MEC and Michigan State University to Offer a Dual-Degree Forestry Program

In a move to promote racial inclusion in the forestry industry, Medgar Evers College has collaborated with Michigan State University to address the diversity of those who manage, study, and care for national forests.

A new dual-degree collaboration seeks to attract more underrepresented groups to fill forestry careers in the United States. According to the Census Bureau, only five percent of foresters and conservation scientists are people of color. The “3+2” degree program will have students attending Medgar Evers College for three years and then enrolling at Michigan State for an additional two years. At the completion of the five-year program, students will earn a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from MEC and a master’s degree in Forestry from MSU.  The program will be part of MEC’s Chemistry and Environmental Science department where professors worked to bring the program to the College.  The degree program creates a rare opportunity for students beyond Brooklyn.

“The only other college in the Northeast region offering a degree in forestry is Yale,” said Chemistry and Environmental Science Professor Derrick Skeete. “This initiative is a game-changer not only for Medgar Evers but for the entire state of New York as well, as the forestry industry as a whole. Our students have a unique opportunity to lead in an industry where minorities have long been excluded.”

“This partnership will increase diversity within MSU and the forestry profession,” said Professor David Rothstein, the partnership lead at MSU’s Department of Forestry. “It also will provide an opportunity for MEC environmental science students to capitalize on growing public and private sector demand for trained foresters.”

The new joint curriculum will begin accepting students in fall 2020.