Best Forester programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes.
5 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 108 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,280 in Pennsylvania across about 310 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 03.0101In Pennsylvania → | 71 | 65.7% | 3 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 2 | Forest Sciences and Biologymain feeder CIP 03.0502In Pennsylvania → | 19 | 17.6% | 1 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 3 | CIP 03.0201In Pennsylvania → | 15 | 13.9% | 2 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 4 | CIP 03.0506In Pennsylvania → | 3 | 2.8% | 1 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
Top 5 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 5 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 69 | Natural Resources/Conservation, General | $37,330 | 86% | — | 61% |
| 2 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Natural Resources/Conservation, General | — | 66% | — | 71% |
| 3 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General | — | 88% | $26,912 | 26% |
| 4 | Lackawanna College Scranton, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Natural Resources/Conservation, General | $31,301 | 37% | $25,320 | — |
| 5 | Juniata College Huntingdon, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General | — | 74% | $24,867 | 79% |
All 5 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus | University Park | Public | 69 | 3 |
| Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Lackawanna College | Scranton | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Juniata College | Huntingdon | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
What foresters earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $76,400. Pennsylvania pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Foresters page.
How to become a Forester
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Foresters9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0101Natural Resources/Conservation, General
- 03.0201Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General
- 03.0501Forestry, General
- 03.0502Forest Sciences and Biology
- 03.0506Forest Management/Forest Resources Management
- 03.0508Urban Forestry
- 03.0509Wood Science and Wood Products/Pulp and Paper Technology/Technician
- 03.0510Forest Resources Production and Management
- 03.0599Forestry, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing foresters programs in Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become a Forester?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Natural Resources/Conservation, General, which awarded 71 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 65.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Forester?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Forestry, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. Together they graduate about 108 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do foresters earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $78,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.5% above the U.S. median of $76,400. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for foresters growing?+
BLS projects a +1.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Pennsylvania?+
5 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do foresters work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Forester, Area Forester, Silviculturist, Timber Sales Administrator (Timber Sales Admin) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1032.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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