BASc Horticulture

What can you expect from our program?

Leverage your two-year diploma into a degree, and grow your career to the next level. The Horticulture Bachelor of Applied Science Degree builds on learning from the Horticulture Technician Diploma to provide you with knowledge and advanced technical skills. Courses in science and technology are combined with business concepts enabling you to assume positions of responsibility within a horticultural business or be your own boss and start up your own operation.

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

Apply open inquiry processes to think critically about probable solutions to industry challenges.
Communicate effectively in a workplace environment.
Identify and address learning needs in changing circumstances.
Select an appropriate course of action to achieve learning goals.

Apply team-building philosophies in leadership roles.
Apply ethical decision making and sound business practices to promote professionalism and growth of the golf course management industry.
Develop and reflect on personal philosophies as a foundation for creating a successful master plan.
Apply environmental, economic, and ethical implications of decisions and processes.

What will you learn?

Students focus on advancing their skills learned from the diploma and have the opportunity to take advantage of our outstanding facilities, which include a sprawling botanic garden, state-of-the-art managed wetlands, landscape demonstration plots and pavilion.

This is the perfect program for those who like to learn environmental and operations management on the job. Students will develop expertise in areas such as:

Integrated pest management
Research methods and sustainable site technologies

Your second year is spent out in the field working in the industry under Olds College’s unique eight-month Directed Field Study curriculum.

View Program Outline

Credential: Applied Degree

Length of Program: 2 Years

Method of Delivery: Blended

Directed Field Study/Work Term/Practicum: An 8 month Directed Field Study is completed at the end of the program.

Program Intakes: Fall Intake (November program start online, January start on campus)

Program Dates: Please visit our Dates & Schedules page to confirm start and end dates of your desired program and confirm campus closures.

Applications Open: October 1 for the Fall Intake.

Selection Process for Admission: First Qualified, First Accepted

Tuition, Mandatory Fees, Books, and Supplies: Please refer to the current Fee Schedule for details.

Year 3: Tuition: $4,515 / Fees: $1,095 / Books & Supplies: $500
Year 4: Tuition: $4,510 / Fees: $740 / Books & Supplies: $0

* Please note that international students pay 3.5 times the domestic tuition amount. These fees are provided as estimates only for the purposes of budgeting. All students should refer to the Fee Schedule for the most accurate information and all fees are subject to change.

International Students in this program will require a Co-Op Permit, a Study Permit and a Social Insurance Number for this program. Learn more on the International Students page.

Admitted Student Information

Program Dates: Find out when your term start and end dates are, so that you know when you are expected to be in attendance. For more information, please review the Program Dates & Fee Schedule.

Class Registration: You will be registered into your classes automatically. This will happen approximately 1 month prior to the start-date for your program. You will be notified once you have been timetabled into your courses. You will be able to see your class schedule in your My Olds College account. If you need to make any changes to your class registration, please contact the Office of the Registrar.

Technology Recommendation: It is strongly recommended that you come to Olds College with the following technology:

A laptop is recommended

As part of your student accounts, all students have access to Office 365 for the duration of their time with Olds College. To access this you just need to follow these steps:

Go to portal.office.com
Enter your Olds College email address and password
Once logged in there is a button on the right that says "Install Office Apps"

This will give you access to the full Office suite on your computer, for both Windows and Mac based platforms.

Materials & Supplies:

Information on required textbooks and any further supplies will be provided as you attend each class. All books and supplies will be available during the first few weeks of classes in the College Campus Store.

Textbook Order Form

Other Important Information:

Time Requirements: Students are typically in class or on field trips for up to 3-6 hours a day Monday through Friday, with normal in-class hours running from 9 am to noon. Occasionally, overnight trips may be necessary. You will also be expected to complete numerous assignments outside of regularly scheduled classes that will vary in terms of their demands upon your time. This amount of time will vary with each course that you take, but a reasonable estimate would be 50 hours per week of effort inclusive of class time.
Student Clubs: It is recommended to join the Horticulture Club and Turf Club since these offer an additional dimension to your Olds College experience. There are also a number of college sports teams, some of which participate at the inter-collegiate level while others are purely recreational.
Additional Skills: Basic computer skills are recommended for all and it is certainly beneficial to have some prior experience with computers before you arrive at the College. A familiarity and comfort in use of Google Docs, word processing, spreadsheet and e-mailing software will be a definite asset.
Lockers: All you need to do during your first few days at Olds is to select one without a lock and it’s yours for the duration. I strongly recommend that you select a locker in the first week of classes because of high demand. You are required to provide your own lock.