Undergraduate students’ career goals and perceptions of urban forestry in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

As an emerging profession, urban forestry is receiving increasing interest and attention globally. Yet, urban forestry student numbers and student awareness of urban forestry as a career are still low. Little is known about undergraduate students’ career goals and perceptions of urban forestry in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). To address this research gap, a 39-question online survey was developed and distributed via email to undergraduate students majoring in agriculture, environmental science, and natural resource management at all 19 land-grant HBCUs. A total of 81 responses were received. We found that although students valued urban forests, most of participants (66.7 %) were either slightly knowledgeable or not knowledgeable at all about urban forestry. Most students (72.9 %) were aware of urban forestry as a profession and their awareness was related to current nature-based outdoor activities (p = 0.0298), but only 22.0 % of respondents considered becoming an urban forester in the future which was affected by their household income levels (p = 0.0453). Interest in urban forestry was notably high (93.0 %); however, only 32.1 % of respondents had actively sought to learn more about the topic. Their primary sources of information included the internet, classes, consultations with professors or experts or specialists, books, and participation in conferences or meetings. Additionally, only a few respondents (26.8 %) reported that their universities offer urban forestry-related courses, but 53.7 % of respondents were interested in taking the courses if available in the future. These findings imply the needs of urban forestry program development, curriculum design, and student career support at HBCUs.