BSc in Horticulture (Kildalton College)

Video: Why study horticulture at WIT

What is Horticulture?

Horticulture plays a central role in creating, maintaining, and enhancing the landscapes we live in. Pretty, pollinator-friendly floral displays are the backdrop in our thriving tourist towns. The pristine golf courses and pitches we compete on, and the beautiful parks, gardens, and urban landscapes we relax in would not be possible without the skills and knowledge of Ireland’s trained horticulturists. Equally, a year-round sustainable supply of fruit, vegetables and flowers is only achieved because Hort scientists and producers make it so. There’s a role for our hort graduates along every step of the way.  Horticulture is a diverse industry and career opportunities are wide-ranging from producing plants for garden centres, working on golf courses, or landscaping, right through to fruit and vegetable production.

What is the BSc in Horticulture course?

The WIT BSc. in Horticulture course is a full-time, 3-year course designed to train professional horticulturists. Our students study STEM-rich horticulture modules, undertake work placement, gain business acumen, and graduate from the course having specialised in two major streams of hort study. We place great importance on experiencing the industry and making contacts; our students learn about their industry throughout the whole 3 years by taking frequent field trips to the best horticulture businesses. We recognise that Horticulture students especially enjoy the hands-on work involved in horticulture therefore we ensure that classroom and lab work is balanced with plenty of practical work to practise the skills learned during the course.

The Hort course is run in conjunction with Teagasc. Students can choose to study in one of two locations. Please note, that separate CAO codes are used for the two locations.

• Location 1: Study in Waterford, at Waterford IT and in Teagasc, Kildalton College. Course code for the Kildalton course is WD096.

• Location 2: Study in Dublin, at the Teagasc College in the National Botanic Gardens. Course code for the Botanics course is WD097.   

Kildalton College - course code WD096

Students on the WD096 course study both at WIT and at Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. Our collaboration with Kildalton College, Piltown ensures students benefit from the skills and expertise of Teagasc staff. The dual-campus course facilitates study of laboratory-based scientific modules and business modules on WIT's main campus in Waterford City, while Hort-based modules are delivered in Kildalton College where you have access to extensive glasshouses, orchards, grounds and Hort machinery. A free bus service operates between Kildalton and WIT.

BSc in Horticulture placement

One of the unique features of the BSc. in Horticulture in WIT is that semester 2 of year 2 is spent on paid work experience with a registered employer in Ireland, or abroad. This 15-week work placement is an opportunity for students to practise the key horticultural skills learned in college and to also to work as part of a team in a busy horticultural business.

We ensure all our placements are student-focused; we endeavour to place students in thriving and busy work placements where they will grow in confidence, and develop a wide skills base to enhance their employment prospects upon graduation. Teagasc has links with Ohio State Horticulture Internship Programme, and every year some of WIT’s Hort students travel abroad on work placements in the UK, Europe and the USA. Many students who complete their work placements abroad are employed beyond the 15-week minimum period therefore spend the summer working with their hosts and usually earn the standard industry wage for that position. In recent years, Summerhill Landscapes in New York has been one such employer who kindly sponsored our students to extend their working visas in the USA. In practical terms, this means that such students are in college from September to December of year 2, but spent the following January to late August with their work placement hosts.

Horticulture for Small Holders, the ‘Green Cert’, and Spraying Certification with DAFM.

As well as horticultural knowledge, graduates of the course are deemed to have achieved the equivalent of the ‘Green Cert’ for Stamp Duty exemption for land transfer for young farmers. ‘Green Cert’ status is incredibly useful when our students realise the potential returns when they have access to a few acres, and the key horticultural and business knowledge required to capitalise on that smallholding. In addition, graduates of the course are eligible to apply for ‘Professional User/Sprayer Operators’ Certification (with the DAFM) which is a necessity for use of plant protection products. 

WIT students on the 'Sod Show'

Have a listen to the Sod Show, where Eddie Byrne, a third year student on horticulture course at WIT is interviewed.

Peter talks to Maura Clarke, horticulture student at Waterford Institute of Technology. She talks about what drives her to study horticulture and her continuous drive for knowledge and education. A pretty inspiring interview!

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