INDUSTRY EDUCATION

EDITOR ’ S NOTE : The following is next in our series delving into colleges and universities that offer programs devoted to turfgrass management , turfgrass science , and related disciplines . In this series , we profile colleges and universities through conversations with key players at major institutions , as we discuss their programs and provide insight into the industry education that is available to the next generation of sports field managers .

In this issue of SportsField Management , we examine the turfgrass programs at University of Maryland and Penn State University .

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND The University of Maryland ( UMD ) offers a four-year bachelor ’ s degree , as well as a two-year program through the Institute of Applied Agriculture ( IAA ) in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources .

The four-year Plant Sciences degree with a concentration on Turf and Golf Course Management combines science courses with applied technical classes to prepare students for careers in the field . The goal at UMD is to research and advance integrated pest management strategies that reduce water , fertilizer and pesticide inputs while promoting healthy and environmentally beneficial turfgrass stands .

The two-year IAA program features three tracks – sports turf management , golf course management , and general turfgrass management .

According to Geoffrey Rinehart , lecturer , Turfgrass Management , IAA , University of Maryland , enrollment between the two- and four-year programs is currently in the low teens .

“ The majority of our students are from Maryland , but we get a good mix of students who just graduated from high school and students who have been working in the industry for a few years ,” said Rinehart .

As for the three tracks in the IAA program , the general turfgrass track isn ’ t as academically rigorous , because there are more electives , said Rinehart .

“ I think that was originally established for those who wanted to go into landscape management and build their own business . But I use that for students who maybe went to another college and already have 15 or 20 credits and a lot of those transfer since they have a lot of electives .”

Rinehart added that the sports turf management and golf course management tracks don ’ t have a lot of electives , so a lot of those credits don ’ t transfer . Also , there is not much delineation between the sports turf and golf tracks , as students in those two tracks take many of the same courses .

“ Obviously , with sports turf , you ’ re dealing with infield mixes and some other unique things that golf course managers don ’ t have to worry about ,” he said .

24 SportsField Management | April 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com