Current Trends in North American University Arboricultural Education

Earlier Studies

North American university arboricultural education was reviewed in 1975 by the Urban Forestry Committee of ISA and was summarized by Andresen (1977). At that time arboriculturally oriented courses were offered in at least 52 North American university horticultural schools. As part of the updating procedure on arboricultural education called for by Gordon King, a survey of the 1976-79 issues of HortScience revealed no further analysis or discussion of ornamental horticulture education (including arboricultural education) and related topical urban-oriented technology transfer subjects. This is in contrast to at least 14 papers from 1970 to 1974 (Andresen 1977, Andresen and Jorgensen 1975). In addition arboricultural education was not formally discussed at any of the annual meetings of the American Society of Horticulture which was in antithesis to a number of presentions at meetings in the early 1970’s.

On the other hand, as indicated earlier, several articles examining contemporary arboricultural education have appeared in ISA’s Journal of Arboriculture. Sydnor (1979),in his description of arboricultural instruction at Ohio State University presented three alternative options of study, incorporating various internship durations, leading to a university degree in arboriculture. The programs are especially suitable to students desiring a maximum of practical training as a complement to academic classroom fundamentals.

King (1977) wrote on the principles of education in arboriculture commenting that academic requirements are quite similar for students interested in urban and recreational forestry as well as in arboriculture. King (1979) in a summary of one of his research projects offered three solutions to a problem he saw as poor communications between universities and colleges, educators and administrators, students, and potential employers, in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry:

• Educators and administrators must be made aware of the field of Arboriculture/Urban Forestry and the support and job opportunities possible.

• Students should be advised as to what courses are necessary and the need for work experience prior to coming to school as well as while in school.

• There must be cooperation between educators, students, and employers in coordinating a workable program.

Survey Results

A second part of the 1979 Forest Service study (the first part dealt with urban-forestry education) leading to the present paper, included a survey of North American horticultural, landscape architectural, and related departments to determine arboricultural offerings. As mentioned earlier, Andresen’s (1977) paper on university arboricultural education indicated that 52 schools were offering arboricultural education but it should be emphasized that the list included all courses that in whole or part were concerned with urban plant design and materials as well as arboriculture. A 1979-80 distillation, by means of a questionnaire, correspondence and telephone calls, of the earlier course list was designed only to include special courses in arboriculture. Nineteen arboricultural courses and 2 curricula were provided at 27 North American universities. These undergraduate offerings were complemented by 4 graduate courses and 2 curricula. Respondents advised that several new courses are planned for both program levels.

In comparing urban-forestry and arboricultural education at the curriculum stratum, it was found that undergraduate and graduate arboricultural curricula are more variable in structure than urban-forestry options. Arboricultural curriculum development has had a longer history and more complex pattern of evolution than the majority of the more recent urban-forestry curricula. Often elements of landscape architecture and design are included with the arboricultural options which are strongly oriented toward individual, cultivated-tree care. Further, arboricultural students receive more course work in the maintenance and care of turf; annual and perennial bedding-plant selection and propagation; and intensive irrigation, fertilization and pesticide management.

When the arboricultural candidate enters graduate study, program emphasis often revolves about a plant physiological investigation rather than a broader urban-vegetation management exercise.

Specialization in arboricultural education at the undergraduate level is less frequent than special urban-forestry programs but nonetheless arboricultural offerings are found in the universities of major geographic regions of the United States and several are designed to complement or be part of urban-forestry curricula.

Curriculum Examples

A few curricula are outlined here as examples of the new thrust in arboricultural education:

Professor R.W. Harris, Chairman of the Department of Enviromental Horticulture advised (1979-05-15)² that urban-vegetation management specialization for students enrolled at the Davis Campus of the University of California is incorporated within the landscape horticulture option of the plant science curriculum. This option includes courses in park administration and management, design of recreation environments, taxonomy and ecology of environmental (urban) plants and management of container soils.

