Horticultural Communication Option
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Effective communication skills are crucial to the success of many sectors of modern, professional horticulture: Horticultural companies and commodity groups market their products to the general public; horticultural professionals communicate the needs of their industries to government policy makers; educators and researchers share research results with those who could benefit from them; public information officers of public/private agricultural organizations alert donors and stakeholders to issues of mutual interest. The Horticultural Communication option was developed to meet these needs in the field.

The option serves to produce graduates with expertise in communications between different segments of the horticultural community (business, government, and education/extension) and the general public. Graduates will possess two subsets of skills:

  1. Horticultural skills to actively investigate horticultural problems and situations, the acquisition of a broad, deep foundation of horticultural knowledge, and the ability to actively synthesize and apply that knowledge to real world issues.
  2. Communication skills with emphases on the business, education or political arenas, and knowledge from course work that includes print, broadcast, and digital modes of delivery.

Horticulture Core

General Science (30)

BI 211, BI 212, BI 213. *Principles of Biology (4,4,4)
CH 121. General Chemistry (5)
CH 122. *General Chemistry (5)
CH 130. General Chemistry of Living Systems (4)
MTH 112. *Elementary Functions (4)

Agricultural Sciences (18)

BOT 350. Introductory Plant Pathology (4)
CSS 305. Principles of Soil Science (4)
CSS 306. Problem Solving: Soil Science Applications (1)
CSS 440. Weed Management (4)
ENT 311. Introduction to Insect Pest Management (5)

Plant Materials (5-7)

Choose 2 courses from the following:
FOR 141. Tree/ Shrub Identification (3)
HORT 226. Landscape Plant Materials (3)
HORT 227. Landscape Plant Materials (3)
HORT 228. Landscape Plant Materials (3)
HORT 233. Vegetable Crops (4)
HORT 251. Temperate Tree Fruit, Berries, Grapes, and Nuts (2)
HORT 255. Herbaceous Ornamental Plant Materials (3)

Horticulture (17-20)

HORT 111. Introduction to Horticultural Crop Production (2)
   HORT 112. Introduction to Turf and Landscape Management (2)
HORT 301. Principles of Horticultural Technology (4)
HORT 407. Seminar (1)
HORT 410. Internship (1–12)
or HORT 403. Thesis (1–16)
HORT 412. Career Exploration (1)
HORT 495. Horticultural Management Plans (3)

 

Option Requirements

Horticulture (30)

Upper–division HORT courses (18 credits)
HORT 300. Introduction to Crop Production (4)
HORT 302. Principles of Horticultural Technology (4)
HORT 311. Plant Propagation (4)
 

Communication Core (7 credits not in Bacc Core)

COMM 111. *Public Speaking (3) (Wr III)
WR 201. *Writing for Media (3) (Wr II)

 

Choose one of the three areas of concentration from below:

Marketing (31 credits of non-Bacc Core courses)

BA 390. Marketing (4)
ECON 201. *Intro to Microeconomics (4)
WR 214. *Writing in Business (3)
WR 414. Advertising and Public Relations Writing (3)

Choose 18 credits from the following:
BA 492. Consumer Behavior (4)
or BA 493. Advertising Management (4)
COMM 316. Advanced Persuasion (3)
CS 195. Introduction to Web Authoring (4)
CS 295. Intermediate Web Authoring (4)
NMC 383. Field Production (4)
NMC 481. Post Production (4)

Media/Education (30)

NMC 302. Reporting (3)
NMC 305. Copyediting (4)
WR 327. *Technical Writing (3)

Choose 21 credits from the following:
COMM 412. Topics in Communication (3)
FOR 391. Natural Resource Communications (3)
FOR 493. Environmental Interpretation (4)
FOR 495. Interpretive Projects (2)
NMC 383. Field Production (4)
NMC 481. Post Production (4)
NMC 482. Documentary (4)
WR 448. Magazine Article Writing (3)

Footnotes:
* Baccalaureate core course
^ Writing intensive course  

Agricultural Issues (30)

AREC 475. M/Negotiation in Business and Resource Management (1)
COMM 114. *Argument and Critical Discourse (3)(Wr III)
COMM 218. *Interpersonal Communication (3)(Wr III)
PS 414. Interest Groups (4)
PS 415. Politics and the Media (4)

Choose 4 credits from the following:
PS 474. Natural Resource Policy and Bureaucratic Politics (4)
PS 475. Environmental Politics and Policy (4)

Choose 12 credits from the following:
COMM 314. Argumentation (3)
COMM 316. Advanced Persuasion (3)
COMM 321. Intro to Communication Theory (3)
COMM 322. Small-Group Problem Solving (3)
COMM 440. Theories of Conflict and Conflict Management (3)
COMM 442. Bargaining and Negotiation Processes (3)
COMM 444. Third Parties in Dispute Resolution: Mediation (3)

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