Turfgrass Management

This concentration develops scientists for the rapidly expanding area of urban agriculture. Graduates have career opportunities in the industries involved with lawn management, athletic fields, golf courses, and park and grounds maintenance.

 

Turfgrass Student

 

University and College Requirements (41 credits)

  • Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures (WRA) - 4 credits
    • WRA 110-150
  • Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities (IAH) - 8 credits
    • IAH 201-210
    • IAH 211-241
  • Integrative Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences (ISS) - 8 credits
    • ISS 200-level
    • ISS 300-level
  • PLB 105 Plant Biology - 3 credits
  • PLB 106 Plant Biology Laboratory - 1 credit
  • CEM 141 General Chemistry - 4 credits
  • CEM 143 Survey of Organic Chemistry - 4 credits
  • CEM 161 Chemistry Laboratory I - 1 credit
  • MTH 116 College Algebra and Trigonometry - 5 credits
  • EC 201 Introduction to Microeconomics - 3 credits

Departmental Requirements (49 credits)

  • CSS 110 Computer Applications in Agronomy - 2 credits
  • CSS 178 Golf Turf Irrigation - 2 credits
  • CSS 181 Pesticide & Fertilizer App Tec - 3 credits
  • CSS 210 Fundamentals of Soil and Landscape Science - 3 credits
  • CSS 232 Introduction to Turfgrass Management - 4 credits
  • CSS 262 Turfgrass Management Seminar - 1 credit
  • CSS 267 Performance Turf Design and Construction - 2 credits
  • CSS 269 Turfgrass Strategies: Integration and Synthesis - 2 credits
  • CSS 272 Turfgrass Soil Fertility - 2 credits
  • CSS 282 Turfgrass Physiology - 2 credits
  • CSS 288 Principles of Weed Management – 3 credits
  • CSS 292 Management of Turfgrass Weeds - 3 credits
  • CSS 313 Data Interpretation and Writing in the Agronomic Sciences - 2 credits
  • CSS 330 Soil Chemistry - 2 credits
  • CSS 340 Applied Soil Physics - 2 credits
  • CSS 350 Plant Genetics - 3 credits
  • CSS 360 Soil Biology - 3 credits
  • CSS 470 Soil Resources - 3 credits
  • CSS 492 Professional Development Seminar II - 1 credit
  • CSS 493 Professional Internship - 3 credits
  • ENT 364 Turfgrass Entomology - 3 credits
  • PLP 266 Turfgrass Pathology - 3 credits

One of the following courses (3 credits):

  • HRT 361 Applied Plant Physiology - 3 credits
  • PLB 301 Introductory Plant Physiology - 3 credits

Electives (27 credits)



Suggested Course Sequence

Fall Semester Spring Semester
YEAR 1
CEM 141 4 CEM 143 4
CEM 161 1 CSS 210 3
CSS 110 2 ISS 2xx 4
MTH 116 5 WRA 110-150 4
PLB 105 3    
PLB 106 1    
  16 cr.   15 cr.
YEAR 2
CSS 232 4 CSS 330 2
IAH 201-210 4 CSS 350 3
HRT 361 3 EC 201 3
Electives 4 ISS 3xx 4
    Electives 4
  15 cr.   16 cr.
YEAR 3
CSS 262 1 CSS 178 2
CSS 292 3 CSS 181 3
CSS 360 3 CSS 267 2
IAH 211-241 4 CSS 272 2
Electives 3 CSS 282 2
    CSS 493 3
  14 cr.   14 cr.
YEAR 4
CSS 470 3 CSS 269 2
CSS 492 1 CSS 340 2
ENT 364 3 Electives 11
PLP 266 3    
Electives 5    
  15 cr.   15 cr.

Suggested Elective Courses

Fall Semester

AE151 Fabrication Technology - 2 credits
AE 153 Engine and Equipment Technology - 2 credits 
CSS 264 Golf Course Design and Construction Techniques – 2 credits
CSS 452 Watershed Concepts - 3 credits
CSS 455 Pollutants in the Soil Environment - 3 credits
CSS 480 Soil Fertility and Management - 3 credits
CSS 499 Undergraduate Research - 3 credits
CSS 452 Watershed Concepts - 3 credits
CSUS 320 Environmental Planning and Management - 3 credits
CSUS 425 Environmental Impact Assessment - 3 credits
CSUS 465 Environmental Law and Policy - 3 credits
FOR 204 Forest Vegetation - 3 credits
GEO 203 Introduction to Meteorology - 3 credits
GEO 306 Environmental Geomorphology - 3 credits
GEO 324 Remote Sensing of the Environment - 4 credits
GEO 325 Geographic Information Systems - 3 credits
GEO 402 Agricultural Climatology - 3 credits
GLG 202 Geology of Michigan - 3 credits
HRT 203 Principles of Horticulture I - 2 credits
HRT 203L Principles of Horticulture I - 1 credit
HRT 211 Landscape Plants I - 3 credits
HRT 212 Landscape Plants II - 3 credits
HRT 213 Landscape Maintenance - 2 credits
HRT 213L Landscape Maintenance - 1 credit
HRT 216 Landscape Construction - 3 credits

Spring Semester

AE151 Fabrication Technology - 2 credits
AE 153 Engine and Equipment Technology - 2 credits
CSS 431 World Soil and Plant Resources - 3 credits
CSS 452 Watershed Concepts - 3 credits
CSS 494 International Agriculture - 1 credit
CSS 499 Undergraduate Research - 3 credits
CSUS 354 Water Resources Management – 3 credits
EEP 255 Environmental Economics - 3 credits
ESA 324 Water Resource Management - 3 credits
GEO 405 Weather Analysis and Forecasting - 4 credits
GLG 412 Glacial Geology and the Record of Climate Change - 3 credits
HRT 204 Plant Propagation - 2 credits
HRT 214 Landscape and Turfgrass Operations - 2 credits
HRT 218 Landscape Irrigation - 3 credits
HRT 219 Landscape Computer Aided Design - 2 credits
HRT 311 Landscape Design and Management Specifications - 4 credits
PLB 335 Plants Through Time - 3 credits
TSM 331 Water Management in Agriculture and Food Systems - 3 credits

Academic Advising

For questions regarding course requirements, substituting or waiving required courses, independent study courses, and planning your semester schedule of courses, contact a Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences academic advisor:

Susan Gruber, (517) 353-0326, grubers@msu.edu

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Plant and Soil Sciences Building
1066 Bogue St, Room A164
East Lansing, MI 48824

More information on the internship requirement.

 

 Last Updated:  2/3/2023  by LAD