Horticulture (degree course)

A bachelor's degree in horticulture or horticultural sciences deals with horticultural plant production and the associated services, such as trade and sales. A master’s degree based on this is designed in such a way that it prepares for a scientific activity in research and teaching or provides for a professional activity that requires appropriate skills.

Course content

The horticultural studies deal with the cultivation of horticultural crops , especially flowers and ornamental plants , woody plants , hardy perennials and ferns , vegetables , fruits and special crops as well as the upstream and downstream areas such as scientific research, advice, service, sales and trade . A degree in horticulture is a predominantly natural science course, which is characterized by a strong application orientation and is supplemented by economic content. The horticultural sciences are also included in the "applied plant sciences".

In the course of study, detailed knowledge of the production of horticultural crops is imparted, such as how useful plants are to be cultivated under controlled conditions , especially in greenhouses , in cultivation rooms or in phytotrons. For controlled cultivation, special knowledge about the way of life and behavior, such as growth, flowering, fruiting of countless types of flowers, woody plants, vegetables or fruit, as well as the interactions with various cultivation conditions, such as light and temperature, is of decisive importance. In general, the importance of digitization and robotics is increasing in academic training in horticulture, for example in so-called "precision farming" or the digitized detection of damage symptoms, undesirable weeds or the state of growth and maturity of plants or plant products (keyword HortInnova, horticulture 4.0).

Further main areas of study are the imparting of knowledge in the field of plant breeding , plant biotechnology and plant tissue culture in horticulture.

A horticultural course conveys practical knowledge, for example during lessons in the greenhouse. (Photo credit: GMH)

The cultivation of various special crops such as algae , medicinal and aromatic plants , mushrooms , turf or Christmas trees are just as much a part of a horticultural study as quality management , cost and performance accounting or controlling . Upstream areas such as research, consulting and the supplier industry as well as downstream areas such as urban horticulture , gardening, landscaping and sports field construction (e.g. arboristics or sifting and planting), cemetery gardening , food technology , bioprocess engineering , floristry and trade are also included during the course of horticultural science.

University locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

In Germany, horticulture is taught at the following nine universities:

Some universities with courses in agricultural sciences, such as B. the University of Hohenheim and the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn offer individual modules from horticulture in their curriculum. The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna also offers individual modules in the field of horticulture. In Switzerland , environmental engineering with a specialization in horticulture (horticulture) can be studied at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences .

Today almost 2000 students are enrolled in horticulture courses in Germany every year. Horticultural studies are characterized by comparatively small study groups with correspondingly intensive supervision.

Undergraduate studies (Bachelor)

In the undergraduate degree in horticulture, basic scientific knowledge about plant production , horticultural services as well as business administration and trade is imparted. At many universities, horticultural studies can be deepened in the natural sciences, for example in the courses of applied plant biology , horticultural phytotechnology , molecular and applied plant sciences or in the field of economics, such as the industrial engineering course in agribusiness and after-sales service or logistics and management of fresh products . Admission requirements for a bachelor’s degree can be a horticultural master’s degree or a technician’s qualification in addition to corresponding school qualifications (general university entrance qualification, technical diploma). The undergraduate degree comprises 6 to 7 semesters of standard study time, depending on the university . The undergraduate degree consists of courses that are important for all horticultural sectors , i.e. agricultural meteorology , botany and ecology , plant nutrition , plant protection , plant breeding and propagation as well as technology (in particular agricultural machinery , greenhouses ), business administration, marketing, trade and sales . Specific specialist knowledge in the fields of horticulture is imparted in the modules for ornamental plants , perennial gardening , tree nurseries , vegetable growing and fruit growing . In addition, preparatory basic modules such as mathematics , statistics and experimentation as well as physics and chemistry must be taken regularly in the first part of the course . Usually, it is compulsory to work in companies in the horticultural industry during your studies, for example in internships or practical semesters. In addition, for example, the range of the use of plants, such as gardens and a green surface design with shrubs and woody plants, Wechselflor, indoor plants, are complementary modules Bauwerksbegrünung , roof , Urban Horticulture and the agroforestry , the Friedhofsgärtnerei or landscaping deepened.

