Agriculture – Horticulture and Landscaping AS Degree
Associate in Science | SC Program: AS.1492
The horticulture industry involves growing and caring for plants, working to enhance and beautify the urban environment, and connecting people with the outdoors. The landscaping and home garden industry generates more than $78 billion annually in the USA, employing many professionals in tree and landscape care, landscape design and construction, and nursery production. This degree will prepare students for a career in both the landscape and nursery areas. Job opportunities continue to outnumber the number of graduates in our local area. Career choices include working for state and federal organizations, garden centers, nurseries, golf courses, landscape maintenance businesses, landscape design and installation, and landscape management companies. Courses include directed practical experience with landscape care and construction, irrigation, and nursery production.
Students should contact their counselor or environmental horticulture faculty advisor to choose electives for the particular career they are planning to enter. Particular attention should be paid to course prerequisites. Students planning to transfer to a college or university should consult a counselor or Horticulture Faculty Advisor regarding transfer requirements.
Transfer Requirements May Be Different From A.S. Degree Requirements.
This degree is approved through the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. Upon satisfactory completion of all degree requirements and filing an application for graduation with Admissions and Records, the student’s transcript will reflect completion of this degree.
Choose your path
Map your education by viewing the program map for the degree or certificate you’re interested in earning below. Meet with a counselor to create your official comprehensive education plan.
A program map shows all the required and recommended courses you need to graduate and a suggested order in which you should take them. The suggested sequence of courses is based on enrollment and includes all major and general education courses required for the degree.
Fall Semester, First Year
14 Units TotalThis course applies the principles of ethical and effective communication to the creation of letters, memos, emails, and written and oral reports for a variety of business situations. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents using word processing software for written documents and presentation-graphics software to create and deliver professional-level oral reports. This course is designed for students who already have college-level writing skills. This is a required course for many major and certificate programs and an alternate requirement or suggested elective in others. This course also satisfies the A.S. General Education requirement in English. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, First Year
15 Units TotalThis course is designed to equip Career Technical Education students with college-level mathematical competencies required in today's workplace. Topics include college-level algebra, measurement units and conversion, estimation, solid figures, geometry, trigonometry, basic statistics, and probability. This course will promote quantitative reasoning through the use of mathematical applications and modeling with an emphasis on CTE topics. These applications and modeling will be reinforced by using requisite tools utilized by CTE courses to enhance students' visualization and problem-solving development.
This is a required course for Environmental Horticulture majors. The installation of lawns, groundcovers, shrubs and trees will be covered. The practices of pruning, trimming, mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pesticide application as applied to landscape management of home, parks, highways, and how to estimate and bid in all areas of landscape management will also be covered. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Fall Semester, Second Year
15 Units TotalThis course is an introduction to the process of human communication with an emphasis on small groups. Subjects covered are preparation for discussion, group participation, leadership, decision-making, interpersonal relations, managing diversity, critical thinking/problem-solving, managing conflict, and evaluation of group interaction. Students will be involved in group interactions, and emphasis will be on practical experience. College-level writing skills will be expected on all papers, outlines, and short essays. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This is a study of water hydraulics, irrigation systems design, and installation procedures and irrigation scheduling. Techniques in the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems will also be presented. Emphasis will be placed on residential design and installation, but commercial design and installation will be covered. This course is required for all Environmental Horticulture majors. The lecture portion of this course may be offered in a distance education format.
This is the training course for the Master Gardener Program, a community service organization designed to relay research-based horticultural information to the home gardener. The Master Gardener program was developed by the University Cooperative Extension to train interested horticultural enthusiasts to assist local gardeners in diagnosing plant problems and to provide science-based information for keeping home landscapes and the environment healthy. The University of California has agreed to let Shasta College use their training materials which are provided through this class. Topics covered in this course include pesticide use, IPM, weed identification and management, pruning, plant diseases, soils, fertilizers, growing vegetables, native plants, vermiculture, watering and many other plant-related topics. This is a required course for anyone interested in obtaining a UC Extension certification as a Shasta College Master Gardener. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Note: This class includes two Saturday field trips on classification, judging, and conservation of soils. The class is required for all agriculture, natural resources, and horticulture majors.
This class is an introductory course on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil as it relates to agriculture and natural resources. Ecosystem relationship of soil use and management is emphasized. The effects of drainage, tillage, and irrigation on land use are discussed. A portion of this course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, Second Year
16 Units TotalThis course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. It examines social justice movements in relation to ethnic and racial groups in the United States to provide a basis for a better understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions among key social groups including, but not limited to, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o Americans. This course examines the systemic nature of racial/ethnic oppression through an examination of key concepts including racialization and ethnocentrism, with a specific focus on the persistence of white supremacy. Using an anti-racist framework, the course will examine historical and contemporary social movements dedicated to the decolonization of social institutions, resistance, and social justice. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This class is designed to give students an overview of the California agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources industry and assist in obtaining the best possible employment during the summer and upon graduation. Students will learn interview techniques, create a professional portfolio, and develop job search and application tools. This class is required for all agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources majors. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
The Horticulture Work Experience Education course allows the student to gain on-the-job experience through employment/volunteerism at an approved horticulture job site that is acquired by the student and related to the student's major. A faculty member supervises all WEE courses to ensure that the work experience is of educational value. The course stresses good work habits and meeting of competencies through actual on-the-job performance. A student may repeat this course since course content varies and skills are enhanced by supervised repetition and practice. A maximum of 14 units may be earned in a single semester.
Please see a counselor to discuss options for meeting general education requirements for transfer to California State Universities (CSU) and/or University of California (UC) campuses, as well as any specific additional courses that may be required by your chosen institution of transfer.
*Alternative Courses: Please see a Shasta College counselor for alternative course options. You can also view the following to find other courses to meet degree/certificate requirements:
- California State Universities – General Education
- IGETC – Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
Need a print out? Feel free to download and/or print out a copy of the sample program map(s).
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