Forest Business | Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources Skip to main menu Skip to spotlight region Skip to secondary region Skip to UGA region Skip to Tertiary region Skip to Quaternary region Skip to unit footer Slideshow Forest Business Our research priorities focus on issues critical to all aspects of forest business, and especially sustaining and enhancing the competitiveness of Georgia’s wood fiber supply. This research area closely aligns with the UGA Center for Forest Business, which integrates pioneering academic research and sound financial methods to provide education and service to the forest industry, investors, and landowners throughout the world. Learn More About the UGA Center for Forest Business Graduate Degrees in Forest Business Warnell’s graduate program in Forest Business combines advanced business courses and forestry work to prepare graduates for a diverse array of high-level career paths. In partnership with the Terry College of Business and other programs, Forest Business course offerings include accounting, finance, and forest business management and planning. Elective courses may be taken from a variety of MBA-level courses or courses in forest resource management. Graduates of the Forest Business program can pursue careers in a number of fields, including consulting, lending, conservation, procurement, and economic development. Other possibilities include policy and academia. CURRICULUM Graduate students in the Forest Business program learn the basics of accounting and finance, and may take courses in real estate, negotiation, and supply chain management. Students pursuing a non-thesis master’s degree will be expected to obtain one or two summers of experience in land management, wood procurement, resource analysis, or other area with an established forestry company, real estate investment trust (REIT), timberland investment management organization (TIMO), state or federal agency, or forestry consultant. When a master of science or doctorate is pursued, students are expected to conduct research on forest markets, forest biometrics, forest management and planning, and other forest finance or administration topics. Most students in the Forest Business Management program pursue the Master of Forest Resources (MFR) degree. MS and PhD programs also are available. To pursue Forest Business as an official area of emphasis (MFR only), the following courses are required: Course ID Name Hours* Required: FINA 7010 Financial Management ACCT 6000 Financial Accounting FORS 7750 Procurement and Management of Wood Fiber Supply FORS 7780 Timberland Accounting, Finance, and Taxation FORS 8010 or 8020 Forest Business Seminar/Bio-Based Economy Seminar 1-3 Choose 9 hours: FORS 6200 International Forest Business FORS 6570 Practical Wood Identification FORS 6640 Forest Inventory FORS 6650 Forestry Field Camp FORS 6710 Forest Planning FORS 7070 Forest Resource Consulting and Real Estate Practices FORS 7550 Contemporary Forest Products FORS 7630 Intensive Forest Management FORS 7650 Aerial Photogrammetry FORS 7690 Forestry GIS FORS 7710 Advanced Forest Economics FORS 7720 Forest Harvesting and Roads FORS 7760 Forest Products Marketing FORS 7790 Forest Finance Decisions FORS 7860 Resource Economics and Management FORS 7900 Forest Operations Management and Planning FORS 8020 Bio-Based Economics Seminar FANR 6810 Natural Resources Law Other electives (12 hours): ACCT 6000 Financial Accounting ACCT 7600 Financial Statement Analysis FINA 6320 Financial Derivatives and Risk Management FINA 7010 Financial Management FINA 7110 Valuation FINA 7310 Investments FINA 7920 Financial Modeling FINA 7920E Financial Modeling MIST 7600 Data Management and Analytics REAL 7100 Real Estate REAL 7200 Real Estate Law REAL 7600 Real Estate Investment Analysis REAL 7830 Real Estate Finance * Total of 34 hours required for the area of emphasis. Accreditation The educational program in forestry leading to the MFR in forest business degree is accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF) under its Forestry standard. Questions? For general questions about pursuing a graduate degree at Warnell, contact a member of the graduate team: Dr. Kyle Maurice Woosnam , Graduate Coordinator Office: 1-301A Email: woosnam@uga.edu Kate deDufour , Graduate Program Administrator Office: 1-217 Prospective students should also contact faculty members for questions specific to this disciplinary area. Please check faculty members’ personal pages for information about their individual research interests and projects to ensure that you are contacting the most relevant ones. Related Articles Thursday, May 29, 2025 - 1:00pm On May 8, Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 223 into law, providing multiple forms of tax relief for timber owners and farmers who suffered substantial economic losses from Hurricane Helene. Key provisions include: New research helps forest industry integrate technology into business management Friday, March 24, 2023 - 12:36pm Technology has found its way into almost every aspect of industry—it can decrease costs, increase efficiencies and even allow a birds-eye view of the entire operation. Biennial conference tackles economy, environmental topics Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 12:30pm After a few pandemic-related schedule changes, the 2023 Timberland Investment Conference returned to its spring timeslot for two days of networking and discussions. Transplanting knowledge: Graduate student’s goal is to help grow forest industry in Africa Wednesday, November 30, 2022 - 5:00pm From an early age, Joshua Uzu understood the connection between economics and natural resources. Seminar: Rebuilding bridges between African Americans and forestry Friday, September 23, 2022 - 10:21am Personnel Dr. Pete Bettinger Professor, Landscape Planning and Harvest Scheduling, Leon "Buddy" Hargreaves Jr. Distinguished Professor in Forest Management Combinatorial optimization Development and testing of heuristic methods for addressing large-scale or complex forest planning problems. GPS accuracy assessments Mapping and recreation-grade GPS unit assessments. Whitehall Forest GPS test site Southern Forestry… Dr. Chad Bolding Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Langdale Endowed Chair in Forest Business Forest harvesting logistics; forest business issues; engineering economic analysis; wood supply chain efficiency; fiber procurement; woody biomass utilization; environmental impacts and best management practices; workforce and safety issues; professional skills and career preparedness Dr. Bronson P. Bullock Professor, Forest Biometrics & Quantitative Timber Management, Director, Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC) My research interests include more traditional biometry topics, such as volume, taper, and weight equations derived for various species and regions; statistical sampling and inventory issues; and the impacts of various silvicultural treatments on stand development. Further, I have more wide… Dr. Joe Conrad Associate Professor of Forest Operations I conduct research in forest operations with a focus on timber harvesting efficiency and delivered wood cost. The goal of my research is to generate data that will help forest managers implement their management plans efficiently and allow timber harvesting professionals to… Bruno Da Silva Assistant Professor, Forest Finance Dr. Dale Greene Dean Emeritus Stephen Kinane Assistant Professor of Silviculture Dr. Yanshu Li Associate Professor, Forest Economics & Taxation Outreach Specialist Federal and state forest taxation, economic issues related to forest investment and management, forest products market analysis, economic benefits of forest. Erin Lincoln Director, Harley Langdale Jr. Center for Forest Business Dr. Jacek Siry Stuckey Professor of Forest Economics and Taxation Timber market modeling, international forestry and conservation, forest management efficiency, multiple-use natural resource management. Dr. Sheng-I Yang Assistant Professor of Forest Biometrics Forest Biometrics; Applied Statistics; Forest Measurement Support Warnell We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Learn more about giving Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty. Get in touch Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia 180 E Green Street Athens, GA 30602-2152 Phone: 706-542-2686 Fax: 706-542-8356 Login for Faculty and Staff Submit a Student Complaint