The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved the establishment of five new degrees at its last meeting. The new degree programs are now with the state’s Council on Postsecondary Education for consideration. If approved, the university plans to enroll students as early as the fall 2018. One of those is a graduate degree in forest and natural resources.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree with a major in forest and natural resources, in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The doctorate in forest and natural resources is designed as an individualized yet comprehensive degree of study in the management and conservation of natural resources and the environment. This doctoral program is the first of its kind in Kentucky. Students will be prepared to conduct research in natural resource sciences as well as teach in natural resource-related disciplines, such as forest management and conservation biology. Graduates of the program will be employed in state and federal governments and private industry.

"The approval of these five programs by the BOT (to be followed by review and final approval from the Council on Postsecondary Education) is a culmination of the collaborative work of faculty, staff and administrators,” said Katherine M. McCormick, the immediate past chair of the University Senate. “Each program is the product of multiple reviews by department, college, unit, and university-wide councils and committees. These new programs exemplify the innovative and creative partnerships of UK faculty and administrators and are examples of the ways in which UK responds to our commitment to meet the needs of our students and the Commonwealth."

Read more at UKNow.