Applied Horticulture

Types of Degrees Applied Horticulture Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many applied horticulture/horticulture operations graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	960
Associate Degree	631
Undergraduate Certificate	362
Bachelor’s Degree	79
Graduate Certificate	2

What Applied Horticulture Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to applied horticulture and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Applied Horticulture Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Applied Horticulture Majors

A major in applied horticulture prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Abilities for Applied Horticulture Majors

Applied Horticulture majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Applied Horticulture Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with applied horticulture:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Agricultural Sciences Professors	7.9%	$84,640
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers	11.4%	$48,220

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Horticulture?

Roughly 53% of the graduates are women, and 47% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of applied horticulture majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	3
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	12
White	62
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	2

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Applied Horticulture

Some degrees associated with applied horticulture may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to applied horticulture have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	15.0%
Some College Courses	6.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	13.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	25.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.7%
Master’s Degree	3.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	14.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.0%

Online Applied Horticulture Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	80	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	135	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Applied Horticulture

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to applied horticulture.

Major	Number of Grads
L&scaping & Groundskeeping	916
Turf & Turfgrass Management	401
Plant Nursery Operations & Management	130
Ornamental Horticulture	127
Applied Horticulture/Horticultural Business Services, Other	109
Greenhouse Operations & Management	108
Floriculture/Floristry Operations & Management	103
Urban and Community Horticulture	4
Public Horticulture	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By {} under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.