Horticultural Science (BS): Plant Breeding and Biotechnology in Horticulture Concentration
The Bachelor of Science in Horticultural Science: Plant Breeding & Biotechnology in Horticulture Concentration is one of the four concentrations offered in by the Department of Horticultural Science. Students are offered a unique look at various aspects of Horticulture.
The Plant Breeding & Biotechnology in Horticulture concentration is a menu driven concentration that allows students to direct their education in either plant breeding or biotechnology. Students are required to take two Biology courses, Soil Science, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry I and II, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Whole Plant Physiology. The remaining courses for the major are selected from a series of topical menus: Plant Protection Electives, Business Electives, and Advised Electives.
Students can follow paths toward research and biotechnology in academia or industry or pursue a graduate degree.
Coordinator
Department of Horticultural Science
Kilgore Hall
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7609
Plan Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation | |||
| ALS 103 | Freshman Transitions and Diversity in Agriculture & Life Sciences | 1 | |
| or ALS 303 | Transfer Transitions and Diversity in Agriculture & Life Sciences | ||
| Communication | 3 | ||
| Public Speaking | |||
or COM 112 | Interpersonal Communication | ||
or COM 202 | Small Group Communication | ||
| Mathematics & Sciences | |||
| MA 121 | Elements of Calculus | 3 | |
| or MA 131 | Calculus for Life and Management Sciences A | ||
| ST 311 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 | |
| BIO 181 | Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity | 4 | |
| BIO 183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 | |
| CH 101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science | 3 | |
| CH 102 | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 | |
| CH 221 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 | |
| CH 222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 | |
| CH 223 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 | |
| CH 224 | Organic Chemistry II Lab | 1 | |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | ||
| Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics | |||
| Foundational Courses | |||
| BCH 351 | General Biochemistry | 3-4 | |
| or BCH 451 | Principles of Biochemistry | ||
| CS 413 | Plant Breeding | 3 | |
| GN 311 | Principles of Genetics | 4 | |
| GN 312 | Elementary Genetics Laboratory | 1 | |
| HS 201 | The World of Horticulture: Principles and Practices | 3 | |
| HS 290 | Horticulture: Careers and Opportunities | 1 | |
| HS 301 | Plant Propagation | 4 | |
| HS 303 | Ornamental Plant Identification I | 3 | |
| HS 304 | Ornamental Plant Identification II | 3 | |
| or PB 403 | Systematic Botany | ||
| PB 421 | Plant Physiology | 3 | |
| PB 480 | Introduction to Plant Biotechnology | 3 | |
| SSC 200 | Soil Science | 3 | |
| SSC 201 | Soil Science Laboratory | 1 | |
| Select one of the following Internship/Research/Teaching courses: | 3 | ||
| Horticulture Internship | |||
| Research Experience in Horticultural Science | |||
| Teaching Experience in Horticultural Science | |||
| Electives | |||
| Environmental Elective | 3 | ||
| Plant Protective Electives | 6 | ||
| Business Elective | 3 | ||
| Broad-Scope Elective | 3 | ||
| Advised Electives | 9 | ||
| GEP Courses | |||
| ENG 101 | Academic Writing and Research 1 | 4 | |
| GEP Humanities | 6 | ||
| GEP Social Sciences | 3 | ||
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 2 | ||
| GEP US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 | ||
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 2 | ||
| GEP Global Knowledge (verify requirement) | |||
| World Language Proficiency (verify requirement) | |||
| Free Electives | |||
| Free Electives (12 Hr S/U Lmt) 2 | 5 | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | ||
- 1
A grade of C- or higher is required.
- 2
Students should consult their academic advisors to determine which courses fill this requirement.