Horticulture students learn different ways to determine the optimal harvest time for apples in commercial fruit growing. (Photo credit: GMH)

Postgraduate Studies (Master)

In the advanced degree courses in Horticultural Science, the knowledge acquired in the undergraduate degree and, if necessary, during a professional activity is deepened. Depending on the university, the master’s degree comprises 3 to 4 semesters of standard study time. Specializations and in-depth subjects are usually offered in the field of plant production and / or in the economic field. Degree programs that focus on horticultural crop production , such as production management in agriculture and horticulture , plant research management or plant biotechnology, often deepen competencies for future work in the laboratory, i.e. plant tissue culture and biotechnology . The economics in-depth study programs, such as agricultural management - advanced management of operating systems in organic farming and horticulture (eco) , process and quality management in agriculture and horticulture focus on modules such as controlling , product development , quality management or supply chain management .

Study abroad, dual study and teacher training course

study abroad

In addition to the possibility of completing the entire degree abroad, there are various options for gaining international experience during the horticultural degree. The international master’s program in Horticultural Science is offered as a cooperation between the Technical University of Munich , the Humboldt University of Berlin , the University of Bologna , the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and the Corvinus University of Budapest . Universities that offer cross-border double degrees are, for example, the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences together with Agrocampus Ouest in Angers (France) or the Leibniz University of Hanover together with the University of Wageningen (Netherlands).

The evaluation of cultivation trials in a team is an important part of the horticultural study. (Photo credit: GMH)

Internships and study stays abroad are supported by various institutions and funding programs, such as the German Academic Exchange Service , Erasmus + , the international association IAESTE and the Schorlemer Foundation of the German Farmers Association .

dual study

A dual course of study that combines an apprenticeship as a gardener with a bachelor's degree in horticulture can be attended at Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences . The dual study is characterized by its special combination of university studies and professional practice.

Teacher training

In addition, horticulture can be studied for teaching at vocational schools at the Humboldt University in Berlin, the Geisenheim University - in cooperation with the Technical University of Darmstadt and at the Technical University of Munich .

In some federal states, master's graduates (without studying for a vocational school teaching position) have the opportunity to complete a legal clerkship. The completion of the legal traineeship regularly qualifies for the higher teaching post at master and technical schools for horticulture (= one and two-year technical school).

Career prospects

Before the Bologna process was implemented, horticultural courses were awarded the academic degree of Diplom-Ingenieur . The job title for a university graduate in horticulture is therefore still horticultural engineer today .

After completing the bachelor's degree in horticulture, the graduate can work in horticultural production companies, in the supplier industry or in marketing and sales, such as in garden centers, in wholesalers, in cooperatives, in food retailing or quality management. In addition, Bachelor graduates can work in consulting, in testing, in associations, in the public service in development cooperation, in expert services, in insurance or in the field of horticultural journalism.

Completion of the master’s degree enables graduates to work in research and development, for example in plant breeding or in the management area in marketing and trade. A master’s degree opens up the possibility of taking up management positions in the public service, as well as working as a vocational or technical college teacher or in research outside the university . Similarly to the graduates also offers an activity in research and teaching at universities, usually promotions - and possibly habilitation work provide.

History of Horticulture

With the onset of modernity, at the end of the 18th century, an agricultural revolution broke out in Europe . New processes, such as the use of agrochemicals or mechanization , led to enormous increases in yield. In addition, in the course of industrialization, ever smaller proportions of the population were active in primary production . With the construction of the railway , agricultural and horticultural products could also be marketed nationwide, which led to increased competition within the industry. After all, activities in agriculture and horticulture that were formerly without training now required agricultural and horticultural expertise. The agricultural professions , including that of gardening, experienced a professionalization . Albrecht Daniel Thaer , who is considered the founder of agricultural sciences, was a pioneer in setting up agricultural educational institutions. In 1803 he founded the Agricultural Academy Möglin with government support , which later became what is now the Humboldt University in Berlin . In German horticulture, Eduard Lucas was a pioneer in setting up horticultural educational institutions. In 1860 he founded the school for horticulture, fruit culture and pomology in Reutlingen . The sovereigns wanted to push yield increases in agriculture and horticulture in their country, which is why the establishment of appropriate schools was promoted. Many of these educational institutions are the forerunners of today's horticultural universities.

The establishment of the horticultural subject was different at universities and technical colleges / colleges for applied sciences. The courses and courses offered at the forerunner institutions of the universities of applied sciences were upgraded from the 19th to the 20th century for academic training , i.e. university studies. The horticulture course was only established at universities in the first half of the 20th century as a specialization in agricultural science.

