Wood Science and Forest Products

There is a strong and continual demand for students with knowledge of wood as a material and how it is used throughout commercial and consumer markets. Students in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products acquire a thorough knowledge of the properties and uses of wood and the various technologies used in converting wood into useful products. Students learn the use and application of wood in industrial and consumer markets, ranging from shipping materials to housing and furniture markets. From fiber-based products to engineered lumber products, and from manufacturing to sales, this field of study offers an exciting curriculum focusing on wood as a material and its use, supplemented with course work from other important disciplines such as engineering, chemistry, business, and management. Additional emphasis is placed on problem-solving, quantitative and communication skills, team work, leadership, innovation and creativity. The Wood Enterprise Institute is a real-world experiential learning environment in a two-semester sequence where students bring a product to the marketplace.

Each option consists of a minimum of 15 credit hours of specialized coursework that supplement the common course work requirements for all students in the major. Each option is an identifiable career track and provides the student with a focused area of study. There are strong employment opportunities locally and globally in each of these career tracks. The department also offers a minor in wood science and a minor in packaging science for students in other majors seeking to augment their courses of study. The wood minor is very flexible and students build the minor requirements from a list of available courses. Successful graduates of this program typically move into management and leadership roles throughout the industry.

• Check out Wood Science and Forest Products’ website for more information: http://www.woodscience.vt.edu

College of Natural Resources

Wood Science and Forest Products is a part of the College of Natural Resources. Majors in this college may share high school preparation requirements as well as common coursework at Virginia Tech.

• More information about the College of Natural Resources