Wood Products (W P)
Associate Director for Academic Programs Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs
Dr. Paul Blankenhorn Jamie Murphy
814-865-6972 814-863-0363
http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/
Overview
The nation's forests are a major renewable natural resource from which a wide variety of wood products are derived: paper and packaging, construction materials, furniture and cabinets, chemicals and fuels. Wood is strong, lightweight, versatile, abundant, and renewable, and can be converted to finished products with the use of far less energy than most other industrial materials.
The nation's wood products industry consists of approximately 38,000 manufacturing plants and 22,000 sales and distribution centers with more than 2 million employees and an annual payroll of more than $36 billion. Wood products industry markets are global.
The Wood Products program has a long history at Penn State. The Board of Trustees first approved a curriculum in Wood Utilization in 1942. The first graduate students to complete their Master of Forestry degree with a specialization in Wood Utilization graduated in 1947. In 1961, the bachelor's degree program in Wood Utilization was replaced by Wood Science, which was again revised and renamed Forest Products in 1975. Effective Fall 1992, the program name was changed to Wood Products and two program options--Business and Marketing, and Processing and Manufacturing--were developed. A Wood Products Marketing minor was also created. Today the Wood Products program at Penn State is nationally recognized and professional accredited by the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST).
The Wood Products Processing and Manufacturing option closely resembles the prior Forest Products program. It focuses on wood science and technology and on the conversion of wood into products. This option meets the accreditation standards of the Society of Wood Science and Technology. Students in the Processing and Manufacturing option strengthen their training by selecting technical electives that emphasize fiber science, the material sciences, engineering, chemistry, or the biological sciences. Graduates may find employment in industry, trade associations, government, and universities, and may continue their education in a graduate program with a science or engineering orientation.
The Wood Products Business and Marketing option is one of only a few of its kind in North America. It resulted from discussions with employers and with faculty in other forest-products-related programs throughout the nation, and from the increasing sophistication of business and marketing within the industry. For example, a recent survey clearly indicated the need for potential employees to have not only a solid base in wood technology and building technology, but also a very strong complement of business-related skills such as management, marketing, and finance. Students in the Wood Products Business and Marketing option receive instruction in the basic sciences, computer programming, business management, and marketing while focusing on the technical aspects of wood products and related manufacturing technologies.
The Wood Products Marketing minor offers students in other majors the opportunity to develop a basic competency in wood products marketing and processing, including knowledge and skills helpful for those who wish to seek sales employment in wood products industries.
Objectives
The Wood Products program has the following objectives:
- Efficiently transfer scientific and technological knowledge to undergraduate students in the areas of wood science, technology, and conversion of the timber resource base into useful products for society.
- Enhance students' writing, speaking, and leadership skills in a professional setting.
- Provide problem-oriented education to students so that they can solve the future problems facing the wood products industry and nation.
Careers for Wood Products Majors
Placement studies have consistently shown excellent professional-level employment of Wood Products graduates in North America. An extensive survey of the 34 wood products programs in the United States and Canada has determined that there are about 2.3 jobs available for every undergraduate in Wood Products. It has also been shown that available government jobs (federal, state, and extension) exceeded available graduates by a ratio of more than 3:1.
The wood products industry uses state-of-the-art technical equipment in manufacturing facilities costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The market for wood products is global. The industry needs highly trained professionals with excellent technical and communication skills.
Wood Products Business and Marketing
The role of marketing within the wood products community is becoming increasingly important. The marketing concept of a customer-oriented, integrated, company-wide activity is a central theme within industry, academia, and governmental policy-making environments. Elements such as quality, value, and customer satisfaction, among others, are conceptualized, planned, and executed via marketing efforts.
The concept of social marketing, which incorporates environmental or "green marketing," is also being increasingly discussed and addressed throughout the wood industry. How a firm, industry, or nation chooses to address the fundamental issue of maintaining the environment for future generations, and how this issue can be translated honestly and objectively into a competitive advantage, are topics of great importance to wood products marketing professionals.
Students who specialize in Wood Products Business and Marketing may have their first job in sales, moving later to management of a district or national account. Others may go into retail management in the rapidly growing home improvement center industry, beginning in a trainee position and typically advancing to assistant manager and then store manager in two to five years. Still others with an analytical aptitude may be employed as a market research analyst or product-market manager in corporate headquarters. Graduates may also continue their education in an MBA or other advanced degree program in business, marketing, or wood products marketing.
Wood Products Processing and Manufacturing
Because of the inherent advantages of wood, and because world populations are growing and standards of living are increasing, demand for wood products is growing. Individuals with training in applied or basic research, technical service functions, and manufacturing processes will be key players in initiatives to satisfy that growing demand.
Graduates of the Wood Products Processing and Manufacturing option may find employment in industry, government, and universities. Opportunities in industry are with both small and large firms such as Georgia Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Trus Joist MacMillan, National Caseins, International Paper, and Union Camp Corporation. Numerous technical service positions are filled by Penn State graduates in the cabinet, furniture, sawmill, wood composite, adhesives, paints, and finishing industries. Graduates may continue their education in advanced degree programs with a science or engineering orientation. Students with advanced degrees are employed in research positions with government and universities, as well as with industries and trade associations.
Course Scheduling Tips
All Wood Products students should change their campus location to University Park by the start of their sophomore year (third semester). It is extremely helpful to complete calculus, statistics, and chemistry requirements as early as possible.
Acceptable selections for Arts, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, United States Cultures, International Cultures, Health Sciences and Physical Education, and First-Year Seminar are listed in the General Education in the Curriculum handbook.
When a required course has both a lecture and practicum portion, such as PHYS 215L and PHYS 215P, students are required to take both portions.
Please contact Jamie Murphy with any scheduling questions (814-863-0362).
Curriculum
http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/major/w_p.htm
Student Handbook 2006-2007 (PDF)
Recommended Academic Plan
Business and Marketing Option (PDF)
Processing and Manufacturing Option (PDF)