MSc Horticulture

Program Overview

The MSc Horticulture is a one-year program designed for individuals seeking expertise in horticulture. It equips students with the scientific knowledge and skills to lead and manage horticulture enterprises, influence policy, and contribute to sustainable practices in the global horticulture industry. Graduates pursue careers in plant production, distribution, research, design, and various other roles in the horticulture sector.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MSc Horticulture is a one-year, full-time program designed for early career graduates, mature students, and career changers who wish to acquire greater expertise in horticulture. It caters to individuals working or intending to work in the global dynamic horticulture production and supply industry. The program draws on the academic expertise available in the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.

Objectives:

The program aims to provide students with the education and skills to enable them to attain leadership roles and set and maintain professional standards of excellence within horticulture in Ireland and globally. Graduates will be able to:

• Become professional horticulturists and horticultural scientists who utilize their scientific education to provide sustainable management of horticulture enterprises, services, and organizations.
• Influence and direct policy and governance at corporate, local, national, and international levels for the betterment of their enterprise or services and the wider community.
• Disseminate knowledge by engaging with various industry sectors and horticultural services.

Teaching:

• Student education is informed by active internationally recognized research.
• Engagement in learning is through formal lectures, practical classes, scenario-based learning, group and individual research project work.
• Teaching and learning activities are conducted in an atmosphere of fairness, quality, and excellence, supported by an assessment process designed to provide students with a record of their academic progress.
• Students benefit from intensive interaction with staff as part of the community of scholars and by their participation in modules and industry/site visits.
• The program enables students to develop critical thinking capabilities, to be confident and competent individuals who have the ability to acquire the knowledge necessary for professional decision-making and to advocate for horticulture in a global context.

Careers:

• Wide-ranging career opportunities exist in private companies, public organizations, and government agencies in the food and non-food sectors of horticulture.
• The program also allows graduates to completely change direction, putting them on a radically different career path from their primary degree and advancement to PhD level.
• Graduate Roles:
• Plant Producers
• Distribution and Retail
• Horticulture Therapists
• Designers
• Technical Advisors
• Scientists
• Business Development
• Entrepreneurial Roles

Other:

• The minor thesis component offers a very broad choice of research topics that allows a candidate to focus on a specific subject area.
Students are assigned an academic supervisor with research interests and expertise in the thesis subject area.
• Today, the supply of horticulture goods and services involves a global network of producers, distributors, and retailers.
• While labor is currently a significant part of the cost basis for horticulture enterprises, innovations in technology, logistics, and management are disrupting the traditional labor-intensive model of horticulture businesses.
• With ever-increasing demands from the marketplace to reduce costs, future horticulture enterprises will require highly educated and skilled individuals who can interpret and apply sound scientific knowledge and utilize modern innovative technologies and management systems to provide sustainable globally relevant horticulture products and services.

MSc Horticulture (D064) Full Time EU fee per year - € 10174.5 nonEU fee per year - € 29100