An Update on Student Numbers in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State

By Helen Kraus, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Programs Director

Jodi Riedel, Senior Lecturer and AGI Coordinator

With demand for talent so high among employers in the North Carolina nursery and landscape industry, the North Carolina State University Horticultural Science Department continues to work hard to boost the field of students pursuing horticulture as a major and a career.

Guiding students to horticulture is an ongoing challenge. In addition to the ebb and flow of societal trends and career interests among high school students, admission to NC State continues to be very competitive. In fact, the unweighted average GPA of our incoming class is currently 3.87. Unfortunately, not all students with an interest in horticulture will be able to attend.

With these factors in mind, the Horticultural Science undergraduate program has developed several strategies to support students in beginning and successfully completing their degrees in horticulture. We like to say: “It doesn’t matter where you start — it only matters where you finish.” We help students select classes that will transfer from an Associate of Science degree (completed at NC State or a community college) into a fouryear Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in horticulture. When enrolled in our horticulture BS program, students are paired with a faculty advisor who teaches and researches in the student’s area of interest. That advisor will serve as a mentor for course selection and career development all the way through the student’s graduation from the degree program.

Of the nearly 190 students currently in the NC State horticulture program, approximately one-third are pursuing a two-year Associate of Science degree, with concentrations in landscape technology or smallscale farming. About half of program students pursuing a BS degree transferred into horticulture from another school or area of study; the other half started in the program as first-year students straight out of high school. Regardless of how they arrived in the program, however, all horticulture graduates will take with them an excellent education and a passion for their careers.

Our BS students are currently distributed approximately evenly among the program’s three concentrations: plant breeding and biotechnology; production systems and entrepreneurship; and landscape design, gardens and urban environments.

Happily, student numbers in our BS program are up 74% from where they were in 2017, promising a strong influx of new horticulture graduates in the near future. NC State Horticultural Science remains a strong, hands-on, problem-solving-focused program with courses that meet the desires and interests of our students and fulfill the needs of the horticulture industry. The undergraduate program also prides itself in the fact that prior to graduation, students must complete an internship, research or teaching experience in horticulture — learning opportunities that provide transformative lessons for students and help steer the focus for their future careers. If you would like to host a student intern, please reach out to me at helen_kraus@ncsu.edu, and I will be happy to help you set that up.

Finally, we continue to make great memories and enrich our students’ lives while they are in school. The Horticulture Club, Pi Alpha Xi and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Competition Team all continue to thrive. In March, 19 students and three coaches from the NC State Horticulture and Turfgrass departments ventured to Mississippi State University to compete in the NALP National Collegiate Landscape Competition. “HortPack” students worked with industry mentors to help them prepare for more than 30 competitions, ranging from arboriculture to employee development. Several of our students placed individually in the top three nationwide, and overall NC State placed in the top 10. In addition, the team brought home the Stihl Spirit Award, a testament to its unified support of Wolfpack Pride. These students were supported by numerous industry stakeholders who volunteered their time and financial contributions to help them attend this weeklong event. In 2024, the HortPack will compete in Provo, Utah, at Brigham Young University. If you would like to support this incredible endeavor, please reach out to Jodi Riedel at jssonger@ncsu.edu to make a difference — and maybe find a future employee for your landscape or nursery business!