Horticulture is the production, care, marketing and use of landscape plants, flowers, turfgrass, fruits and vegetables. A Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture prepares graduates for employment in a number of career areas.

Landscape horticulture involves phases of production, marketing, installation and care of landscape plants, including landscape design and landscape plant identification. Turfgrass management relates to work in golf course and other sports turf management and lawn care services. Floriculture is a choice for students interested in greenhouse management and production of bedding plants, perennials or foliage plants, as well as work in cut flower marketing and floral design. In pomology, or fruit culture, graduates can find career opportunities in orchard and vineyard management and fruit production and marketing. Olericulture is the field of vegetable production, with career opportunities in vegetable growing and marketing.

Many students pursuing careers in the above areas of production, marketing and service seek to be self-employed, with the goal of having their own horticultural business. Related career opportunities also exist in sales of horticultural supplies, seeds, fertilizers and chemicals. Opportunities in landscape horticulture and turfgrass management are abundant for students with a good business management background along with the horticultural skills, particularly in the service-related sectors of these fields.

Horticultural graduates are commonly employed in landscape design and installation, garden center management, wholesale nursery plant production, golf course management, lawn maintenance services, greenhouse management, floral design, botanical gardens and arboreta, public parks, corporate grounds, horticulture therapy, agricultural education, cooperative extension service and research. In addition, horticulture graduates are prepared to enter graduate programs in plant breeding, plant pathology, vegetable production, native plant restoration and other plant science areas.

The four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Science degree at MSU requires all students to complete 49-51 hours of general education courses. In addition, Horticulture majors take 55 hours of horticulture major courses, which include supporting courses in soil science, plant nutrition, entomology, plant pathology, weed management and taxonomy. An additional 15 hours of accounting, economics, marketing and business management courses are required for the general horticulture major to prepare the students for operating a business. Horticulture majors are also required to enroll in an internship while attending MSU. Internships provide on-the-job, practical experience in a horticultural field of interest to the student and provide college credit toward the degree.

There are no special high school courses required in preparation for a B.S. degree in Horticulture; however, students are encouraged to prepare themselves by taking science-related courses such as biology and chemistry as well as mathematics. In addition, good communication skills are essential. Vocational agricultural courses in the horticultural field can give students a boost in starting their college careers at Missouri State University.

The following is a list of specific courses in horticulture. These are included in the more than 80 courses offered by the Department of Agriculture.

• Applied Entomology*
• Diseases of Economic Plants*
• Floral Design
• Floriculture
• Greenhouse Management
• Herbaceous Plants
• Indoor Plants
• Internship in Horticulture*
• Introduction to Forestry
• Landscape Design
• Landscape Plants
• Nursery Management
• Plant Propagation
• Pomology
• Turfgrass Management*
• Vegetable Production*
• Viticulture
• Weed Management*

* Required courses; all others can be selected as a group of 11 hours of required horticulture electives.

Two of the 15 full-time Department of Agriculture faculty hold Ph.D. degrees in horticulture and serve as academic advisors for undergraduate horticulture majors. Typical horticultural class sizes are 10-30 students, and most courses in the horticultural curriculum are taught by Ph.Ds. Important strengths of the undergraduate horticulture program at MSU are the individualized curriculum and career advisement available to students by horticultural faculty members.

The horticulture facilities include an on-campus 3900 square foot greenhouse, which is used by undergraduate and graduate student courses and research projects. Research and classroom demonstration space is also provided at the Darr Agricultural Center located a short distance from campus in Springfield. Area horticultural businesses frequently hire horticulture student interns as well as provide sites for class field trips. Research and field trips are conducted at the Fruit Experiment Station on the Missouri State University Mountain Grove campus.

Several scholarships are available to qualified horticulture majors in the Missouri State Agriculture Department, in addition to other state and national horticulture scholarships.

An active Horticulture Club provides student members with more activities related to their interests, including plant sales, landscaping, field trips and intercollegiate competitions.

Students have the opportunity to receive credit for involvement in undergraduate research supervised by one of the horticulture faculty through the Special Problems in Horticulture course.