Floriculture & Nursery Production Management, Graduate Certificate

Graduate Certificate in Floriculture and Nursery Production Management

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Fully Online
  • 12
    Credits
  • $590.00
    In-State
  • $590.00
    Out-of-State
  • Overview
  • Admissions and Requirements
  • Courses You’ll Take
  • Tuition & Fees

Program Overview

The online Graduate Certificate in Floriculture and Nursery Production Management is designed to provide students with field knowledge that is then interwoven with practical cultural and production methods.

The Floriculture and Nursery Production Management, Graduate Certificate is designed for:

  • Nursery, greenhouse and garden center industry professionals
  • Horticulture agents involved in Extension programs
  • K-12 science teachers particularly those who may wish to pursue a Master of Science degree

The online graduate certificate in Floriculture and Nursery Production Management offers a selection of courses that focus on floral and nursery crop production including business management. Core courses lend a solid science background in order for the student to gain a greater understanding of how ornamental and floral plants grow.

Students who complete this certificate may also wish to pursue a plant-related master's degree such as a Master of Science or a Master of Applied Science in Agronomy or Horticulture.

This program is offered as part of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA) and provides you with diverse perspectives on the field. You enroll in courses at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln even though courses may be taught by other Great Plains IDEA member institutions. The certificate comes from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

Students who complete this certificate may also wish to pursue a plant-related Master of Science degree or a Master of Applied Science.

Additional Certificates: The University of Nebraska - Lincoln's Department of Agronomy and Horticulture offers three graduate certificates in horticulture:

  • Advanced Horticulture
  • Ornamental Landscape and Turf Management
  • Floriculture and Nursery Production Management

The department is able to offer these three certificates as a member of the AG*IDEA Consortium. 

Career Outlook: Work in the horticulture field ranges from grounds maintenance staff who require no formal education to scientists who need a minimum Ph.D. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for Grounds Maintenance Workers is projected to grow 8.6% in the U.S. by 2030 and employment for Soil and Plant Scientists is projected to grow 10%. Earning the Floriculture and Nursery Production Management, Graduate Certificate can provide students with an edge on their resume to advance in their field.

Additional career paths may include:

  • Olericulturist (vegetable grower, seller and marketer)
  • Production and sales
  • Viticulturist/enologist
  • Plant ecologist
  • Floral company owner, florist/floral designer
  • Flower propagation; preparation of floral; foliage products for sale
  • Food scientist
  • Researcher or technologist
  • K-12 science teachers particularly those who may wish to pursue a master's degree
  • Horticulture educators involved in Extension programs
  • Industry support
  • Plant technician or researcher
  • Hydroponics
  • Inspection of plants
  • Public gardens employee or Urban Gardener/Urban farmer
  • City parks and recreation employees
  • Arborists or tree trimmers; pruners
  • Nursery, greenhouse and garden center industry professionals
  • Landscape maintenance planners; practitioners
  • Landscape designer, services or estimator
  • Landscape construction and management
  • Landscape design
  • Farm or Co-op organizational management

Admissions and Requirements

To be accepted to this program, you must have:

  1. A Bachelor's degree

    A degree in biology or a plant-related major and successfully completed at least a semester of coursework in biology, plant sciences, genetics, algebra and chemistry.

  2. 3 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale

  3. Taken the TOEFL or IELTS

    (Only required if English is not your native language)

  4. A written personal statement

    In 1-2 pages, describe 1) your professional goals and career aspirations and specifically what you plan to do with your certificate, 2) background experiences, events, and/or education that have influenced your professional goals and 3) how enrolling in this certificate program will assist you in meeting your professional goals.

  5. 3 letters of recommendation

    These must be from professionals who are familiar with your work ethic or scholastic ability. Personal references from friends, relatives, etc. are not acceptable.

  6. Official transcripts from all previous schools

  7. Resume or vitae

NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states

To apply to this program:

  1. Complete and submit the online application for Graduate Studies
  2. Pay $50 application fees

Courses You’ll Take

Course Information

The Floriculture and Nursery Production Management Graduate Certificate requires the completion of a minimum of 12 credit hours. The universities in the AG*IDEA Consortium, which offers the Horticulture certificate, are: KSU - Kansas State University, NCSU - North Carolina State University, TTU - Texas Tech University, UNK - University of Nebraska-Kearney and UNL - University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  

5 credit hours of core courses and 7 credit hours of electives are required for a successful completion of this graduate certificate.

