Graduates of this program are eminently qualified for positions as landscape designers; contractors and maintenance personnel; greenhouse growers; plant propagators; perennial growers; nursery and garden center operators; salespeople for horticultural products; and there is a steady trend toward higher salaries in this field.
The curriculum features courses such as Woody Ornamentals, Herbaceous Plant Materials, Entomology, Greenhouse Management, and Plant Pathology. In addition, we offer Landscape Graphics, Landscape Construction and Maintenance, AutoCAD, and two semesters of Landscape Design.
The program combines these horticulture and landscape classes with offerings in math, English, general education, and business. Graduates from this program are well-prepared to enter today’s dynamic horticultural industry or to continue their education here at Vermont Tech or at another four-year college or university.
Students with an Associate of Applied Science in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture will be able to:
- Graphic Communication Skills – students develop an appropriate mastery of freehand sketching, board drafting, presentation graphics, and CADD as effective tools for the formulation, exploration, communication, and presentation of design ideas.
- Communication Skills –students develop the ability to communicate technical and theoretical information effectively to clients, customers and co-workers through both the written and spoken word; excellent listening and interpersonal skills; and the ability to understand the principles of professional conduct in all aspects of client/customer and employee/employer relations.
- Technical Skills - students demonstrate a high level of comprehension in and the ability to analyze, solve, and apply materials and methods of construction (including the respective roles of specifications and drawings, the development of design intentions at the site and detail level and their resolution according to sound principles of construction, surveying techniques in preparation of a base map, construction of stone walls and patios, statics and mechanics of basic landscape construction materials, and estimating and bidding); site engineering issues such as grading and drainage; the creation and maintenance of healthy plant environments, both indoors and outdoors; legal issues and regulations as they apply to land use, landscape construction and/or installation; the installation, operation, advantages and disadvantages of greenhouse and nursery environmental systems; pesticide/herbicide application; and the utilization of appropriate computer applications.
- Design Skills – students learn to integrate fundamental design principles and practice, including site analysis, base plan measurements and preparation, and study of historic precedent in order to analyze, create, and apply these concepts to comprehensive and holistic landscape designs. Coursework includes working drawings, presentation drawings, client/jury presentation, and write-up. This course of study will culminate in a proposed master plan project that will integrate all aspects of design study.
- Horticultural Skills – students demonstrate a high level of comprehension in and the ability to analyze, solve, and apply identification, production, and use of herbaceous and woody ornamental plants; propagation; diagnosis of insect and disease problems and the assimilation of integrated, environmentally safe and sustainable approaches for their control; soil properties; and landscape applications such as plant selection, planting and pruning practices, cultural requirements, cultural practices, and maintenance.
- Business Skills – students examine and analyze the practical aspects of organizing and managing a small business; marketing (product, place, pricing, and promotion); and management skills. Students will also demonstrate a working knowledge of generally accepted accounting practices as they apply to the horticultural/design industry.
The minimum number of credits required for the degree is 69.
Two Year CurriculumFirst YearFirst Year Fall Courses
| Credits
| First Year Spring Courses
| Credits
| CIS 1080 - Intro to S/D Mgmt
| 2
| ACC 1020 - Survey of Accounting
| 3
| ENG 10XX - English *
| 3-4
| BIO 1220 - Botany | 4
| LAH 1000 - Freshman Orientation
| 1
| LAH 1050 - Introduction to Soils
| 4
| LAH 1020 - Intro to Horticulture
| 3
| LAH 2011 - Intro to Lndscp Design
| 3
| LAH 1021 - Landscape Graphics
| 3
| ELE XXXX - AH/SS elective**
| 3
| LAH 1030 - Woody Ornamentals
| 3
|
| 17
| MAT 1210 - Principles of Math
| 3
|
|
|
| 18-19
| First Year Summer Course
|
|
|
| LAH 2801 – Lndscp/Hort Internship
| 0
|
Second YearSecond Year Fall Courses
| Credits
| Second Year Spring Courses
| Credits
| BIO 2040 - Entomology
| 3
| BIO 2030 - Plant Pathology
| 3
| BUS 2210 - Sm Business Mgmnt
| 3
| BUS 2230 - Principles of Marketing
| 3
| LAH 2030 - Herbaceous Plnt Mtrls
| 3
| ENG 2080 - Tech Comm
| 3
| LAH 2802- Internship Review
| 1
| LAH 2720 - Lnd Dsn/Orn Hort Seminar
| 2
| ELE XXXX - AH/SS elective**
| 3
| ELEXXXX–technical elective***
| 3-4
| | Select One: |
| Select:
|
| LAH 2010 - Lndscp Const/Mgmt
| 4
| LAH 1031 - CAD for Landscape Design
| 1
| LAH 2020 - Plant Propagation
| 3
| and
|
|
| 16-17
| LAH 2012 - Adv Landscape Design
| 3
|
|
| or
|
|
|
| LAH 1040 - Greenhouse Mgmnt
| 4
|
|
|
| 18-19
|
*Students who do not place into ENG 1060 or 1061 may take up to three terms to complete English Composition (see English Requirements ). This may require summer courses or additional terms to complete the degree.**Students must complete a minimum of one Arts and Humanities (AH) and one Social Sciences (SS) elective.
|