Offered as four-year major, park administration at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, centers about the operation of city parks. The pragmatic justification for this urban park emphasis is “… because of greater job opportunities there (in the city)...” (California State Polytechnic University 1980). The program is strong in horticulture and managerial courses.

Urban horticulture (arboriculture), at the University of Illinois, is offered by the Department of Horticulture through its four-year curriculum in ornamental horticulture. Courses include basic horticulture, landscape architecture, plant protection, and at least 15 hours in the humanities and social science. Graduates find employment as city arborists, urban park superintendents, and grounds superintendents for a number of services that maintain urban vegetation and utility-line rights-of-way.

A four-year arboricultural curriculum is Cornell University’s response to urban-vegetation management needs. This program is given by the Department of Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture at the New York State College Agriculture and Life Sciences. The curriculum combines a wide array of courses within the fields of floriculture and ornamental horticulture, landscape architecture, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, plant biology, and land and agricultural economics.

In the eastern heartland of arboriculture and the nursery-trades industry, Ohio State University’s Department of Horticulture offers a number of four-year programs appropriate to urban-vegetation management. Among these would be the nursery and arboriculture program within the landscape horticulture option. Upon completion of Ohio State’s program the graduate is suited, among other positions, to serve as a municipal arborist, and in that role to solve problems peculiar to urban environments and to maintain trees and shrubs in man-made landscapes.

Nursery management is the urban-vegetation management option taught at Oklahoma State University within its Department of Horticulture. Course work stresses the management, production, installation, and maintenance of trees, shrubs and vines all of which could be found in an urban setting. Outside of the horticultural and general basic courses, recommended electives can be taken in business administration and business law, finance, accounting, management and marketing.

Similar to Ohio State’s nursery and arboricultural program and Oklahoma State’s nurserymanagement option, the Department of Horticulture at Pennsylvania State University (which also offers a great range of four-year options) provides urban-arboricultural education within its nursery culture track for horticulture majors. Among courses available to the student (standard offerings in horticulture are given) an entry that should be included in all urban-forestry and urbanhorticulture (arboriculture) curricula is plant pathology 424: environmental pathology (3). It is concerned with the nature, origin, effects and control of environmental stresses that cause woody plant diseases — in short urban physiogenic tree diseases.

By taking research problems, and/or a master thesis or doctoral dissertation, a graduate student can further specialize in some aspect of advanced arboricultural sciences. Almost any of the foregoing schools or departments can construct a student’s graduate program from existing graduate courses and local research opportunities.

One particular graduate program that warrants discussion is a joint endeavor combining resources of the University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Longwood graduate fellowships granted by the Longwood Foundation assist two-year graduate students to earn a degree of master of science in ornamental horticulture with a specialization in public garden administration. Since most arboreta, botanical gardens, and park systems are either urban or peri-urban in location, the career preparations given with the Longwood program are geared to public programs and provide a unique background to meet and master urban challenges.

Again, both undergraduate and graduate curricula in arboriculture are more diverse than those in urban forestry, are among sub-programs offered in large horticultural departments, and have a primary base in the horticultural sciences.

Conclusions

In relation to arboricultural education in general, it is the author’s opinion that current and planned arboricultural educational opportunities are more than adequate to meet the educational and training needs of commercial, municipal, and utility arboricultural management organizations. Based upon a consolidaton of existing arboricultural courses and the thoughts of their instructors, a model course outline of arboricultural principles is provided (Figure 1) for the reader’s consideration. Research and development activities, however, should be strengthened to support educational and management programs especially at the graduate level.

Generally, arboricultural curricula and courses are maintaining their effectiveness to serve socially-oriented vegetation-management programs. Their greatest impact, however, may be at the adult-education level and in particular for home owners and nature enthusiasts. There are many more community-college-level ornamental-horticultural programs that emphasize urban trees and gardens than four-year options in arboriculture and decidedly more than university urban-forestry programs, but collectively the North American public and its professional arborists and urban foresters are well served by our universities.