Horticultural Science (BS): Plant Breeding and Biotechnology in Horticulture Concentration
To see more about what you will learn in this program, visit the Learning Outcomes website!
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
Dr. Helen Kraus
Director of Undergraduate Programs and Associate Professor.
Department of Horticultural Science
114 Kilgore Hall, Campus Box 7609
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7609
919.515.1208
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) | |||
Foreign 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 |
ENG 101 | Academic Writing and Research | 4 |
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 | 16 | |
Spring Semester | ||
BIO 183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
CH 101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science | 3 |
CH 102 | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
COM 110 | Public Speaking or Interpersonal Communication or Small Group Communication | 3 |
ST 311 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
Hours | 15 | |
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