What can I do with this degree?
PLANT SCIENCES
AREAS
LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
- Residential Design
- Landscape Construction
- Landscape Maintenance
- Specialty Installation (Irrigation systems, ponds, rockscapes, lighting)
- Sales and Contracting
EMPLOYERS
- Landscape design companies
- Garden centers
- Parks, amusement parks, and zoos
- Golf courses
- Sport fields
- Cemeteries
- Large hotels and resorts
- Industrial sites
- Colleges and universities
- Local/city governments
- State highway departments
- Self-employment
STRATEGIES
- Get practical experience in the field through
internships or summer and part-time jobs
- Be prepared to work seasonally or move to a climate where more year-round opportunities
are available
- Develop skills
in speaking, writing, and photography
- Obtain a business or agricultural economics minor if interested in management or
self-employment
- Earn a landscape
architect degree and obtain professional certification as a landscape architect
for better positions, advancement opportunities, more responsibility, and higher pay
- Participate in the annual American Landscape Contractor's Association
competition.
AREA
TURFGRASS SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
- Golf Course Management
- Sport Turf Management
- Sod Production
- Residential Lawn Installation and Management
- Irrigation Systems
- Research
EMPLOYERS
- Golf courses
- Lawn care companies
- Colleges and universities
- Sport and athletic fields
- Local/city governments
- Parks and amusement parks
- Sod production firms
- Pest management companies
- Landscape companies
- Irrigation firms
STRATEGIES
- Get practical experience with golf courses and
other turf businesses through internships or summer and part-time jobs
-
Participate in relevant student organizations and professional associations,
e.g. the Turf Club or Hort. Club
- Develop effective communication skills
- Obtain a business or agricultural economics minor if interested in management or
self-employment
- Be prepared to work seasonally or move to a climate where more year-round opportunities
are available.
AREA
PUBLIC HORTICULTURE
- Adult and Youth Education
- Urban Horticulture
- Plant Collections
- Urban Forestry
- Horticulture Therapy
- Communications
- Management
EMPLOYERS
- Public and botanic gardens
- Arboreta and conservatories
- Radio and television stations
- Magazines, newspapers and internet sites
- Zoos and aquariums
- Cities and parks
- State highway departments
- Universities
- Cemeteries
- Theme parks
- Extension Service
- Hospitals and therapy centers
- Nursing homes and senior centers
STRATEGIES
- Develop excellent writing and speaking skills
-
Join student organizations and seek leadership roles
- Learn to work well with
all types of people
- Gain practical experience in the field through internships and summer and part-time
jobs
- Earn Registered Horticultural Therapist licensure
for plant therapy or become a Certified Horticulturist
- Obtain teacher
certification for public school positions.
AREA
PLANT SCIENCES, HORTICULTURE, AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
- Greenhouse and Nursery Management
- Vegetable and Fruit Production
- Plant Biotechnology
- Plant Breeding and Genetics
- Agronomy
EMPLOYERS
- Nurseries, greenhouses, florists, and other wholesale and retail companies
- Extension Service
- Biotechnology companies
- Agribusinesses
- Plant propagation and production businesses
- Harvesting and fertilization manufacturers
- Consulting firms
- Government agencies: local, state, federal, and international
- High schools, colleges, and universities
STRATEGIES
- Gain practical experience in the field through
internships and summer and part-time jobs
- Assist a professor with a research project
- Join horticultural or agronomy clubs or other student professional
associations to network and cultivate related academic interests
- Become a
Certified Horticulturist
- A master's or doctoral degree may be necessary for
advancement.
- Some federal and private agency work, consulting positions, and
especially research positions require a graduate degree
- Maintain a strong grade
point average to be competitive for graduate school admission.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- For entry-level positions in most
areas of landscape design, horticulture, turf, agronomy and biotechnology, a
bachelor's degree is sufficient. A graduate degree may be necessary for
advancement in some fields such as research and consulting.
- Depending upon which specialty you choose, supplement curriculum with
important supporting courses: business, journalism, planning, geology,
entomology, soils, biology. Take communications courses and develop computer
skills.
- Majoring in two subject areas or pursuing a minor can increase marketability.
For example, study in landscape design and business, or public horticulture and
journalism, can lead to greater opportunities.
Prepared by the Career Planning staff of Career Services at The University of
Tennessee, Knoxville. (2006) UTK is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section
504/ADA/ADEA Employer