Universities of applied sciences / universities of applied sciences

Fruit and horticultural schools have been established throughout Germany since the beginning of the 19th century, for example the Electoral Central Tree School (later: Royal Bavarian Horticultural School ) in Weihenstephan in 1804, the Royal Gardener Training Institute in Berlin in 1823, or the Royal Prussian Institute for Fruit and Viticulture in Geisenheim 1872. These horticultural schools are mostly the predecessor institutions of today's horticultural colleges and have changed their names several times in the course of history. Up until the 1950s, the schools often bore the designations of Higher Educational Institutions for Fruit and Horticulture or Teaching and Research Institutes for Horticulture and were then renamed as Horticultural Engineering Schools . Due to changes in university legislation, the technical colleges (FH) emerged from the engineering schools in 1971 and, since the 2000s, the universities (for applied sciences) . The universities of applied sciences in Erfurt and Dresden-Pillnitz were only founded after the fall of the 1990s, but they also build on local horticultural teaching traditions (e.g. the horticultural engineering school in Erfurt). Usually, the universities of applied sciences expanded the duration and depth of their courses over the years. A course duration of 6 specialist theoretical semesters was established, which in connection with 2 practical semesters or a previous gardening apprenticeship (2 to 3 years) led to the conclusion. The degree was ultimately called a graduate engineer and, until the Bologna reform was implemented, a qualified engineer ( FH ). The degree entitles them to attend university studies in horticulture.

Austrian universities of applied sciences have only existed since the early 1990s, none of which offer a degree in horticulture. The higher horticultural schools in Austria emerged in a similar way to the technical colleges in Germany . A graduation from the higher federal college for viticulture and fruit growing in Klosterneuburg and the higher federal college for horticulture in Schönbrunn concludes with a maturity examination. After 3 years of practical experience, graduates can use the title of engineer (also graduate HLFL engineer , where HLFL stands for Higher Agricultural and Forestry School ).

Original application from 1928 in the Prussian state parliament for the establishment of a horticultural college by Ernst Schröder

Universities

At the universities (then: Technical University ) in Germany there is a long tradition of agricultural science courses, which in 1929 was supplemented by a specialization in horticulture. On December 12, 1928, Ernst Schröder had submitted an original application for the establishment of a horticultural college in the Prussian state parliament, which led to the establishment of the course at university level.

The Agricultural University Berlin, founded in 1881, goes back to the Agricultural Academy Möglin . With the establishment of a horticultural department at the Berlin Agricultural University in 1929, the first horticultural course was created at a university in Germany, which is still offered today by the Humboldt University in Berlin . The agricultural courses offered at the Technical University of Munich are based on the model agricultural enterprise with agricultural school founded in 1803 from which the Royal Bavarian Academy for Agriculture and Brewery emerged in 1895. Horticulture can be studied at the Technical University of Munich since 1947. Horticulture has been possible in Hanover since 1948 at the University of Horticulture and Regional Culture. This university was merged into today's Leibniz Universität Hannover in 1951 . Until the implementation of the Bologna reform the university study comprised eight specialized theoretical semester and graduated with the title Diplom gardener and later graduate engineer agr. ( Univ. ) From.

Since 1961, horticultural scientists from universities and non-university research and advisory institutions have been working together in the German Horticultural Science Society (DGG) .

Current innovations

The German horticultural university landscape is still changing today. In the meantime, both universities and technical colleges / universities of applied sciences offer bachelor's and master's degrees in horticulture. This fact led, among other things, to the merger of the alumni associations of university graduates BDGL (graduate engineers in horticulture and landscaping) and the technical college graduates BIG (Association of Horticultural Engineers and Land Care) to form BHGL (Federal Association of University Graduates / Engineers in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture) in 2004.

From the Geisenheim department (with bachelor's and master's degree in horticulture) at the Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences at the Geisenheim study site and the Geisenheim research institute, which is also located there , the first "new type of university" in Germany emerged in 2013. The Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences combines bachelor's degree programs typical of a university of applied sciences with university-oriented master’s degree programs, combines application-oriented and basic research into special cultures and has the right to award doctorates.

