Sustainable Forest and Nature Management (SUFONAMA) (Erasmus Mundus course) - MSc

The next expected admission to this course is September 2019 for SUFONAMA.

The course is a two-year world-class integrated programme aimed at qualifying graduates to deal with the huge challenges facing temperate forestry, agriculture and sustainable land use. The teaching staff are research active and the students will benefit from our wide range of research activities and contacts in the UK and overseas.

By joining the teaching and research experiences of five European leading educational institutions, this unique course will constitute an in-depth educational programme with inherent impetus to stay at the forefront of research-based teaching strongly linked to realities in many European and non-European countries.

The SUFONAMA course is offered by a consortium consisting of five institutions:

• Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• School of the Environment and Natural Resources, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales, UK.
• of Forest Sciences and Ecology, University of Goettingen, Faculty Goettingen, Germany
• Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden, and
• Faculty of Agriculture, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

Detailed information on the SUFONAMA Masters course is available at: http://www.em-sufonama.eu

This course is accredited by the Institute of Chartered Foresters and gives partial fulfilment of Professional Membership Entry.

This web-page describes the Sustainable Forest and Nature Management course as structured in the current academic session. While the aims of the programme and the broad structure of the degree are similar from year to year, details may change over time to meet the requirements of the profession and of academic audits, and to ensure that the programme remains effective and up-to-date.

Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.

Course Content

First Year

The Course consists of a first study year at one of three institutions (Bangor, Copenhagen, Goettingen) and a specialising second study year with different topics offered by each of the five institutions. The students are required to spend the second year at another university than the first one. The aim of the first study year is to provide a thorough and broad introduction to sustainable forest and nature management. The learning outcomes are similar for the three first year institutions and allow students to choose freely among the five specialisation options in the second year. The first study year ends with a Joint Summer Module, run as a two-week excursion to a Consortium country.

Second Year

You can specialise in the second year within the following topics:

• Conservation and Land Management (Bangor)
• Management of Forest and Nature for Society Copenhagen)
• Forest and Nature Management in Changing Climate (Göttingen)
• Forest Management in Scandinavia and the Baltic Region (Alnarp)
• Mountain Forestry and Watershed Management (Padova).

The specialisation includes a master thesis based on research and fieldwork inside or outside the EU. When students have acquired 120 ECTS by studying at two Consortium institutions (at least 60 ECTS at each) they will obtain a SUFONAMA double degree and the Diploma Supplement. All SUFONAMA modular activities can be completed in English. The following degrees are awarded: MSc in Forestry in Copenhagen, MSc in Environmental Forestry and MSc in Conservation and Land Management in Bangor, MSc in Forestry in Goettingen, MSc in Forestry in Alnarp, and MSc in Forestry and Environmental Sciences in Padova.

Bangor Compulsory Modules:

• Forest Resource Assessment: This module provides an introduction to world forest resources and policy
• Silviculture: this module provides an understanding of temperate silviculture and forest management. It also highlights the interaction of management systems with the physical environment
• Natural Resource Management: This module provides students a theoretical & practical understanding of the systems approach to managing natural resources to provide various ecosystem services.
• Location Specific Knowledge and fieldwork in temperate forest and nature management: This module is essentially designed to allow for in-depth preparation for field work in temperate forest and nature management.
• Contemporary temperate forest and nature management: climate change and management strategies: This module deals with a current hot topic and can take in students globally through its e-learning format
• Preparing Field Work in the Temperate: This module develops in-depth factual location specific knowledge relevant to temperate forestry issues
• Sustainable Temperate Forestry Management Summer School – this module applies data collection and evaluation methods in the field.

Optional Modules:

This is dependent on where the second year of study is selected. Full module details for the partner institutions are available on the following links: University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Bangor University,  Goettingen University, Germany; University of Padova, Italy,  Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden. 

Modules for the current academic year

Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Sustainable Forest and Nature Management (SUFONAMA) (Erasmus Mundus course) Modules page.

Careers and Employability

There are excellent employment opportunities in the broad area of forestry including national government, international organisations and consultancies. Many recent SUFONAMA graduates have gone on to do PhD research.

Visit the Sustainable Forest and Nature Management (SUFONAMA) (Erasmus Mundus course) - MSc page on the Bangor University website for more details!