(UPDATED at 10:25 a.m. MT, March 15, 2013)
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will offer a wildland fire science program beginning in the fall of 2013. It will be one of a handful of universities in the United States offering similar 4-year Bachelor of Science degrees. The others we are aware of:
- The University Of Idaho College Of Natural Resources created the nation’s first Bachelor of Science in Fire Ecology and Management.
- The University of Montana offers two undergraduate degree options in Wildland Fire: a minor in Fire Sciences and Management or a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation with an emphasis in Fire Management. Graduate students can specialize in fire in their MS or PhD program.
- Oregon State University has a Rangeland Ecology and Management program with an option or emphasis area for fire ecology and management. They also have a Forest Management degree with one of the options being Wildland Fire Management.
- Northern Michigan University will be offering a minor in wildland firefighting beginning in the fall of 2013.
- At Colorado State University you can get a Forestry degree with a “concentration” in Forest Fire Science.
- Humboldt State University in California has a Forestry degree with an option for a BS in Wildland Fire Management.
- Chadron State College in Nebraska offers a strange package deal for students that began at Casper College. It is a “BS with a comprehensive major in rangeland management”, and within that program is an option for “Rangeland Fire Management”.
If you are aware of other universities that offer four-year BS degrees in wildland fire, let us know.
From the Portage County Gazette, here is an excerpt from an article with more information about the University of Wisconsin program:
“It’s a little bit of forestry, a little bit of wildlife, a little bit human dimensions of resource management, a little bit natural resources, a little bit policy and a little bit meteorology,” said Paul Doruska, CNR associated dean of academic affairs. “We’re the perfect spot to put that together.”
[…]
In addition to a strong natural resources curriculum, UWSP is also home to the Fire Crew, a 25-year-old officially sanctioned student organization dedicated to “wildland fire suppression, prescribed fire operations, and ‘all-risk’ emergency response while providing for the protection and preservation of life, property and natural resources.”
“It’s a nationally-known organization,” said Ron Masters, a UWSP associate professor of wildland fire science who will teach many of the program’s courses. “They’re an incredible group of students.”