At several German-speaking colleges and universities, the traditional horticultural or horticultural sciences courses were renamed in the 2010s . Often the designation of scientifically oriented horticulture courses is now (special) plant sciences or (applied) plant biology . In economics-oriented courses, the term management is usually included in the course name.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c youth campaign of the Central Association of Horticulture eV (ZVG) on horticultural studies: http://www.beruf-gaertner.de/gartenbau.html

↑ ^a ^b Explanations of the LUH's horticultural studies: Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Heinz Jansen among others: Horticultural crop production. UTB: Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Research strategy for innovations in horticulture - HortInnova. thuenen.de, July 7, 2017, accessed on May 9, 2018 .
↑ ^a ^b Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL): Horticulture in Germany: http://www.bmel-statistik.de//fileadmin/daten/GBB-0000100-2012.pdf
↑ Thünen Institute : Economic importance of the horticultural sector in Germany: http://literatur.vti.bund.de/digbib_extern/dn051846.pdf
↑ Federal Association of University Graduates / Engineers, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (BHGL): http://www.vdl.de/bhgl/hochschule_studium/hochschulstandorte.php
^ German Horticultural Science Society (DGG): http://www.dgg-online.org/
↑ Presentation of BOKU Vienna: http://www.boku.ac.at/universitaetsleitung/rektorat/stabsstellen/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/themen/leitbild-mission-statement
↑ Bachelor's degree in "Environmental Engineering" at the ZHAW - archived copy ( memento of the original from September 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Degree in Applied Plant Biology - Horticulture, Plant Technology (B.Sc.)
↑ Logistics and Management Fresh Products (B.Sc.)
↑ Key areas of study “Crop Production” and “Economics” in the Master’s degree in “Horticultural Sciences” at the HSGM Archived copy ( memento of the original from May 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Presentation of the course in plant biotechnology at the LUH: http ://www. Pflanzenbiotechnologie.uni-hannover.de/

↑ Website for the "International Master in Horticultural Science": http://www.uwe-schmidt.eu

↑ German-French double degree in horticulture (HSWT): http://www.hswt.de/international/studienangebote-und-projekte.html

↑ German-Dutch double degree in horticulture (LUH): http://www.gem.uni-hannover.de/fileadmin/institut/gemuesebau/pdf/VegSys/Informationen_Studium.pdf

^ German Farmers' Association: Agricultural internship , accessed on September 16, 2014.

↑ Bachelor course "Horticulture Dual" at the HSWT: http://www.hswt.de/studium/studiengaenge/gb/dual.html

↑ M.Ed. Master’s degree for teaching agriculture and horticulture

↑ - Specialization of vocational school teacher in the horticulture course at Geisenheim University

^ - TU Darmstadt, Center for Teacher Education

↑ Teacher training course at TUM - http://www.wzw.tum.de/index.php?id=190

↑ Preparatory service for the higher agricultural service (traineeship in agriculture) Baden-Württemberg

↑ Occupational field analyzes for the horticultural studies: http://www.vdl.de/bhgl/hochschule_studium/2013/berufsfeldanalysen.php

↑ Overview of the professional field of the HSO: http://www.al.hs-osnabrueck.de/26534.html

↑ ^a ^b ^c Harald Bischoff - Head of the German Horticultural Museum and member of the Society for Agricultural History: Oral communications on the development of horticultural training institutions and the University of Applied Sciences in Erfurt. 19th September 2014

↑ Homepage of the Institute for Horticulture at the HSWT: Archive link ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ ^a ^b Beuth: Chronicle of the gardening school http://www.beuth-hochschule.de/?id=2048
↑ ^a ^b ^c Martin Bahmann: 140 years of Geisenheim as a teaching and research location - a historical review. and: Hans Rainer Schultz: The Science Council and the new university in Geisenheim. The Campus Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 04, 2012; http://cm.hs-gm.de/CM042012/index.html
↑ ^a ^b History of the Freising-Weihenstephan campus
↑ ^a ^b University of Applied Sciences Erfurt
^ The agricultural and forest science education system in Austria. http://www.gartenbau.at/2_lehre/pictures/schemabildung.pdf
↑ Bund der Diplomgärtner (Ed.), 1955: Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of university studies in horticulture in Germany. http://www2.ub.tu-berlin.de/permalink/t000745720 - http://www.gartenbaubuecherei.de/
↑ History of the LUH: Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Karin Rather: Horticultural Science Conference in Stuttgart-Hohenheim 2010. In: Landinfo. 6/2010. Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Joint engineering association is perfect. TASPO , August 19, 2004. http://taspo.de/aktuell/alle-news/detail/beitrag/10580-gemeinsamer-ingenieurverband-ist-perfekt.html
↑ Website of the Geisenheim University - "New Type University"
↑ Website of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences B.Sc.
↑ Website of the Hochschule Geiseinheim University Specialized Plant and Horticultural Sciences M.Sc.
↑ Website of the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences Master's degree in agricultural management - in-depth management of operating systems in organic farming and horticulture

[beruf-gaertner.de-1] youth campaign of the Central Association of Horticulture eV (ZVG) on horticultural studies: http://www.beruf-gaertner.de/gartenbau.html