Horticulture Careers

Why study horticulture?

Careers in horticulture offer hands-on opportunities in agriculture, landscaping, science, and more. Not all horticulturists work outdoors or get their hands dirty every day. In fact, many horticulture graduates work in an office, managing a business, or work in a lab or greenhouse, cloning plants or collecting data.

What can you do with a degree in horticulture?

UGA's Horticulture program trains students in many aspects of plant science, including production, physiology, nutrition, identification, soils, pest control, and design. Students gain both scientific knowledge and practical skills that prepare them for a variety of professional careers in business, research and education. Some graduates become entrepreneurs and start their own business; others find opportunities in fields related to other physical or biological sciences. The horticulture degree has flexibility to allow students to choose electives to broaden their background in areas like international agriculture, business management, education, journalism, GIS, urban forestry, landscape design, and organic production.

Horticulture Education and the Workforce

What does the future look like for horticulture majors?

Horticulture is a growing industry with a wide number of job opportunities. With the number of rising food production and environmental problems, a wide number of solutions can be found in horticulture careers.

• Protecting native plants through propagation and better management
• Reducing carbon loss in urban environments through tree protection and landscape plantings
• Using organic and other sustainable practices to grow food crops like fruits, vegetable, and medicinal herbs
  
• Improving greenhouses production using hydroponics and LED lighting to grow food anywhere
• Saving water using drip irrigation, electronic sensors, and rainwater collection
• Breeding more resilient plants with the latest technology
• Mapping trees and rare plants to insure they are around for future generations
• Experimenting and introducing new plants for food and landscape improvement
• Teaching the next generation of gardeners and horticulturists
  
  

Explore career opportunities on these websites:

• American Society for Horticultural Science - Career Center
• Public Gardens Career Center
• Botanic Gardens Conservation International
• Horticultural Jobs.com
• Jobs In Horticulture, Inc.
• Florasearch, Inc.
• GoodFoodJobs.com
• Hire Horticulture
  
• Landscape Industry Careers

Education and Career Information for Returning Citizens

This guide helps with prior convictions to learn about going to college as it provides information about various grants and scholarships, advocacy programs and resources for ex-offenders, and other vital information to help them earn a degree. Incarcerated individuals are much more likely to return to prison three years after their release if they do not have access to educational opportunities. Guide: Higher Education After Incarceration.