Majors in Environmental Design; Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing; and Landscape Contracting and Management are future oriented. They reach far beyond aesthetics to address the issues which will positively affect tomorrow and help shape a healthier, more beautiful and livable world. The curriculum reflects the career diversity, importance and ecological foundation of our programs, and has been designed to prepare people for a profession and for life. Programs of study are rich in the basic sciences and mathematics, liberal arts, and the plant and environmental sciences. Coursework within the majors starts in the freshman year, so that professional development can begin immediately.
The curriculum is designed to allow each student to receive a skill overview of the entire field and also to develop strength and depth in a career area specialty: Environmental Design, Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing, or Landscape Contracting and Management. Yet, all students receive a skill overview of the entire field. Ample curriculum flexibility is provided so that students may elect additional science, professional or business courses. Students may also minor in any discipline outside of their major, and special minors are available in Landscape Management and Plant Biotechnology. This flexibility and interdisciplinary approach helps the student develop a background which best fits his or her personal career objectives.
The College operates approximately 30,000 square feet of greenhouses including the ultra-modern, computerized Arthur Poley Greenhouse Complex. It also operates a field/container landscape nursery operation, lath houses, and a propagation facility, all of which are used extensively in teaching. A modern teaching complex houses a laboratory, environmental design studio, design jury room, student florist shop, and faculty offices. These facilities are equipped to reflect state-of-the-art standards and are wired for network, Internet and telecommunications access. The sixty-acre main campus, with its landscape plantings, specimens and gardens, is an arboretum and is used expansively as an outdoor laboratory. The Henry Schmieder Arboretum is a member of the American Public Gardens Association and The Gardens Collaborative. The campus is located close to many large landscape nurseries, greenhouse production facilities, retail and wholesale florists, arboreta and display gardens. Field trips to Longwood Gardens, Morris Arboretum, Princeton Nurseries, and commercial greenhouses, to mention only a few, are taken to enrich classroom teaching.
The Environmental Design; Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing; and Landscape Contracting and Management majors works closely with industry leaders and organizations to continually fine-tune their programs to address the future needs of students and industry. To help ensure this, an industry advisory group, consisting of individuals representing the broad spectrum of each major, meets periodically to review programs and to suggest improvements.
Majors in Environmental Design; Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing; and Landscape Contracting and Management open many career opportunities for the graduate. Each is a career with a future helping to shape a better tomorrow. Our unique Experiential Learning Program, which enables students to actually experience their professions, combined with the DelVal hands-on approach, gives our graduates an employment edge. Graduates in the three majors have found positions as: landscapers, landscape designers, garden center managers, assistant growers, floral designers, floral shop managers, and greenhouse managers, to name a few.
A Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Environmental Design; Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing; and Landscape Contracting and Management also paves the way to graduate school and continued education leading to careers in landscape architecture, research, biotechnology, plant breeding, high school and college teaching, and many areas of plant science.
The total number of credits required for graduation with majors in Environmental Design; Floriculture and Nursery Production and Marketing; and Landscape Contracting and Management is 128, which includes 4 credits for completion of the Experiential Learning Program.
The Experiential Learning Program (ExLP) at Delaware Valley College is a graduation requirement for all full-time undergraduate students. Students can choose from multiple experiential learning activities and will earn 4 credits for the ExLP depending on their major’s program requirements.
Minimum requirements:
- Full-time undergraduate students must complete a minimum of two experiential learning activities with at least one for academic credit.
- Students must have completed 27 credits to enroll in Experiential Learning Activities.
- All students must complete an introductory course prior to enrolling in any Experiential Learning Activities.
Students must consult with their Department Chair for specific major requirements to complete the Experiential Learning Program.
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