Horticulture Minor

At least 15 credits from the courses listed below. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and a grade of “C” or better must be received to count toward the Horticulture minor.

Note: Courses taken prior to Fall 2024 with an inactive PL-prefix (i.e., PLBIO, PLBRG, PLHRT, PLPPM, and PLSCS) will still count towards the minor so long as that course was accepted for minor credit at the time it was completed.

The Horticulture Minor aims to increase students’ knowledge and skills for managing fruits, vegetables and landscape plants for the purpose of improving the quality of life for individuals and communities. A minor in horticulture can complement many areas of study, from art history to biological engineering to hotel management.

Advisor: Frank Rossi
Academic Surge A106 (Ag Quad)
fsr3 [at] cornell.edu (fsr3[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Required Courses

• PLSCI 1101 - Plant Science and Systems (Fall, 4 credits)
• PLSCI 1115 - The Nature of Plants (Spring, 3 credits)

Elective Courses

At least eight credits from the list below. Special topics courses, seminar courses, and courses without regular instruction cannot be counted toward the credit requirement.

• PLSCI 2020 - Foods of the Future (Spring, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 3000 - Annual and Perennial Plants in the Landscape (Fall, 1.5 credits)
• PLSCI 3025 - Hydroponic Food Crop Production and Management (Fall, 4 credits)
• PLSCI 3050 - Arboriculture: Applied Tree Care (Fall, 1.5 credits)
• PLSCI 3350 - [Sustainable Orchard Management] (Spring, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 3550 - Postharvest Biology of Horticultural Crops (Spring, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 3575 - Principles of Vegetable Production (Fall, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 4020 - Plant Propagation (Fall, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 4175 - [Production and Management of Greenhouse Crops] (Spring, 4 credits)
• PLSCI 4500 - Fruit Crop Physiology (Spring, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 4520 - Berry Crops: Culture and Management (Fall, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 4551 - [Principles of Nutrition and Nutrient Management in Crops and Landscape Plants] (Spring, 3 credits)
• PLSCI 4730 - [Ecology of Agricultural Systems] (Fall, 4 credits)
• PLSCI 4931 - It’s Just Grass: Grassing the Urban Eden (Spring, 2 credits)
• PLSCI 5850 - Public Garden Management (Spring, 3 credits)

Accommodations for transfer students (course substitution per advisor)

Students who matriculate with AP credit in biology are still expected to take PLSCI 1101 and PLSCI 1115. Transfer students must verify with the minor advisor that they have taken the equivalent of PLSCI 1101 and PLSCI 1115 for those courses to count toward the horticulture minor. Students are expected to take a minimum of 15 credits to complete the minor program.

To learn more about these courses,  visit the Courses of Study website.