Courses

FIRE 123 – Fundamentals of Fuel and Fire Fall and Spring every year
Fundamentals of Fuel and Fire is a lecture/lab-based course that provides a history and development of fire policy, an overview of fire behavior, fire ecology, and fuels management. The course is required of all students in the Applied Fire Science and Management program, Fire Management concentration in Forestry, Fire Ecology minor, and is frequently taken by other students interested in this topic.

FIRE 321 – Fire Ecology Fall every year 
Fire Ecology is a lecture/lab format course that covers the topics of fire history, plant adaptations to fire, fire effects, and fire interactions with other disturbances as they relate to fire regimes of California and beyond. The course is required of all students in the Applied Fire Science and Management program, Fire Management concentration in Forestry, Fire Ecology minor, and is frequently taken by other students interested in this topic.

FIRE 323 – Fire Behavior and Effects Spring every year
Fire Behavior and Effects is a lecture/lab-based course that provides a strong background in the science of fire behavior and effects, modeling, and measuring wildland fires. The course is required of all students in the Applied Fire Science and Management program, Fire Management concentration in Forestry, Fire Ecology minor, and is frequently taken by other students interested in this topic.

FIRE 324 – Fuels Inventory and Management Fall every year
Fuels Inventory and Management is a lecture/lab-based course that addresses the manipulation of forests and wildlands to reduce fire intensity, severity, and improve resilience to fire. The course consists of lectures, field and computer labs, and is based on student reviews of current literature in this emerging field. The course is required of all students in the Applied Fire Science and Management program, Fire Management concentration in Forestry, Fire Ecology minor, and is frequently taken by other students interested in this topic.

FIRE 422 – Applied Fire Use and Policy Fall every year
Applied Fire Use and Policy course is an experiential course for students interested in prescribed fire management and restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems. The course provides students with “hands-on” learning opportunities designed to prepare them for application of prescribed fire. The students gain relevant experience participating in prescribed burns and developing a prescribed burn plan. The course is required of all students in the Applied Fire Science and Management program and is an optional course for Fire Management concentration in Forestry.

FIRE 479 – Applied Fire Capstone Spring every year
Applied Fire Capstone course is the culminating experience for all Applied Fire Science and Management Majors. The course is centered on students applying their acquired knowledge to develop a project that addresses a management or science relevant issue or problem in partnership with a local or regional community group or agency. Students develop a technical report and present their findings to fellow students, faculty, and community members.  

SCI 501 – Research Methods and Planning in Forest Sciences Fall every year 
This course is required of all graduate students in the Natural Resources MS program and is frequently taken by undergraduate students with a strong interest in natural resource science. The course focuses on critical review of current literature, thesis proposals, and presentation of natural resource science research.