Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Transformative, hands-on learning opportunities
Spend the summer in a remote fishing village in Sweden. Work at an ecology-centric summer camp for kids. Find out what it’s like to work in a national park. Learn the ins and outs of the tree care business. Travel. Connect. Get outside.
There’s more to college than classrooms, lectures and textbooks. At SFA, we believe that some of the most powerful learning experiences happen outside the traditional classroom. As a forestry student, you’ll have access to a variety of life-changing, hands-on experiences – from internships and research projects to community service and more.
Internships
An internship is a great way to “test drive” a potential career path, position or company. Many organizations and companies hire exclusively from their intern pool for permanent positions. Federal agencies also hire extensively through their Pathways Internship Programs.
Internships also provide you with networking opportunities and valuable connections and a source of extra income (most of our forestry internships are paid). In some cases, an internship can even lead to a career after graduation.
At least 85% of forestry students complete internships while at SFA working for a wide variety of local, state and national companies and organizations, such as:
- Weyerhauser (across the country)
- Rayonier Forestry (Lufkin, Texas)
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service (across the country)
- Acorn Forestry (Lufkin, Texas)
- Texas A&M Forest Service (across Texas)
- United States Forest Service (across the country)
- Texas Parks and Wildlife (across Texas)
- United States Army Corps of Engineers (across the country)
- Bartlett Tree Experts (Houston, Texas)
- Advanced Ecology (Center, Texas)
- Oncor Electric Delivery (across Texas)
- SavATree (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Colorado Springs, Colorado)
- Aster Canyon Consulting (Pinedale, Wyoming)
Summer Forestry Field Station
Field Station is a six-week summer program that takes place between students’ sophomore and junior years. Students will attend various forestry-oriented courses per week on topics such as forestry fieldwork, mill tours, wildlife research, geographic information systems technology and much more. These courses provide students with the hands-on, applied skills needed for upper division course work.
For more information please contact Dr. Matthew McBroom at mcbroommatth@sfasu.edu.
Travel and study abroad
Curious about other cultures? Interested in seeing other countries and meeting people from around the world? Learn about forestry and environmental issues from a global perspective.
Past travel study abroad opportunities for SFA forestry students include:
- a course on horticulture, natural resources and tourism in the Netherlands
- assisting with faculty research on the threat of wildland fires in the Netherlands
- an internship in a remote fishing village in the Swedish Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle
- an opportunity to provide outreach and service in rural Haiti through tree planting, soil conservation, and animal husbandry
- and studying wildlife management and conservation in Costa Rica.
Conferences and networking events
Forestry students have the opportunity to attend a variety of professional conferences, academic development, and professional networking events throughout the year. Our students have presented their undergraduate and graduate research projects, connected with industry professionals, and learned about potential career paths.
To learn more about upcoming opportunities, students should contact one of the professional forestry organizations.
Volunteering and outreach
Lumberjacks love to give back. In addition to completing paid internships, many forestry students also volunteer their time to organizations that align with their interests and career goals, including:
- “turtle patrol” in Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (Gulf Shores, Alabama)
- prescribed burning to enhance wildlife habitat (Southeast Texas)
- white-tailed deer capture and biometrics (South Texas)
- forest restoration through tree planting (East Texas)
- and clean-up following tornado damage at Caddo Mounds (Alto, Texas)