Wood Science - MS

Graduate programs in the Department of Wood Science and Engineering are dynamic, diverse and collaborative. Students are fully engaged in the rapidly-evolving, international field of wood products from the very beginning. Dual graduate degrees are common and encouraged; common partner disciplines include civil engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science and forest science. Graduates go on to great careers in industry, higher education, government and nonprofits.

The Department offers MS and PhD degrees in Wood Science with a broad range of specialties. Example specialties are chemistry, physics, composites, bio-deterioration and business. Dual MS and PhD degrees are also possible. Common dual degrees are with Material Science and Civil Engineering.

Renewable materials like wood are essential to human existence. The demand for the energy and thousands of consumer and industrial products made from wood and other renewable materials is growing, especially as society becomes more aware of sustainability and green issues.
To meet the global challenges of the 21st Century we must be more innovative in making, marketing and using products from renewable resources while minimizing environmental impacts. We need to learn more about complex renewable materials like wood and dream of new ways that they can help us in the future. Our domestic industry must develop and implement new technology and marketing strategies to remain competitive.

The graduate programs in wood science are designed for the future scientists, technologists and businesspersons who will meet the challenge of new knowledge and innovation.

The master of science degree from the Department of Wood Science is unique and highly-collaborative and aimed at students who desire dynamic careers in industry, higher education, government and nonprofits. Students study basic wood science and wood science in the global context of the forest sector and work with their lead professors on a one-on-one basis to determine the focus of their research. The program is firmly rooted in Oregon’s local geography—the state has long been a center of forest products manufacturing —but Oregon State’s presence, and much of the department’s research, is global.