A Forest School under the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, was created through Republic Act No. 1989 on April 19, 1910, sponsored by the late Hon. Jaime C de Veyra. George P. Ahern, director of the then Bureau of Forestry was the school’s first ex-officio head. The school had 24 Forest Ranger Course students and the faculty members of the College of Agriculture taught the general education courses. In 1912, the first batch of rangers graduated from the school.

On February 11, 1916, the school became a distinct unit of the university. Five years after, the Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree was approved by the University Council and the Board of Regents. It was however formally opened in 1924 with 11 students. In the same year, the Forest School was renamed School of Forestry through Republic Act No. 3095.

During the Japanese occupation, some of the buildings, equipment, and records were burned. Despite this, the school remained open.

In 1930, the school was elevated to a collegiate level. On June 14, 1949, it became the College of Forestry through R.A. 352 authored by Senator Geronima T. Pecson. Dr. Florencio R. Tamesis was its first Filipino ex-officio head from 1937 to 1953.

A reorganization plan was implemented in 1957 that separated the College from the Bureau of Forestry, thus transferred the college under the full responsibility of the university. The U.P. Board of Regents appointed Dr. Calixto Mabesa as its first dean.

The 1960s brought changes to the College through the assistance of the State University of New York. There was the expansion program for academic facilities and faculty development; establishment of four departments namely: Forest Biological Sciences, Forest Resources Management, Wood Science and Technology, and Forestry Extension. It was also during this decade that the College offered the masteral degree program.

The College’s physical development and curricular improvements and offerings were evident in the 1970s. The Doctor of Philosophy program was offered in 1973 and after a year, the Bachelor of Science in Forest Products Engineering, a four year undergraduate program was opened. This became a five-year curricular program in 1989. A World Bank loan paved the way for the improvement of the College’s physical facilities and a strong faculty development program.

At the later part of the ‘70s, the Forestry Development Center (FDC) was created by PD 1559 and the college was reorganized.

In 1985, the Institute of Forest Conservation was established. It coordinated the extension and research functions of the college and became a leading training arm for foresters, NGOs, LGUs and academic institutions.

The 1990s saw the creation of the UPLB Agroforestry Program, offering of the revised Bachelor of Science in Forestry curriculum offering of the post-graduate Diploma in Agroforestry, in cooperation with the College of Agriculture and revision of the Forest Ranger Certificate into the Certificate in Forestry. In June 1998, the College of Forestry was reorganized into College of Forestry and Natural Resources.