Establishment
Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Agriculture was established in 1976, and the Department of Horticulture began its undergraduate education by admitting its first students in 1982.
Degree Awarded
Graduates who successfully complete all program requirements and fulfill the internship obligation are awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture.
Recognition of Prior Learning (Formal, Informal, Non-formal)
Students are admitted from institutions whose equivalency is recognized by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). Graduates of Vocational Higher Schools who are successful in the Vertical Transfer Examination (DGS) may be admitted to continue their education toward a bachelor’s degree. Course exemptions and adaptations for these students are determined by the relevant department, taking into account the courses previously completed and passed at their former Vocational Higher School. In addition, students who achieve a sufficient score in the foreign language exemption examination may be exempted from the corresponding courses in the curriculum.
Qualification Requirements and Regulations
According to the Ondokuz Mayıs University Education, Training, and Examination Regulations, students are required to successfully complete at least 240 ECTS credits, including internships but excluding 5(i) courses, in order to graduate.
Program Profile
The Department of Horticulture at the Faculty of Agriculture began its undergraduate education in 1982. The mission of the Horticulture Undergraduate Program is to educate graduates who, based on the knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired during their undergraduate education, are capable of producing solutions to cultivation-related problems in the agricultural sector, applying these solutions in professional practice, communicating them to relevant stakeholders, and continuously improving themselves in response to changing conditions.
The vision of the program is to be an educational program that consistently upholds scientific standards and objectivity in all its activities, maintains continuous interaction with decision-makers in the public and private sectors as well as its graduates, and continuously renews itself by closely monitoring the significant and current challenges faced by the agricultural sector.
In addition to education and training, the Department of Horticulture develops projects to contribute to regional and national agriculture in the fields of fruit growing, vegetable production, viticulture, and ornamental plants. The department has a staff of 9 professors, 3 associate professors, 2 assistant professors (PhD), and 3 research assistants.
For research and educational purposes, the department is equipped with six laboratories, including Physiology I, Physiology II, Pomology, Ornamental Plants, Mushroom and Mycelium Production, and Tissue Culture laboratories. In addition, there is one climate chamber and one cold testing room.
For field applications, the department has extensive facilities, including a 150 m² vegetable propagation greenhouse, a 169 m² glass greenhouse divided into six compartments for physiological studies, twelve 120 m² plastic greenhouses (three of which are covered with polycarbonate), a 160 m² ornamental plants greenhouse with controlled humidity, temperature, and irrigation, and a 130 m² glass propagation greenhouse equipped with automatic ventilation, underfloor heating, and misting systems for seedling and sapling production. Furthermore, the department maintains 6 decares of vineyards and fruit orchards containing various species such as apple, chestnut, kiwi, blackberry, raspberry, goji berry, and blueberry.
Within the Department of Horticulture, education and research are conducted on cultivation techniques, propagation, breeding, biotechnology, physiology, and postharvest physiology of grapevines, various fruit and vegetable species, and ornamental plants. Faculty members specialize in vegetable, fruit, vineyard, and ornamental plant cultivation and breeding, soilless and organic production under protected cultivation, plant physiology, postharvest physiology, vegetable seed production, and biotechnology.
Since the 1987–1988 academic year, the department has also been offering Master’s and PhD programs in the field of Horticulture.
Employment Opportunities for Graduates (with Examples)
Graduates of the Department of Horticulture are employed in both the public and private sectors. Employment opportunities include, but are not limited to, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, the National Productivity Center, the Export Promotion and Research Center, public and private banks, agro-based industrial enterprises, agricultural cooperatives, inspection and certification bodies in agriculture and agro-based sectors, valuation companies, and non-governmental organizations. Graduates may also take part in promising national and international rural development projects and assume leadership roles in such initiatives.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Examination
The methods of assessment and grading for each course are explained in the course information packages. Student achievement is evaluated in accordance with the relative grading system specified in the Ondokuz Mayıs University Education, Training, and Examination Regulations.