• Ornamental Horticulture, A.A.S.
  Landscape Development
  
• Overview

SUNY Cobleskill's program in Landscape Development is a nationally recognized and lauded center for the training of landscape professionals. Whether enrolled in our Associate degree program or our customized Bachelor of Technology degree program, students are on a career track that can take them directly to successful entry positions within any one of the three branches of the profession. Companies from throughout New York State, the Northeast, and the nation come to the campus annually to recruit SUNY Cobleskill graduates of our two degree programs in landscaping. Starting salaries are competitive with and surpass the average starting salaries of nearly every other degree-granting technical training program in the region. Opportunities for placement or transfer have been consistently strong, presenting graduates with a wide range of options and career paths.

Careers in the landscape field are rewarding, varied, and are available throughout the country. Graduates of the 2 year Landscape Development program and the 4 year Landscape Contracting program find employment opportunities nationwide.

Landscape professionals are members of a multi-billion dollar national industry comprised of companies that range in size from sole proprietorships to large corporations. The men and women of the landscape industry are a rich blend of talents, training, ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds. They work within an industry that has responded quickly and positively to the nation's insistence that those who work with the land do so with sensitivity and concern for the impact of their work upon future generations of Americans. Today's landscape professionals are diversely talented individuals who can respond quickly and competently to the needs of clients. Those needs may be as specialized as a small backyard or as encompassing as an entire geographic region. Regardless of the size of the project, today's landscaper is a service-oriented purveyor of art, beauty, and technical competency, leaving the land better than it was before. Using plants, construction materials, art and furnishings, the landscaper performs outdoor magic by transforming ordinary properties into distinctly customized settings for human habitation and pleasure.

Successful graduates of SUNY Cobleskills landscape programs are actively recruited by the top 100 landscape companies in the United States. Our students find challenging employment in the areas of Landscape Design, Landscape Construction, and Landscape Management. There are more job opportunities than there are students to fill them.

Students in the 2 year Landscape Development program have the opportunity to take a wide range of coursework including design, graphics, contracts, construction, plant identification, entomology, plant pathology, and soil science. Students in the 4 year Landscape Contracting program take additional coursework in irrigation, business, plant materials, contracts, LANDCADD, and design. A combination of landscape specific courses, general horticulture, and elective courses provide the knowledge and skills to prepare our graduates to transition into the workplace.