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Program Description
The Arboriculture minor has been designed to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices of the arboriculture profession. Combined with a major in Horticulture or Forestry, this minor will help prepare students for a career in arboriculture. The courses in the minor include arboriculture, disease and insect control, the planting and maintenance of plants in the landscape, and management of trees in urban environments. HORT 201, and many of the introductory positions available to graduates with an arboriculture minor, require physical strength and conditioning. The profession of arboriculture has many opportunities available in the application of arboricultural practices, sales, consulting, management of companies, and management of urban trees.
What is Arboriculture?
Arboriculture is the practice of cultivating and maintaining ornamental trees and shrubs. The Arboriculture minor is designed to provide students with both an overview and in-depth understanding of the principles and practices of growing and maintaining trees, shrubs, and other perennial woody plants. This minor provides opportunities for students from all colleges to learn more about tree and shrubs and their health and care. The range of courses allows considerable flexibility for students to tailor the minor to their particular needs. The tree care profession has experienced rapid growth over the past decade and many more knowledgeable tree specialists are required to meet many of these needs.
You Might Like This Program If...
You love the outdoors, have a great appreciation of nature, love to challenge yourself, and enjoy working as a team to improve the aesthetics and safety of the interface between people and trees in both urban and rural communities.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 26-28 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| ENT 313 | Introduction to Entomology | 2 |
| ENT 314 | Management of Insect Pests of Ornamentals | 1 |
| FOR 401 | Urban Forest Management | 3 |
| HORT 201 | Applied Arboriculture | 2 |
| HORT 301 | Principles of Arboriculture | 3 |
| HORT 408 | Landscape Plant Establishment and Maintenance | 4 |
| SOILS 101 | Introductory Soil Science  | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| BIOL 110 | Biology: Basic Concepts and Biodiversity | 3-4 |
| or BIOL 127 | Introduction to Plant Biology | |
| FOR 203 | Field Dendrology | 3 |
| or HORT 137 | Ornamental Plant Materials | |
| PPEM 300 | Horticultural Crop Diseases | 2-3 |
| or PPEM 318 | Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees | |
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Tarrah Geszvain
Academic Adviser
117 Tyson Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-6087
thg110@psu.edu
Career Paths
Some of the more common positions that are available in the tree care industry for trained arborists include grounds person (performs the pruning or removal of trees and shrubs); climbing arborist (undertakes various types of tree pruning such deadwood removal, crown reduction, specific branch weight reduction, and clearance pruning); and plant health care technician (focuses on keeping plants in the urban environment healthy).
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES WITH A MINOR IN ARBORICULTURE
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF PLANT SCIENCE
101 Tyson Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-2571
thg110@psu.edu