Environmental Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIT 100 | Current Topics in Biotechnology | 4 | |
| ES 200 | Climate Change and Sustainability | 3 | |
| COM 289 | Science Communication and Public Engagement | 3 | |
| CS 224 | Seeds, Biotechnology and Societies | 3 |
Plant Protective Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS 414 | Weed Science | 4 | |
| CS 415 | Integrated Pest Management | 3 | |
| ENT 425 | General Entomology | 3 | |
| or FOR 402 | Forest Entomology | ||
| FOR 318 | Forest Pathology | 3 | |
| or PP 315 | Principles of Plant Pathology | ||
| or PP 318 | Forest Pathology | ||
Business Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC 280 | Survey of Financial and Managerial Accounting | 3 | |
| ARE 215 | Small Business Accounting | 3 | |
| ARE 306 | Agricultural Law | 3 | |
| ARE 309 | Environmental Law & Economic Policy | 3 | |
| ARE 311 | Agricultural Markets | 3 | |
| ARE 312 | Agribusiness Marketing | 3 | |
| ARE 332 | Human Resource Management for Agribusiness | 3 | |
| MIE 310 | Introduction to Entrepreneurship | 3 | |
| MIE 413 | New Venture Planning | 3 |
Advised Electives Categories
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad-Scope Electives | |||
| BIO 414 | Cell Biology | 3 | |
| BIT 402 | Biotechnology Networking and Professional Development | 1 | |
| CS 411 | Crop Ecology | 3 | |
| HS 403 | Plant Micropropagation and Tissue Culture | 3 | |
| HS 451 | Plant Nutrition | 3 | |
| HS 462 | Postharvest Physiology | 3 | |
| HS 476 | Crop Physiology and Production in Controlled Environments | 3 | |
| HS 491 | Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship Study Abroad | 3 | |
| PB 413 | Plant Anatomy | 2 | |
| Breeding Elective | |||
| BCH 453 | Biochemistry of Gene Expression | 3 | |
| BIT 465 | Real-time PCR Techniques | 2 | |
| BIT 467 | PCR and DNA Fingerprinting | 2 | |
| BIT 471 | RNA Interference and Model Organisms | 2 | |
| BIT 474 | Plant Genetic Engineering | 2 | |
| BIT 481 | Plant Tissue Culture and Transformation | 2 | |
| BIT 476 | Applied Bioinformatics | 2 | |
| BIT 501 | Ethical Issues in Biotechnology | 1 | |
| GN 423 | Population, Quantitative and Evolutionary Genetics | 3 | |
| GN 425 | Advanced Genetics Laboratory | 2 | |
| GN 427 | Introductory Bioinformatics | 3 | |
| GN 451 | Genome Science | 3 | |
| GN 461 | Advanced Bioinformatics | 3 | |
| Biotechnology Electives | |||
| BIT 410 | Manipulation of Recombinant DNA | 4 | |
| BIT 471 | RNA Interference and Model Organisms | 2 | |
| BIT 474 | Plant Genetic Engineering | 2 | |
| FS 402 | Chemistry of Food and Bioprocessed Materials | 4 | |
| GN 421 | Molecular Genetics | 3 | |
Semester Sequence
This is a sample.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| ALS 103 or ALS 303 | Freshman Transitions and Diversity in Agriculture & Life Sciences or Transfer Transitions and Diversity in Agriculture & Life Sciences | 1 |
| BIO 181 | Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity | 4 |
| COM 110 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| HS 201 | The World of Horticulture: Principles and Practices | 3 |
| HS 290 | Horticulture: Careers and Opportunities | 1 |
| MA 121 or MA 131 | Elements of Calculus or Calculus for Life and Management Sciences A | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIO 183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| ENG 101 | Academic Writing and Research | 4 |
| CH 101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science | 3 |
| CH 102 | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| ST 311 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| ARE 201 | Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics or Principles of Microeconomics or Fundamentals of Economics | 3 |
| CH 221 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CH 222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| HS 303 | Ornamental Plant Identification I | 3 |
| GN 311 | Principles of Genetics | 4 |
| GN 312 | Elementary Genetics Laboratory | 1 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Advised Elective | 3 | |
| CH 223 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CH 224 | Organic Chemistry II Lab | 1 |
| Environmental Elective | 3 | |
| HS 304 or PB 403 | Ornamental Plant Identification II or Systematic Botany | 3 |
| SSC 200 | Soil Science | 3 |
| SSC 201 | Soil Science Laboratory | 1 |
| Hours | 17 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Advised Elective | 3 | |
| BCH 351 or BCH 451 | General Biochemistry or Principles of Biochemistry | 3 |
| CS 413 | Plant Breeding | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Horticulture Internship | ||
| Research Experience in Horticultural Science | ||
| Teaching Experience in Horticultural Science | ||
| Plant Protection Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Advised Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Humanities | 3 | |
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 2 | |
| HS 301 | Plant Propagation | 4 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| GEP US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 | |
| PB 421 | Plant Physiology | 3 |
| GEP Social Sciences | 3 | |
| PB 480 | Introduction to Plant Biotechnology | 3 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| Hours | 13 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Advised Elective | 3 | |
| Business Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 2 | |
| GEP Humanities | 3 | |
| Plant Protection Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Career Opportunities
Horticulture graduates fill positions in production, processing, sales, service, and outreach. Among these are:
- County extension agents
- Vocational agriculture teachers
- Plant breeders
- Landscape designers and landscape contractors
- Floral crop grower or floral designer
- Fruit and vegetable growers
- Business owners
- Orchard, nursery, greenhouse, and garden center managers
- Research, production, and promotional specialists with commercial seed, fertilizer chemical, and food companies
- Urban horticulture specialists
- Garden writers
- Quality control technologists
- USDA specialists
- County and state government planners
- Leaders in other phases of agricultural and industrial developments
- Students also prepare for careers in research, teaching or extension in horticulture
Career Titles
- Agricultural Engineer
- Agricultural Inspector
- Agricultural Sciences Professor
- Agricultural Technician
- Botanist
- Crop Workers Supervisor
- Farm and Ranch Manager
- Farm Management Advisor
- Farm Products Purchasing Agent
- Farmers and Ranchers
- Food & Drug Inspector
- Food Science Technicians
- Golf Course Manager
- Greenhouse and Nursery Manager
- Horticultural Worker Supervisor
- Horticulture Therapist
- Horticulturist
- Irrigation Engineer
- Landscape Architect
- Landscape Contractor
- Plant Breeder
- Sales Representative (Agricultural Products)
- Winemaker / Vinter
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