What You Will Learn
If you enjoy the outdoors and want to gain the education, skillset and preparation needed to design, build, and manage ornamental and natural landscapes, the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Landscape Management and Design at CCM is for you!
- Gain a strong foundation in plant science, plant and floral identification, soils and landscape design to help fulfill your curiosity and creativity in ornamental horticulture
- 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
- Infuse a creative flair to help preserve and beautify the environment and reap the satisfaction from building and completing projects
Curriculum
The Landscape Management and Design program includes a dozen courses ranging from Introduction to Horticulture, Horticultural Soils, Herbaceous Plants and Landscape Plant Identification, to Horticultural Computer Software and Landscape Design and Planning, plus a cooperative 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):
Certificate of Achievement (18-20 credits):
Careers in the Field
CCM graduates with an AAS degree in Landscape Management and Design are industry-ready to find tremendous employment opportunities with landscape design/build firms, golf courses, garden centers, nurseries, tree care companies and other green industry employers.
Learning the technical aspects of landscape installation enables graduates to be eligible for an in-demand opportunity as a skilled technician in landscape and plant material installation.
Many graduates from the Landscape Management and Design program have successfully started their own landscape management and design firm, becoming a leader in the industry.
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 Management and Design?
- The Landscape and Horticultural Technology program at CCM is a well-regarded program that prepares students to be industry ready 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 Management and Design 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
Herbaceous Plant Materials
Teaches field identification techniques for herbaceous plants including annuals, biennials and perennials. The installation, selection and uses of herbaceous plants in a landscape, maintenance of herbaceous plants, and the selection of tools and equipment in the maintenance of herbaceous landscape plants are also included. This course is offered as a face-to-face course with an online supplement and also as a hybrid 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.
Horticultural Computer Software Applications
Improves technical literacy by familiarizing students with the most effective ways to use the computer as a tool for online research, landscape design, landscape imaging and digital presentation development. Computer-assisted drafting is a major focus, and students also are introduced to GPS and GIS technology applications in agriculture. Students are provided with the opportunity to achieve competence in the selection and use of horticultural computer software.
Your Landscape Management & Design Faculty Advisor
Associate Professor, Chair
Assistant Professor
