There are a number of horticulture areas that lead to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All of these program options can be completed in four years, although a significant number of our undergraduate students begin their academic programs as transfer students, so time to graduation may vary depending on prior experience. These programs draw on a broad range of coursework in the biological sciences, as well as supporting coursework in the social sciences, physical sciences, and the humanities. One of the strengths of the University of Wisconsin is the close proximity of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the College of Letters and Science.

There are five degrees under the Horticulture major: Agricultural Sciences and Production, Agricultural Sciences and Business, International Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Natural Sciences.

Our degrees are designed to suit students who wish to pursue basic plant sciences (Natural Science Degree), horticulture and natural resources (Natural Resources Degree), horticultural business with future plans for graduate school (Agricultural Sciences Business Degree), horticultural production (Agricultural Sciences Production Degree), or an international horticulture degree (International Agriculture and Natural Resources Degree).
Curriculum sheets and 4-year plans by degree/major are available for advisors to aid in planning on the CALS website.

Our students choose from courses in a variety of areas, including basic sciences such as genetics, chemistry, botany, biochemistry, and biology, horticultural disciplines including plant propagation, turf, fruit, and vegetable crops, woody and herbaceous landscape plants and greenhouse production, and related courses in plant physiology, plant nutrition, entomology, plant pathology, and weed science.

Many of our undergraduate students complete internships at horticultural businesses or in the public sector, and many work in horticultural jobs during their undergraduate education. These opportunities may offer the option of obtaining credit and an hourly wage. In addition to internships, a significant number of scholarship opportunities are available through the Department of Horticulture and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

A significant number of our undergraduate students complement their education by working at campus horticulture facilities, including the D.C. Smith Instructional Greenhouse, the Allen Centennial Gardens, the Walnut Street Greenhouse, and the University of Wisconsin Longenecker Gardens at the UW-Madison Arboretum. Horticulture undergraduates also work in laboratories on campus, including many research programs in the Department of Horticulture. Finally, our undergraduate students are active in a student-driven organization known as the Horticulture Club. Each year, the Horticulture Club conducts a campus plant sale, brings in speakers on a range of horticultural topics, takes field trips to points of horticultural interest, and hosts the Great Pumpkin Regatta and a winter trip to Costa Rica (with Horticulture Course 374).