In all, you must take 24 semester units of upper division and graduate courses. 

At least 12 units should be graduate level. 

A minimum of 6 of those graduate units need to be fulfilled by graded graduate level classes.

A maximum of 6 of those graduate units can be fulfilled by independent study (a 299 class). There is no upper limit to the number of 299 units that you can take, but only 6 will be counted as graduate units towards the degree.

The rest of the 24 units can be upper division classes or more graduate classes. You must take a minimum of 2/3 of your regular courses (all non-299 units whether upper division or graduate classes) as graded units. 

This means you may take a maximum of 1/3 of your regular courses as Pass/No Pass (which can help reduce workload). Regular courses (non-299 units) include all units taken as a student, regardless of whether you are taking additional units beyond the 24 required.

You must be enrolled in at least 12 units during the semester.

Many MF students opt for a schedule of about 8 class units and 4 independent study units per semester. This allows for easier time management (more time to finish your thesis or project). 

Front-loading your schedule (taking more classes your first couple semesters) is a good idea, giving you more time to finish writing and studying during your last semester.

There isn't one set schedule of classes to take, so it enables you to craft your own Masters degree. Speak with your advising professor, the Forestry Faculty advisor, and the Staff Advisor/GSAO to firm up your schedule.

Some graduate level classes that previous MFs have taken:

• • ESPM 265: Seminar on Fire as an Ecological Factor (with Scott Stephens) (2 units)

  • ESPM 279: Seminar on Pastoralism (with Lynn Huntsinger) (3 units)

  • ESPM 288: Reproducible and Collaborative Data Science R programming class - usually beginner friendly!! (with Carl Boettiger, who is amazing) (3 units)

  • ESPM 244: Spatial Ecology with Ian Wang (with a suggestion to take it after you've learned some R. You can do it without R background, but you'll get a lot more out of it with stats knowledge - maybe take ESPM 288 first)

  • LDARCH 289: Applied Remote Sensing (with Iryna Dronova) for the spatially inclined

  • Info 298: Data 8 for grad students, teaches you some Python and basic stats. 

  • ESPM 201C: Grant proposal writing class with John Battles (currently P/NP, but it gives you great experience with writing grant proposals. There will be mostly PhDs in the class, and it is geared mostly towards them. As much or as little work as you want to make it.) (1 unit)

  • ESPM 290: Antiracism in STEM. First taught virtually in 2020, this course was taught by 5 ESPM graduate students and each week's discussion focused on "anti-racism in environmental scholarship in the age of a growing Black Lives Matter movement" (from the course description on bCourses). This course is open to all ESPM graduate students, faculty, postdocs, and staff.  

  • ESPM 375: Professional Preparation: Teaching in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management A 375 class is REQUIRED to be a GSI. Taken either before or concurrently with your first GSI position. It's essentially a workshop that will help you edit your syllabus, create lesson plans, and deal with problems that arise. (Taught by Lynn Huntsinger). A common review is that ESPM's 375 class isn't geared toward lab-based courses (like BIO 1B), but it applies well to discussion-based courses.

Undergraduate, upper division classes that previous MFs have taken:

• • **ESPM 173: Introduction to Data Analysis and ESPM 174: Design and Analysis of Ecological Research are almost like soft-requirements for the MF. They are very very strongly recommended because it will be extremely difficult to do data analysis without that knowledge (unless you are already coming in with a stats background).  Again, not an actual requirement, but very strongly recommended. They're not easy classes but extremely valuable. (advice from J. Murphy)

  • ESPM 134 - Fire, Insects, and Diseases - a very mixed undergraduate course, but gives you a crash course in each subject. 2 Field trips to Point Reyes and Blodgett Forest Research Station (taught by Brandon Collins, Nick Mills, and Ignacio Chapela) (3 units)

  • ESPM 185 - Applied Forest Ecology; i.e. Silviculture. 2 Field trips (professor keeps changing) (4 units)

  • ESPM 181 - Intro to Wildland Fire Science (Scott Stephens, 4 units)

Are there any required classes?

Short answer is no. Specifically, note that you are not required to take the 201 courses that PhDs take (but you can if you want). 

The long answer is to talk to your advisor and the program advisor. Just make sure you're all on the same page about what your degree should look like.

The ESPM website talks about an internship, professional paper, and an oral exam. 

The internship is an option, not a requirement. You might do an internship if you want to get involved in a specific community, obtain a special set of skills, work with a specific company, etc. Speak with your advising professor or the faculty advisor about this option. 

The professional paper is a scientific or other longer form paper. It doesn't need to be published (although it can be), but it must be a record of what you have worked on over the course of your Masters degree (i.e. your research). As always, discuss the details of this with your advising professor.

The oral exam is done in two parts, though this was shifted during COVID and may change based on who your advising professor is. 

First, you present your research/work to your committee and the community (usually done in Mulford 103 to about 15 people, but this is highly variable depending on the year/who you invite/timing of your presentation). (~1 hour).

After this, everyone except for your three committee members leaves the room. Then, your committee asks you questions that are meant to test your knowledge of forestry and other topics. You will have chosen your committee members beforehand and discussed with them the topics on which you will be tested (see below). (~2 hours)

NOTE: Although somewhat similar, this is not the same thing as Qualifying Exams ("Quals") for PhDs.

How do I select my Committee members?

Your committee is made up of three Academic Senate members, one of whom will be your advising professor. You can select your Committee members at any time, but make sure to give them enough time to be available for you. 

Aim to narrow down your choices during Fall semester of your second year. 

NOTE: Adjunct or associate professors are not part of the Academic Senate, so you will need special permission to have them on your Committee (this isn't especially hard to do, but something you should be aware of) - ask our GSAO Ryann for more details.

NOTE: This is not the same thing as a PhD candidate's Committee, though similar.

What is a GSI versus a GSR? And what are those positions like?

A GSI (Graduate Student Instructor) is a paid teaching assistant position. 

A GSR (Graduate Student Researcher) is a paid research position. These are usually organized with your advisor to complete your own research or with another professor.

The usual appointment is 50% time in these positions, or 20 hours a week.  There are also 25% or 75% positions.

If you opt for these positions, you may get a fee remission. In addition, you will have a salary (GSI, GSR).

A 375 class is required to be a GSI (see ESPM 375 in "What classes should I take?"). You can take the ESPM class or any other department's 375 class. 

Because you are trying to complete a degree and a professional paper/thesis in two years, being a GSI can be hard to manage. But it is also very rewarding! Ask older MF or PhD students about the classes they have taught and how the workload was.

What is FREaC?

Forestry Research and Ecology at Cal.

This is a combined lab group of all the forestry-related labs at Berkeley: Axelson Lab, Battles Lab, Potts Lab, Stephens Lab, York Lab

We meet once a month to discuss updates in the forestry/forest ecology world, talk about our research, and to maintain our community. Reach out to one of the lab-members about being added to the listserv.

(Registered Professional Forester's license)