Numerous countries have recently reported worrying declines in the numbers of students electing to study forestry at both degree and technical levels. This concern was the subject of some discussion at, among other meetings, the "Expert Consultation on Forestry Education" organised by FAO in Rabat in October 2001, the "Meeting of International University Forestry Education Leaders" in December 2001, organised by the University of British Columbia and FAO, and at an FAO meeting in Canberra, Australia, in January 2003. This report was commissioned in part to inform these latter discussions.
The request was to produce a case study of trends in forestry education in Great Britain and Germany to encompass the following.
The contract was placed in early December 2002 so the preliminary report prepared over Christmas necessarily lacked data from some sources. Most institutions approached, however, did respond in time to be included in this final report which now includes data for all the universities contacted in both Germany and Britain together with all the technical institutions in Britain. However, data from the technical institutions approached in Germany are still incomplete although there has been sufficient response to enable valid conclusions to be drawn. Thanks are due to the many individuals in both countries who responded to requests for this information at a time when they must have been frantically trying to clear their desks of other papers. Particular thanks to Professor Dr Siegfried Lewark who assisted in making the initial contacts with the German Institutions.
Full details of the collaborating institutions are given in Table 1.1 overleaf.
Table 1.1 Universities and training institutes approached in the two countries.
GREAT BRITAIN*
UNIVERSITY DEGREES
Aberdeen - responded with data for applications, acceptances and graduates for
BSc and MSc degrees
Bangor, University of Wales - responded with data for acceptances and graduates
for BSc degrees
Central Lancashire - responded with data for applications, acceptances and
admissions for 4 year BSc, and 1 year and 2 year top up BSc degrees
Edinburgh - responded with data for acceptances and graduates for BSc degrees
Inverness - responded with data for acceptances and graduates for BSc degree
Oxford - responded with data for applications, acceptances and graduates for
postgraduate MSc degree
TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS
Central Lancashire (Newton Rigg) - responded with data for applications
Acceptances and graduates for full-time and part-time Higher National
Diplomas/Certificates
Inverness - responded with data for acceptances and graduates for Higher
National Diplomas/Certificates in Forestry and Arboricilture
Myerscough - responded with data for applications, acceptances and graduates for
BSc degrees and Higher National Diplomas over a limited period
Sparsholt - responded with data on applications, acceptances and graduates
For Higher National Diploma, National Diploma and I year First
Diploma in Forestry and National Certificate in Arboriculture
GERMANY
UNIVERSITY DEGREES
Freiburg - responded with data on acceptances and graduates for Diploma
(MSc equivalent) in Forest Sciences and postgraduate Masters
Göttingen - responded with data on acceptances and graduates for diploma,
Bachelors and Masters degrees
Munich - responded with data for applications, acceptances and graduates for
Diploma (4.5 years), Bachelor (3 years) and Master (1.5 years)
Tharandt - responded with data for Diploma, Bachelors and Masters degrees
Combined
TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS
Eberswald - no response
Goettingen - responded with data on applicants, acceptances and graduates on all
taught programmes
Rottenburg - responded with data on applicants, acceptances and graduates for
the diploma programme.
Thueringen - incomplete response
Weihenstephen - no response
*Information was also obtained on numbers sitting and passing the professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Foresters in Britain
