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Academic Programs of Study
Undergraduate Majors
Environmental Horticulture and Turfgrass Management: The major in environmental horticulture and turfgrass management prepares undergraduate students for professional careers in both the public and private sectors. Flexible course requirements allow students to develop individual areas of concentration and prepare for a variety of positions after graduation. In addition, the program provides a solid background for graduate study in several science and policy disciplines.
Freshmen: Introductory courses in horticulture, biology, landscape architecture, mathematics and liberal arts.
Sophomores: Pre-professional and concentration courses in horticulture, prerequisites in arts and sciences.
Juniors: Concentration courses and supporting electives.
Seniors: Advanced concentration studies and supporting electives.
Environmental Horticulture and Turfgrass Management focuses on the sustainable culture and use of plants to enhance the human environment. Graduates of this program pursue careers as:
| Golf course superintendent |
Plant propagator |
| Horticulturist |
Nursery owners or operator |
| Landscape contractor |
Lawn service firm manager |
| Park systems or arboretum manager |
Technical representative |
| Garden centers and floral shop proprietor |
Vegetable or fruit grower |
Graduates may also enter graduate school for careers in research and education.
This program of study fulfills certification requirements for the American Society of Agronomy, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, as well as various other certifications in horticulture and arboriculture. The major comprises 120 credits, including 25 credits of pre-professional courses, 50 credits in concentration and supporting courses, and 6 internship credits.
Graduate Specializations
Entomology includes insect ecology, pest management, aquatic entomology, plant-insect interactions, biological control, and biology and ecology of disease-transmitting arthropods. The entomology program manages the only university-affiliated biological quarantine laboratory in the Northeast. Faculty and students search abroad for natural enemies of pest species and study them in the laboratory under secure conditions. The laboratory, certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an insect-quarantine facility, is an important component of a long-standing program on insect ecology and the development of environmentally sensitive pest-control measures.
Plant Sciences covers plant ecology and physiology, plant molecular biology and genetics, plant pathology, environmental horticulture, environmental plant biology, sustainable agriculture, and golf and sports turf management. The department operates 50 acres of turfgrass, horticulture and plant science research and education farm centers. URI's Turfgrass Center is the oldest research and teaching program in the U.S.
Graduate Degrees
Master of Science: Admission requires GRE and bachelor's degree in a biological or physical science, or engineering. Applicants with course deficiencies may be required to take appropriate undergraduate courses for no program credit, and to demonstrate, by their performance in such course work or through a qualifying exam, basic knowledge of the subject matter in the area(s) of deficiency.
Program requirements for the thesis option are six credits of thesis and 24 credits of course work, including graduate seminar. An oral preliminary examination may be required for certain fields of study. For the nonthesis option, we require 36 credits of course work, including graduate seminar and 14 credits of course work from the home department, three credits of nonthesis Master's Research, three credits of statistics, and a written comprehensive examination. An oral preliminary examination and advanced seminars may be required in certain fields of study.
Doctor of Philosophy: Admission requires GRE and bachelor's degree in a biological, physical science, natural resources science, or engineering; specific undergraduate majors or course work may be required for certain fields of study. A Master's degree with thesis in biological science, physical science, or natural resources science is highly recommended.
Program requirements: 72 credits of advanced course work beyond the bachelor's degree (a master's degree may count for up to 30 credits), 18 of which are dissertation credits and at least two of which are graduate seminar credits; comprehensive examination; and dissertation. A qualifying examination will be required for students who are admitted without a master's degree and may be required for students whose prior degrees are outside of the proposed Ph.D. field of study.
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