Climate change is expected to have profound effects on forests. Society can respond by managing in forests in ways that can help mitigate climate change or help forests adapt. Nonetheless, changes in climate and forest responses are uncertain, making management and policy decisions difficult and controversial. We will investigate the effects of climate change on forests, focusing on potential forest management and policy responses.

This course provides graduate students with the fundamental research skills needed to successfully complete their graduate degree program and begin their professional career. In this course, you will learn how to plan, write, and critique scientific research proposals. Instruction will focus on direct, hands-on learning by writing a research proposal that could serve as your graduate thesis proposal. You will learn to pose relevant, interesting, and tractable researchable questions; design testable hypotheses; develop research goals and objectives; and apply critical thinking skills to design appropriate research methods. Students will benefit from having taken FES 520, although this is not a prerequisite for enrolling in FES 521.