2008 Professional Outreach

Improving Plant Collections Management at Welkinweir

The Professional Outreach Project is a curriculum component of the Longwood Graduate Program, in which students plan, research, and execute a project for a public horticulture institution in the Greater Philadelphia region. The project allows the Fellows to gain a broad understanding of the challenges and rewards of a real-world, practical initiative, while working directly with an institution’s leadership staff. Professional Outreach embodies the experiential philosophy of the Graduate Program and enables the Fellows to prepare for similar work in their future professional careers.

For the 2008 Project, the Longwood Graduate Fellows proposed the development of a collections management process at Welkinweir, a small public garden near Pottstown, Pennsylvania... read more.

Message from the director

Welcome to the Longwood Graduate Program Web site. Simply put, I find this Program to be quite extraordinary. It is a pleasure to mentor talented graduate students towards an M.S. degree in Public Horticulture within the context of the exceptional laboratory of Longwood Gardens and the fine academic setting of the University of Delaware. These two institutions are located a short 20 miles apart from one another amidst the lovely Delaware/Pennsylvania countryside, and yet only minutes from the main I-95 corridor that connects the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard. For our graduate students, such access provides unparalleled practical learning opportunities, whether anchored at one of the many public gardens in the greater Philadelphia area, or beyond. Such "experiential learning" is valued as much as classroom instruction in this Program, creating the right formula for career preparedness. Perhaps the history of the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture and the success of our alumni represent our effectiveness best. Since 1967, many graduates have gone on to upper management and directorial positions at some of the best institutions in the country.

As you navigate through our Web site, please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions, particularly regarding our on-line application procedures. We welcome your interest and inquiry!