Turfgrass Science and Management: Now What?
Quick Facts: Turfgrass Science and Management
Found on the Occupational Outlook Handbook
- 2021 Median Pay: $51,010 per year
- Entry-Level Education: Bachelor's degree
- Work Experience in a Related Occupation: None
- On-the-job Training: None
- Job Outlook, 2020-30: 11.4%
What Is Turfgrass Science and Management?
Turfgrass Science and Management students have a passion for the outdoors and working on golf courses and other turf surfaces. A Turfgrass Science and Management degree provides invaluable career and technical training that focuses on the production and maintenance of grassed areas, including golf courses, home lawns, parks, and other athletic fields.
The Turfgrass Science and Management major is an applied science program that focuses on the production and maintenance of grassed areas, including home lawns, parks, golf courses and other athletic surfaces. This concentration integrates scientific theory with practical experience and covers such topics as grass and seed identification, turfgrass culture and physiology, pest control, and equipment maintenance. Students in this major have the option of selecting a business management or a science focus. Many graduates find employment in the golf course industry, while others choose to specialize in sports turf management. The lawn care industry also employs many of our graduates in jobs as varied as direct lawn maintenance, research, and sales.
What Can I Do With A Degree In Turfgrass Management?
- Agricultural Supplier
- Athletic Field Manager
- Business Owner
- Golf Course Superintendent
- Commercial Grounds Manager
- Extension Negotiations
- Irrigation Specialist
- Landscape Designer
- Landscape Contractor
- Park Grounds Manager
- Residential Law Care
- Sales Representative
- Seed Breeder
- Sod Growth
- Turf Equipment Manufacturer
- Turf Equipment Sales
- Weed Scientist
Where Can I do an Internship?
- Bass Rocks Golf Course
- Oyster Harbors Club Inc.
- Center for Agriculture, Food & Environment
- Smith College Botanic Garden
- Trustees of Reservations
- Bay Natives Nursery
Selection of internship sites advertised by Stockbridge School of Agriculture:
- Abundance Farm
- Backyard Growers
- Bardwell Farm
- Book and Plow Farm
- Boston Area Gleaners
- Broadfork Permaculture
- Clark Organic Farm
- Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
- Essex Farm
- Fort River Farm
- Foxfire Farm
- Fungi Ally
- Gallatin Valley Botanical
- Green Rivers Farms
- Laughing Dog Farm
- Meeting Place Pastures
- Morning Glory Farm
- Natural Roots Farm Apprenticeship Program
- Nourse Farm
- Nourishing the North Shore (NNS)
- Orchard Hill Breadworks
- People’s Medicine Project
- Sampson Farm LP
- Share the Harvest Farm
- Simple Gifts Farm
- Sirius Eco-Village
- Small Ones Farm
- Stout Oak Farm
- The Farm School
- The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
- UMass Amherst Student Farm
- UMass Hydrofarm
- Unadilla Farm
- Yard Birds Farm
What Do Employers Look For?
(Source: NACE Job Outlook 2022, Courtesy of the National Association of College and Employers | www.naceweb.org)
Top 10 Things Employers Look for on Your Resume
- Problem-solving skills
- Analytical/quantitative skills
- Ability to work in a team
- Communication skills (written)
- Initiative
- Strong work ethic
- Technical skills
- Flexibility/adaptability
- Detail-oriented
- Leadership
7 Things That Give You an Advantage in the Job Market
- Internship with the organization
- Internship within the industry
- Major
- Leadership position
- General work experience
- Extracurricular activities
- High GPA (3.0 or above)