Tropical Horticulture Specialty

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123 semester hours

The Tropical Horticulture curriculum is designed to provide students with a well-rounded background in horticultural science with special emphasis on the production of tropical and subtropical crops. The program offers a wide selection of courses, each providing the student with both the theoretical and the hands-on approach to learning the subject matter. Required and elective horticulture courses cover a wide range of topics such as nursery management, floriculture, orchid culture, tropical landscaping, vegetable crop production, tropical fruit production, and many more. Elective courses utilize state-of-the-art technology in areas such as aseptic micro-propagation (plant tissue culture) and hydroponics. In addition to these specialized courses, the Tropical Horticulture curriculum is based on a solid core of traditional horticultural courses where students learn basic horticultural techniques such as grafting, pruning, pest management, and cultivating crops that are of economic interest in the tropics.

Students are provided with the necessary skills and knowledge required for employment and postgraduate education. Hands-on participation is an integral part of each course and strengthens the students’ ability to apply theory. Courses such as plant tissue culture, weed science, and others will generally be accepted as graduate level courses. Additionally, students will broaden their experience through required and elective courses from other agriculture areas of specializations. Graduates from this program typically find employment as entrepreneurs, research associates, teachers, extension agents, grounds superintendents, agriculture products sales representatives, plant quarantine inspectors, and agriculture technicians. Graduates are highly skilled in managing, producing, and marketing horticultural crops.

Agriculture: Tropical Horticulture Specialty Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree

GROUP 1. General Education Requirements (and Assigned Credits)

• English Composition (3)
• Quantitative Reasoning [MATH 104 or its equivalent in Group 2 fulfills the 3 semester hours of this requirement]
• World Cultures (6)
• Humanities (3 or more) [ENG 225 and one COM course in Group 2 fulfill 6 out of the 9 semester hours of this requirement]
• Social Sciences (6 or more) [AGEC 201 or ECON 130 in Group 2 fulfills 3 out of the 9 semester hours of this requirement]
• Natural Sciences [Science Courses in Group 2 fulfill all 10 semester hours of this requirement]

GROUP 1 Total: 18 Semester Credits

GROUP 2. Major Requirements (and Assigned Credits)

1. Agriscience Requirements (70 semester hours)
   • AG 291 Directed Work Experience (3)
   • AG 375 Introduction to Genetic Analysis (3)
   • AG 497 Senior Seminar (1) [see Note 1 below]
   • AGBU 110 Introduction to Micro-computing for Agriculture (3)
   • AGEC 201 Agricultural Economics (3) OR ECON 130 (3) Introduction to Microeconomics
   • AGEC 221 Agricultural Accounting and Record Analysis (3) OR ACC 250 Financial Accounting (3)
   • AGEN 231 Introduction to Agricultural Mechanization (3)
   • ANSC 141 Introduction to Animal Science (3) [see Note 2 below]
   • ENTO 304 General Entomology (3)
   • HORT 262 Principles of Horticulture (3)
   • HORT 264 Plant Propagation (3)
   • HORT 481 Weed Science (3)
   • PPTH 301 Tropical Plant Pathology (3)
   • PPHY 310 Plant Growth and Development (3)
   • SOIL 304 Tropical Soils (3)
   • Choose SIX courses totaling 18–21 semester hours from the following Tropical Horticulture production courses:
     • HORT 263 (3) Hydroponics
     • HORT 266 (4) Nursery Management
     • HORT 303 (3) Introduction to Plant Tissue Culture
     • HORT 304 (3) Plant Tissue Culture Acclimatization
     • HORT 350 (3) Tropical Landscape Horticulture
     • HORT 351(3) Vegetable Crop Production
     • HORT 352 (3) Tropical Fruit Production
     • HORT 354 (4) Floriculture and Ornamental Production
     • HORT 360 (4) Orchid Culture
     • HORT 450 (3) Advanced Plant Tissue Culture
     • HORT 460 (3) Turfgrass Management
   • Choose other Agricultural courses totaling 6–9 hours depending on total credit hours taken in Tropical Horticulture production courses.
2. Required Courses from Related Fields (23–24 semester hours)
   • BIOL 175/175L Introductory Biology I plus Lab
   • CHEM 124/124D/124L General Chemistry plus Discussion and Lab
   • CHEM 125/125D/125L General Chemistry plus Discussion and Lab
   • ENG 225 Writing for Science and Technology
   • MATH 104 Pre-calculus Math OR higher, but not 107, 108, or 111
   • Choose ONE course of the following COM courses:
     • COM 100 Human Communication in a Diverse Society
     • COM 200 Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication
     • COM 251 Public Speaking

GROUP 2 Total: 93 – 94 Semester Hours

GROUP 3. Electives. Taken from all university courses. (See Note 3 below)
GROUP 3 Total: 29 – 30 Semester Credits

Total Semester Hours Required For The B.S. in Agriculture: Tropical Horticulture Specialty: 123

Notes:

1. AG 497 may be taken before senior year.
2. ANSC 141 must be completed before taking other Animal Science classes.
3. Students who decide later to pursue a graduate degree would find the following courses useful: BIOL 410; CHEM 241-242; and MATH 205.
4. Students must earn at least a 2.0 GPA in courses required for the major.
5. To earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, students must fulfill the requirements for the major AND meet all of the University’s other baccalaureate degree requirements. (Please see the chapter on Baccalaureate Degree Requirements in the Catalog.)
6. Students should always check course prerequisites and the frequency with which courses are offered. This information is found in Course Listings in the back of the Catalog.
7. To ensure progress toward degree completion, students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor each semester before registering.