The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences curriculum is purposely open and flexible to allow students to emphasize more than one focus of study. Beyond plant science and horticulture, focus might be in a commodity area (e.g. fruit or vegetable or landscape) or in a disciplinary area (e.g. ecology or physiology or genetics or business management or landscape design). You can choose additional courses to strengthen your understanding in one or more of the four themes around which Cornell’s horticulture programs are organized.

Fruit Crops: Pomology/Viticulture Careers

Pomology is the science of growing and marketing fruit crops. It is one of the few modern scientific disciplines named after a goddess-Pomona-the deity of fruit and good harvests in ancient Rome. Cornell is one of several universities in the country that offers a specialized degree in this field, which includes the cultivation of orchard fruits and nuts, as well as wine, juice and table grapes (viticulture), and brambles and berry crops. Graduates of the pomology program find work in a variety of professions that require expertise in fruit production systems. A new interdepartmental undergrad program focuses on enology and viticulture (wine and grapes). 

Golf Course Management Careers

Recreational use of turfgrass on golf courses and athletic fields requires sophisticated design, establishment, and maintenance practices. Managing turfgrass intensively while preserving and enhancing the surrounding environment is a significant challenge.

Greenhouse Horticulture and Floriculture Careers

Greenhouses provide a protected environment for producing pot plants and bedding plants, cut flowers, transplants for field productionand and out-of-season fresh vegetables and berries. Excellent career opportunities exist for graduates specializing in greenhouse crop production. Growing these crops is approached in several ways, such as leached, zero runoff, hydroponic, and organic. Market channels and global competition are an important determinant of crop production. In addition to greenhouse growing, floriculture encompasses exterior use of herbaceous plants and flowers, interior use of plants and flowers, and field production of cut flowers. The following are several courses relevant to aspects of this range of careers.

Landscape Management Careers

Integrated design, establishment, and maintenance of private and public sector landscapes and gardens is the focus of this sector of the horticulture program.

Nursery-Crop Production Careers

In-ground or container growing of the many woody and herbaceous species utilized in landscapes or planted to orchards and vineyards and the operation of production nurseries are the activities of nurseries. Crops types include shade and flowering trees, narrow-leafed evergreens, broad-leafed evergreens, deciduous shrubs, tree and small fruits, vines and ground covers and herbaceous perennials.

Vegetable Crops Careers

Vegetable crops deals with the science of producing, harvesting, handling, and storing, processing, and marketing vegetables. More than thirty economically important vegetable crops are grown in New York State, including asparagus, beans, cabbage, onions, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, and many specialty crops. Vegetable growers and professional workers need up-to-date information on varieties, cultural practices, mechanization, weed and pest control, harvesting, storage, marketing, personnel and financial management. Cornell’s field of vegetable crops has provided such information and educated the vegetable crops industry leaders for nearly a century. Typical jobs could involve production, farm advising, marketing and sales, or working with firms supplying inputs to the industry.

Double Major and Minors

Flexibility in the Core Curriculum permits students to “minor”, i.e. concentrate, in a second curriculum. Formalized focus on a specialization (in addition to horticulture) is called “double majoring” or “minoring” and directly involves agreements with other departments. This formality is the option of departments - some offer double majors or minors and some do not.

Guidelines for a Double Major for CALS students are:

• Only majors in CALS may be used by students wishing to pursue a double major
  
• Students need an advisor in each major
  
• Course requirements for double majors may overlap
  
• The official transcript should list each major completed by the student

Guidelines for a Minor for CALS students are:

• Only minors in CALS may be used by students wishing to pursue minors
  
• Completion of minors will be verified by a representative of the corresponding major and will be listed in the CALS Registrar’s Office
  
• List of minors
  
• Students may complete as many minors as they wish. If a student desires to complete more than one minor, the requirements of those minors may overlap
  
• Each unit will legislate how many credits and which courses will be required to complete the minor. Exceptions to the requirements will need to be approved by the unit or the Curriculum Committee in the corresponding major
  
• The official transcript should list each minor completed by the student

Horticultural Business Management Careers

Because many professional horticulturists find themselves entering managerial positions in private or public sector - or starting their own production, retail store, or service enterprise - studying business management is strongly recommended.

Landscape Design and Design-Build Careers

The following landscape architecture courses also will contribute to the satisfaction of the requirement: LA 141, 142, 282, 315, 316, 317, 318, 410, 480, 491. No other landscape architecture or freehand drawing courses may be applied to the requirement because they do not contain horticultural subject matter. Students are also encouraged to take courses in these areas: agricultural economics and business management, agricultural and biological engineering, soils, ecology, entomology, geology, plant genetics and breeding, post-harvest physiology, plant physiology, oral and written expression and plant taxonomy. Use of electives to pursue study in the humanities and other areas of special interest to a student, and independent and small-group study, optional internships and work-experience programs, and undergraduate research and teaching experience are encouraged.

Science Careers

Students planning to enter graduate studies are advised to consult faculty members with similar interests and develop a plan of study with the help of their advisor.