• Benefit from advising and counseling services that are provided by the faculty, allowing students to receive individual guidance.
• Interact with faculty who provide students with opportunities to be involved in research projects and work in individual faculty laboratories.
• Learn from professors who are experts in genetic engineering, reproduction physiology, post-harvest handling, plant culture, computer technology, water quality, and plant impacts on people.
• Benefit from the experiences and knowledge of more than 40 faculty members who are associated with the Department of Horticulture.
• Gain hands-on experience in first-rate laboratories, computer facilities, greenhouses, field plots, and a production orchard—all available to WSU horticulture students.
• Learn from world-recognized authorities in horticulture, many of whom have traveled widely to study international agriculture, cropping systems, small farms, and sustainable agriculture.

Here are a few of the many horticulture-related courses you could take.

Hort 102—Cultivated Plants
Hort 202—Crop Growth and Development
Hort 231—Landscape Plant Materials I
Hort 232—Landscape Plant Materials II
Hort 251—Propagation of Plants

Hort 310—Pomology
Hort 313—Viticulture
Hort 320—Olericulture
Hort 326—Vineyard and Winery Equipment
Hort 332—Interior Plantscaping
Hort 340—Nursery Management
Hort 357—Greenhouse Management/Crop Production
Hort 358—Greenhouse Management/Crop Production Lab
Hort 399—Professional Work/Research Experience

Hort 413—Advanced Viticulture
Hort 416—Advanced Horticultural Crop Physiology
Hort 418—Post-harvest Biology and Technology
Hort 425—Trends in Horticulture
Hort 435—Chemistry and Biochemistry of Fruit and Wine
Hort 490—Potato Science
Hort 495—Research Experience

SoilS 201—Soil: A Living System
Entom 340—Agricultural Entomology
Biol 120—Introduction to Botany
SoilS 441—Soil Fertility
Pl P 429—General Plant Pathology

NOTE: See the WSU General Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

For all students at WSU

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, start by doing these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application so you can be eligible for scholarship consideration.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need.

Click here for more info about WSU scholarships and financial aid

For students in horticulture

Scholarship and financial aid funds are available to entering freshmen and continuing students. The Department of Horticulture awards approximately $30,000 in scholarships to more than 30 students annually.

In addition, horticulture students are eligible to compete for some of the $550,000 in scholarships available through the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.

The Horticulture Club is one of the largest and most successful student groups at Washington State University. Members participate in scholarship fund-raising projects such as plant sales and cider pressing; host guest scientists and industry representatives; and team up with other student clubs to sponsor social events such as the annual winter holiday party, spring picnic, and the fall barbecue for new students.

Students also can join horticulture groups at the regional level with the Western Association of Collegiate Horticulture Students and at the national level through the American Society for Horticultural Science.

• Enjoy growing plants and using plants to benefit humanity
• Desire to know about cultivated plants and their dynamic responses to the environment
• Desire to develop strategies to optimize horticultural practices and find applications for biotechnology
• Desire to explore the nutritional, physical, and psychological interdependence among people, plants, and gardens

With the prominence and importance of environmental issues, the job market has expanded for fruit, vegetable, and environmental horticulturists as research workers, extension specialists, teachers, professors, and scientists. Careers in some of these areas require education beyond the bachelor’s degree.

Horticulturists enjoy rewarding careers as production superintendents, marketing managers, inventory controllers, buyers, landscape maintenance specialists, landscape supervisors, interior plantscapers, bedding plant producers, education coordinators, and research and extension technicians and assistants.

Other possible careers include growers, farm managers, field personnel, brokers, shippers, warehouse and storage operators, handlers, processors, consultants, producers, and advertising and promotion specialists.

These positions are found in such various organizations as garden centers, nurseries, greenhouses, maintenance firms, florists, seed producers, bedding plant companies, bulb producers, wholesale distributors, handling and transportation firms, botanical gardens, schools and colleges, city parks, and arboretums. Horticulturists are also employed by fruit and vegetable farms, vegetable seed companies, marketing and promotional organizations, produce firms, grading and packing businesses, storage operations, and manufacturers of production and harvest machinery, fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals.

International horticulture offers career opportunities in overseas supervision and technical assistance with commercial companies and international food programs. Volunteer opportunities are available with the Peace Corps and other humanitarian organizations.