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What you will study

At the University of Central Missouri, our horticultural classes provide you with the knowledge and skills to breed, establish, harvest and manage plants. You’ll use different tools and techniques to design, create and operate landscapes and other environments.

Undergraduate Horticulture degree program coursework involves the classroom and our university farms, which house state-of the-art greenhouses and shade houses. Take horticultural classes in:

• Fruit and vegetable production
• Landscape design and installation
• Plant diseases
• Plant propagation
• Turfgrass
• Woody and herbaceous plant identification

Complete your undergraduate Horticultural degree and pursue jobs for horticulturalists in Missouri and throughout the Midwest that impact the cultivation and growing of plants.

 

Unique learning opportunities in horticulture

To prepare you for horticultural careers, the University of Central Missouri provides you with ample hands-on, real-world opportunities. Put opportunity into action through:

• UCM farms, greenhouse and nursery: Undergraduate students in UCM’s Horticulture degree program spend a lot of time at our one-acre Greenhouse and Nursery Complex, with two greenhouses, two shade houses and a lath house. Our largest greenhouse — around 5,000 square feet — has both climate control and production capabilities. Use these spaces in various horticultural classes and gain skills in the care, grooming, propagation and trial marketing of plants. UCM also owns 370 acres across two farms that focus on forage production testing and vegetable and table grape production.
• Internships: Between junior and senior year, all UCM Horticultural degree students complete an internship with a local agency, business or other organization. Whether you pursue these opportunities locally or in nearby Kansas City, you’ll learn knowledge and skills valuable to jobs for horticulturalists. 
• Field trips and guest speakers: Botanical gardens, tree nurseries and turf farms — these are just a few of the field trips you can expect to take in the UCM Horticulture degree program. Learn alongside experts and classroom guests as you design and install landscape projects; explore propagation techniques with cuttings, grafting and tissue culture; and plant and cultivate horticultural crops, both in the field and in high tunnels.

 

What can you do with a Horticulture degree from UCM?

Graduates with degrees in Horticulture from the University of Central Missouri use their extensive knowledge of plant species and strong problem-solving skills in a variety of ways. Jobs for horticulturalists can be found in fruit and vegetable crop production, golf course maintenance, landscape or nursery management and public and private garden management.

More on jobs for horticulturalists

Explore horticultural careers, including job outlooks and salary expectations, using the interactive tool below.

 

 

Financial assistance options for degrees in Horticulture

The University of Central Missouri’s tuition and fees come in lower than many other institutions in Missouri. Our Horticultural degree program offers competitive tuition rates, along with several opportunities and resources to help you finance your college education. 

For example, our local Johnson County Master Gardeners’ Group provides scholarships to UCM students interested in horticultural careers. You can learn more about program-specific scholarships with the UCM Scholarship Finder.

Explore programs related to horticulture.   If you’re more interested in the science side of horticulture, check out our undergraduate degree in: Biology, BS