Horticulture
Student Courses > BSc (Hons) Degree in Horticulture
Horticulture Courses
Horticulture is defined by The Chartered Institute of Horticulture as:
“The science, technology, art and business of cultivating and using plants to improve human life. Horticulturists and Horticultural Scientists create global solutions for sustainable nutritious food and healthy/restorative and beautiful environments.”
The horticulture industry is valued at £10bn and employs over a third of a million people. The Northern Ireland industry is worth approximately £170m and employs about 8,000 people. CAFRE has been delivering Horticulture education courses for over 100 years at Antrim. Studying Horticulture at Greenmount Campus will provide you with the skills to grow your career.
Courses found on this page are formal student courses. If you are looking for a short training course, you will find these here.
Student success at National and International level
Greenmount Campus has a well-qualified and experienced Horticulture teaching team and CAFRE graduates have established an amazing track record for competition success.
CAFRE students across all levels have been highly involved in WorldSkills UK competitions for over a decade. WorldSkills UK is like the Olympics of the skills trades with the finals held every two years in a different country throughout the world.
Each year, students have the opportunity to participate in a local heat followed up by a regional selection heat all competing for a place in the UK final. The final is held at the WorldSkills Live competition held each year in the NEC Birmingham. For the past several years, CAFRE Horticulture students have placed highly at Skills Live, making them eligible for the UK squad for Landscape Gardening. Making the most of opportunities has helped our students develop their CVs and secure employment within the industry.
In recent years, six students and graduates have secured places on the World skills UK Landscape Gardening Squad, with five of them going on to represent the UK in the biennial World Skills Final: James Cuffey, silver medallist in London 2011, Matthew Bradley, finalist in Leipzig in 2013 and Jonathan Gill, silver medallist in Sao Paulo in 2015, Adam Ferguson medallion of excellence Abu Dhaubi in 2017 and Shea McFerran medallion of excellence in Kazan Russia 2019.
Students have also been finalists in the all-Ireland Chartered Institute of Horticulture Young Horticulturalist of the Year Competition and have received awards for their design work. Graduates with a particular interest in ornamental plant production have also won David Colegrave Foundation Scholarships to assist with their business start-ups.
Green Legacy Hiroshima Project
Click here to find out more about CAFRE’s involvement in the Green Legacy Hiroshima Project Initiative.
Virtual Open Day recording
If you missed joining us for our Horticulture Courses Open Day you can view a recording of our March 2021 event, here.
Careers in Horticulture
Graduates have been employed in a range of careers within the horticulture industry these include;
- Garden Centre Supervisor/Manager
- Garden Designer
- Gardener/Head Gardener
- Greenkeeper
- Groundsperson
- Grower
- Landscape contractor
- Parks Manager
Horticulture Facilities
Greenmount Campus is set in over 18 hectares of landscaped grounds, originally laid out in the 19th century. Some of the original parkland trees provide the structure for the more modern gardens today.