Core Courses

Course NumberCourse NameCredits
HORT 842BPlant Physiology3
Life processes of plants, with an emphasis on water relations and hormonal and stress physiology. Includes fundamental concepts underlying the science of crop physiology, including crop phenology, canopy development and light interception, photosynthesis and respiration, and dry matter partitioning. The course is taught by faculty from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and will be offered in the fall semester of even-numbered calendar years. To enroll, students must be accepted into the horticulture graduate certificate program or get permission.
HORT 843AAdvanced Greenhouse Crop Production4
Introduction to the concepts of greenhouse construction, operation and management for a variety of horticultural crops, with an emphasis on ornamental crops. Greenhouse construction, heating, cooling, growing media, pest management, nutrition, fertility, growth regulation, irrigation, post‐harvest handling, and marketing of greenhouse crops.
HORT 844AEnvironmental Nursery Production Practices3
Cultural nursery crop production practices will be presented with consideration of current recommended Best Management Practices, conservation of resources, scientific research-based investigations related to nursery cultural practices, potential risks to nursery personnel and off-site movement of airborne materials and effluents to surrounding areas and public watersheds.
HORT 896Plant/Water Relations3
Presents fundamental concepts underlying the science of crop physiology, including crop phenology, canopy development and light interception, photosynthesis and respiration and dry-matter partitioning.
AGRO/HORT 824Plant Nutrition and Nutrient Management3
Macro and micronutrient elements and their function in the growth and development of plants; the role of single elements; interaction/balances between elements and nutrient deficiency/ toxicity symptoms as they affect the physiology of the whole plant; and the relationship between crop nutrition and production/environmental considerations (e.g. yield, drought, temperature, pests). Prerequisite: AGRO 824 or basic course in plant physiology. A course in organic chemistry or biochemistry recommended.

Elective Courses

Course NumberCourse NameCredits
HORT/AGRO 817Plant Pathology: Principles and Applications3
This course is an introduction to pathogen biology, pathogen-host interactions, and environmental influences on plant diseases. It includes implementation of cultural, resistance and chemical strategies for disease management.
ENTO 803Management of Horticultural Insects3
This course focuses on identification, biology, ecology and management of insect pests of horticultural crops, including vegetables, deciduous fruits and nuts, trees and shrubs, greenhouse crops, turf and ornamentals. Emphasis is on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies employed to maintain pests below damaging levels while minimizing the use of traditional insecticides.
HORT 888Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development3
Students will research a specific agricultural enterprise, then develop and present a business plan using materials from the primary area of interest. Requires the completion of a shadowing assignment and the analysis of case studies.
ENTO 812Entomology and Pest Management3
Physiology of plant responses to environmental stresses, with emphasis on current research in selected physiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms for tolerance to environmental stresses such as temperature extremes, drought, salt, pathogens and other plants.
HORT 844BEnvironmental Stress Physiology1
Physiology of plant responses to environmental stresses, with emphasis on current research in selected physiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms for tolerance to environmental stresses such as temperature extremes, drought, salt, pathogens and other plants.

Tuition & Fees

Nebraska Residents

Per Credit Hour

Tuition
$590.00
Fees
$52.25
Total
$642.25

3 Credit Hours

Tuition
$1770.00
Fees
$156.75
Total
$1926.75

Out of State Residents

Per Credit Hour

Tuition
$590.00
Fees
$52.25
Total
$642.25

3 Credit Hours

Tuition
$1770.00
Fees
$156.75
Total
$1926.75
Ellen Paparozzi, Ph.D.
Professor

Ellen Paparozzi’s key areas of focus are plant physiology (plant nutrition) and anatomy, floriculture and ornamental horticulture and plant physiology and production ecology. Her main research focus is on the broad topic of leaf yellowing and subsequent re-greening of leaves. She is approaching this topic using physiological, anatomical and molecular biological methods. She teaches several courses and has published numerous articles.

Application Deadlines
  • Fall SemesterMay 15
  • Spring SemesterOct 01
  • Summer SemesterFeb 15