Ornamental Horticulture (AAS Degree)

By College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences Academic Advisors - Spring 2025

To learn more about this degree, including career options, admissions requirements, and involvement opportunities, visit the Degree Information website below. This First Year Semester Guide has suggested courses as recommended by this degree's academic advisor. You may have already completed courses or test scores that have met the requirements for some of these suggested courses. So, be sure to compare which courses are recommended against the requirements you have already met. To see how your previously taken coursework or test scores count at USU, visit usu.edu/orientation/testscores.


Recommended First Semester Courses

These courses are suggested by this degree's advisor and are split into two sections. It is recommended that you sign up for 15-16 credits. This section is separated into two types of Recommended Courses.

  1. Degree Recommended Courses are ones required for your major. Do everything you can to get into these classes. If a class is full, add yourself to a waitlist. If the class doesn’t have a waitlist option, check back frequently to look for openings. Make sure you register for a math class each semester until you are finished with math/stats.
  2. General Education & Other Recommended Courses are to help you satisfy general education requirements needed to graduate. You should take one or more of these courses each semester until they are completed.

Degree Recommended Courses

CREDITS COURSE   COURSE OPTIONS
2

PSC 2200 - Pesticide Certification

 

 
3

BIOL 1010 (BLS)  - Biology and the Citizen



You may have satisfied this course requirement by completing one of the following:
  • AP Biology exam score of 3 or higher
  • CLEP Biology exam score of 50 or higher
  • IBO Biology Standard-Level or Higher-Level exam score of 5 or higher
3

LAEP 1030 (BCA) - Introduction to Landscape Architecture

 

 
3

PSC 1800 (BLS) - Introduction to Horticulture

 

 
3 ENGL 1010 (CL1) - Writing as Inquiry

You may have already satisfied this requirement by completing any of the following:

  • ACT English test score of 29 or higher
  • RSAT Reading test score of 34 or higher
  • AP English Language test score of 3 or higher
  • CLEP College Composition test score of 50 or higher
  • IBO English A Language Higher-Level test score of 5 or higher
or ENGL 2010* (CL2) - Research and Argument Across Perspectives or ENGL 2020* (CL2) - Professional Communication
Varies
(3-5)
Math Class

If you don’t have a current prerequisite needed to get into a course, or if you aren’t sure where to start in math, take a proctored ALEKS placement exam.

Math prerequisites expire after one year, so your prerequisite will only be valid to get you into another math class if it was earned after:

December 1, 2024
 

The highest level of math required for this major is any Quantitative Literacy (QL) course which includes: 

MATH 1030 (QL), MATH 1050 (QL), MATH 1051 (QL), STAT 1040 (QL), STAT 1045 (QL), or STAT 1080 (QL)

Prerequisites for these courses may be seen by clicking on the course link. If you have completed the courses above or any of the following, you have met your math requirement:

  • ACT Math test score of 26 or higher
  • RSAT Math test score of 620 or higher
  • AP Statistics test score of 3 or higher
  • AP Calculus AB or BC test score of 3 or higher
  • CLEP College Math (55+), CLEP Calculus (64+), CLEP College Algebra (63+), CLEP Precalculus (61+), score or higher
  • IBO Mathematics test score of 5 or higher
If you have not completed one of the above, you can take MATH 950, MATH 995* or the ALEKS placement exam.

(If you want to proceed toward a BS degree in Plant Science, Horticulture, or Residential Landscape Design and Construction, you will need MATH 1050* (QL))

General Education & Other Recommended Courses

We recommend taking 15-16 credits your first semester, including USU 1010: Connections. Most students take one or more breadth courses their first semester to work toward general education. The breadth areas listed below are recommended for this major, but if you have satisfied a requirement with previous credits or test scores, don't take a course in that area.
CREDITS COURSE NOTES
3 Breadth Social Sciences (BSS)
View the list of Breadth Social Sciences courses offered for the Spring 2025 semester.
3 Breadth American Institutions (BAI)
View the list of Breadth American Institutions courses offered for the Spring 2025 semester.
3 Breadth Humanities (BHU)
View the list of Breadth Humanities courses offered for the Spring 2025 semester.

Prerequisites and Course Descriptions

The classes marked with an asterisk (*) have prerequisites. For course descriptions and prerequisite information, click on the course in this guide or see the University Catalog and click on "Courses."

If you have met a class prerequisite via AP or IBO scores or college credits, but have not yet transferred them to USU, you can request a temporary prerequisite override. Not getting your test scores/credits to USU before December 1, 2024 will result in that class being dropped. Temporary override requests take up to 3-4 business days to process. Once processed, the Registrar’s office will reach out to you via email.

When You Can Register

Registration opened for all students on November 14, 2024 and is an ongoing process. Incoming students can begin registering for classes as soon as they complete the second orientation module. For specific dates on when registration will close, check the USU Catalog

Waitlist Information

If the class you want to register is full, and it uses the waitlisting feature, you will see an option to join the waitlist. If the course has an opening, an email is sent to the student first in the waitlist line. That student is given 24 hours to add the class online. Once the first week of classes starts, the time a waitlist student has to add a class is shortened to 12 hours. You can view your position in the waitlist through your student schedule in Banner.

Advising for First-Year Students in this Major

For general registration questions, please contact our office at  or (435)797-0283, or respond to the text message you recieved from (435)200-3628 regarding registration. Our normal business hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We will also have extended hours on November 13 and November 14 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. where the Orientation Office will be answer questions via text message and email. 

If you wish to schedule a one-on-one appointment, you can make a phone or in-person appointment at https://caas.usu.edu/advising/.

Caisa Shoop (Logan Campus)

Academic Advisor

Office Location: AGRS 420
Phone: 435-797-4275
Email: caisa.shoop@usu.edu

Schedule an Appointment

Tayler Mountford (All Other Campuses)

Academic Advisor

Office Location: USU Salt Lake Center
Phone: 435-797-4230
Email: tayler.mountford@usu.edu