INDUSTRY EDUCATION

Graduates often have two or more offers of employment upon graduation . All photos courtesy Brandon Horvath , Ph . D .

The University of Tennessee , Knoxville ( UTK ) Turfgrass Science and Management Concentration — specialized curriculum in the Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences degree — is designed for students pursuing careers growing and managing turfgrass for athletic fields , golf courses , public landscapes and residential and commercial lawns . The program combines the study of grasses , soil , water , pests and the human relationship with turfgrass .

According to Brandon Horvath , Ph . D ., professor and turfgrass pathologist in the Department of Plant Sciences , the Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences is a four-year program ; and , in addition to the concentration in Turfgrass Science and Management , students can also declare a minor in a variety of areas .

“ Every student , every semester has at least one course in our department in their program ,” said Horvath . “ So when they come in freshman year , they ’ re going to take at least one and usually more than one class that first year in our program .”

In addition , all students in the program take a professional development class in which every student in the turfgrass program is together in one classroom . This allows students from all levels to build connections with each other before they enter the turfgrass industry .

According to Horvath , UTK typically has 40 to 45 students in the turfgrass program , and that number has slowly continued to trend upward as the program continues to identify areas of outreach and recruitment .

“ The thing that we learned is that the vast majority of people don ’ t even know that turf is a background that you can get a degree in .”

Horvath added that UTK has been successful in raising awareness of the program among people who have played high school sports , those who are interested in working outside , and those more interested in hands-on learning .

Of the 40 to 45 students in the program , approximately seven or eight per year are true freshman , because test score and GPA requirements for first year fall term freshmen are fairly strict .

“ Everybody else is in one way , shape or form a transfer student ,” said Horvath . “ That might be a transfer student internally , from a different major at the university , into our program . Then we get eight to 10 per year who transfer in from a community college .”

Horvath added that UTK has a robust program in which those who earn an associate degree at a community college ( and maintain a certain GPA ) have their core curriculum requirements waived , so they are left with just their college and program requirements .

According to Horvath , in addition to GPA and test score requirements for incoming freshmen , the other challenge for students is the high cost of a college education .

“ You need to somehow get a return on that investment ,” he said . “ I think we do a pretty good job of laying that out and providing students with some truth in advertising . Most of our graduates are getting positions that are offering somewhere between $ 48,000 and $ 65,000 a year .”

24 SportsField Management | August 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com