introduction to the issues and principles of forest conservation, and includes intensive data collection and identification of different taxonomic groups.

Students enrolled in the program full-time will take nine core courses (listed in the sidebar) over the first two semesters of the program (September to December, and January to April), and usually one elective course in the second semester (January to April).

In the summer, students are expected to attend a field course – either the international field course offered by the faculty that year, an urban forestry field course to more local destinations, or an equivalent field course subject to the Faculty of Forestry’s discretion.

A mandatory internship component is completed over the summer, and the final fall semester is taken up with one final core courses, elective courses (as needed), and the completion of a capstone project, often related to or generated by the student’s internship.

View all Forestry courses

Annual tuition and incidental fees for MFC students enrolled in the 2015-16 academic year (full-time September through August) were $10,908 for domestic students, and $29,419 for international students including mandatory health insurance coverage. Fees are subject to change at any time by the University’s Governing Council.

The costs of field courses and trips are not included in tuition, and range from approximately $1,500 to $3,300, depending on what courses the student chooses and the location of the international field course.

Students are also charged an internship placement fee of $200, which partially covers the cost of arranging and managing the summer internship

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First year – Fall
Current Issues in Forest Conservation Biodiversity of Forest Organisms (includes 8-day field camp)
Applied Forest Ecology Economics of Forest Ecosystems
Analytical Methods in Forestry
First year – Spring
Stresses in the Forest Environment
Forest Management Decision Support Systems
Forest Conservation Biology
Society and Forest Conservation
Elective(s)
First year – Summer
Internship in Forest Conservation
International Forest Conservation Field Camp or Urban Forest Conservation Field Camp or alternate eligible field course
Second year – Fall
Case Study Analysis in Forest Management
Capstone Project in Forest Conservation
Elective(s)
Note: Students may take elective courses in any semester of the program.