What You Will Learn
If you want to gain a solid education and be prepared to successfully work in customer service, sales and/or run a business in the increasingly competitive horticultural industry, the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Landscape Entrepreneur at CCM is for you!
- Gain both the horticultural technical knowledge as well as business management skills needed to excel
- Understand the wholesale and retail service industry of horticultural products
- Acquire a strong foundation in plant science, plant and floral identification, soils and landscape design
- Take courses and learn how to measure, analyze, draw, plan and install landscapes
- Obtain valuable hands-on experience working in the department’s three greenhouses producing poinsettias, annuals, perennials, vegetables and herbs
- Learn the hands-on methods to operating of various pieces of landscape construction and maintenance equipment
Curriculum
The Landscape Entrepreneur program includes a dozen courses ranging from Introduction to Horticultural Soils, Herbaceous Plants, Landscape Plant Identification, and Plant Science to Ground Maintenance, Landscape Design and Planning, and Plant Pest Management, plus an internship experience during one of your semesters of study at CCM.
The Department of Landscape and Horticultural Technology at CCM offers a variety of programs of study:
Associate of Applied Science degree (60-credits):
- Landscape Entrepreneur
- Landscape Management and Design
- Turf and Turfgrass Management
Certificate of Achievement (18-20 credits):
- Garden Center
- Grounds Maintenance
- Landscape Contractor
- Landscape Design
Careers in the Field
CCM graduates with an AAS degree in Landscape Entrepreneur are industry-ready to start their own landscape management and design firm. Others have found tremendous employment opportunities with retail and wholesale nurseries, and suppliers for landscape product and equipment, plus fertilizer and pesticide products, as well as design build companies.
Examples of job titles include:
- Arborist
- Landscape Designer
- Landscape Architect
- Garden Center Manager
- Golf Course Superintendent
- Horticultural Sales and Brokerage Associate
- Landscape Contractor and Maintenance Professional
- Nursery and Greenhouse Operator
- Public Garden Horticulturist
- Sports Field Manager
Why Study Landscape Entrepreneur at CCM?
The Landscape Entrepreneur program at CCM is a well-regarded program that prepares students to be industry-ready for employment or prepared to transfer to a four-year college or university. The features that make the program unique include:
- Classes are held in a state-of-the-art LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building that emphasizes the department’s commitment to sustainability.
- Small class sizes offer personal attention from faculty members.
- Full-time and adjunct faculty have significant experience in their respective disciplines.
- Courses are taught in both traditional and hybrid formats, day and night sections, to accommodate the busy working student.
- Students work in three greenhouses on campus to grow and care for an array of plants, flowers, vegetables and herbs
- Students also learn how to operate landscape construction and maintenance equipment
- Additional facilities for hands-on learning include the plant preparation laboratory, the landscape design studio, the computer laboratory and the horticultural shop
Professional Affiliations
Landscape and Horticultural Technology at CCM promotes professional development and adheres to a set of standards with affiliation to the following organizations:
the National Association of Landscape Professionals
- New Jersey Nursery Landscape Association
- New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association
- New Jersey Turfgrass Association
- New Jersey Sports Field Managers Association
Continue Your Education Towards a Bachelor’s Degree
Advancing your education and training may enable you to pursue a career as a landscape architect, plant biologist or pathologist, agronomist, plant breeder and geneticist, or horticultural therapist.
To enable a smooth transition to a four-year institution upon graduation from CCM, the college has an articulation agreement with Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Graduates from the program have also successfully transferred to:
- Cornell University
- Penn State University
- Purdue University
- Rutgers University
- University of Maryland
and other institutions offering horticulture, plant science and landscape design programs.
Paying for Your Landscape Entrepreneur Education
Earning an associate of applied science degree is a powerful investment that will pay off over the course of your life, in both increased earnings and job satisfaction. But what is the upfront cost, and how do you afford it?
There’s good news: Money is available to help you pay for school! There are a variety of scholarship opportunities geared directly toward those enrolled in the program.
Our Financial Aid staff can provide lots of information about the process of finding funds to help pay for your education.
Featured Courses
Plant Science
Plant Science includes studying the effects of the environment on plant growth and development, plant morphology and physiology, and plant classification. Students apply theory by propagating, maintaining and studying plants using the Landscape and Horticultural Technology program greenhouse facility. This course is offered as a traditional face-to-face course with an online supplement, as an online course or as a hybrid online course.
Landscape Plant Identification Management and Use
This course focuses on field identification techniques applied to the study of woody plant material including trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines. Both conifer and deciduous plants are covered. The landscape uses of plants and the factors which should be used to guide plant selection are also discussed. Over 100 species of woody plant material are studied including trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers.
The CCM campus, local garden centers and arboreta of the Morris County Park Commission are all used for field study. This course is offered as a traditional face-to-face course, as an online course or as a hybrid online course.
Landscape Design and Planning I
Class instruction emphasizes the theory, principles and practices of design and planning, effective use of plant materials, artistic consideration of form and function, and basic drawing and drafting techniques. Students learn to apply the design process as a problem-solving technique to produce finished designs. The process of design is a major focus and students are also taught presentation techniques. Sustainable practices are infused throughout the course. This course is offered as a face-to-face course with an online supplement or as a hybrid online course. Student project work is posted online using a free online portfolio system.
Your Landscape Entrepreneur Faculty Advisor
Brian Oleksak Department Chairperson
Email: boleksak@ccm.edu
Office: Landscape nd Horticultural Technology Building Room 104
Office hours: Monday 4:00PM-5:00PM, Thursday 2:00PM-4:00PM
Phone: 973-328-5363
Department: Landscape and Horticultural Technology
Craig Tolley Assistant Professor
Email: ctolley@ccm.edu
Office: LHT 103
Office hours: Monday 11am-12noon, Wednesday 12:30pm-1:30-pm and 5:00pm-6:00pm
Phone: 973-328-2480
Department: Landscape and Horticultural Technology
