School of Forestry & Environment

The Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a graduate school within Yale University, founded in 1900 as the Yale Forest School to provide high-level forestry training suited to American conditions, endowed by the parents of alumnus Gifford Pinchot. Its first dean was Henry Solon Graves, succeeded by James Toumey. The school influenced American forestry significantly, producing several early chiefs of the U.S. Forest Service and notable figures like Aldo Leopold. It was renamed Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 1972, reflecting broader environmental interests, and again renamed Yale School of the Environment in July 2020, creating a distinct Forest School within it. The school offers Master of Environmental Management, Master of Forestry, Master of Environmental Science, Master of Forest Science degrees, and a 5-year PhD program. It operates from several buildings including Kroon Hall, a LEED Platinum-certified structure, and manages 10,880 acres of forestland in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont, including the Yale Myers Forest. The school offers 17 joint degree programs, three with external institutions. In 2026, U.S. News & World Report ranked Yale #4 in the U.S. for Environment/Ecology programs.