Skip to content
Nainen katsoo ylöspäin ulkona ja varjostaa auringon heistumista silmiin kädellään. Takana keltaseinäinen ja punakattoinen vanha rakennus.
Home Professional Horticulture

Professional Horticulture

Field of studies

  • Horticulture
  • Natural Resources and Biotechnology

Degree title

  • Bachelor of Natural Resources

Teaching language

  • English

Type of education

  • Bachelor’s Degree

Academic level

  • Bachelor Level Studies - EQF 6

Campus

  • Lepaa

Teaching format

  • Contact Lessons

Cultivate your career towards a more fruitful future!

HAMK is the only higher education provider in Finland from the field of horticulture. Horticulture is cultivation, selling and marketing of plants, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. You can study horticulture in Lepaa campus, located in a beautiful manor park with beautiful scenery, gardens, and parks, not to mention our very own greenhouse. There are great employment opportunities in the field of horticulture both in Finland and abroad.

Objective

You will learn good biological and technical skills for commercial plant production and to work with entrepreneurial thinking. You will also learn how to develop business’ responsibility and sustainable development aspects by utilising digitalisation, innovations and international networks.

Qualification provided by education

After graduation you can find employment as an expert in commerce, counselling, education and administration. Typical employers are companies, cities and associations. The branch is very international which offers great opportunities for career development.

Structure of studies

During your studies, you will gather a wide knowledge about horticulture both from technical and biological point of view. Studies include also subjects from business, such as cost calculations, entrepreneurial working, marketing, and developing businesses and commerce in the field. You will also learn how to innovate new products and services.

 

From the biological perspective, different cultivars will become familiar to you as well as different cultivation systems suitable for your purpose. You will study how to time your crop, direct its quality and quantity and how to handle the crop correctly. You will learn different actions to store your crop and how this might affect the end result.

 

Lepaa campus has its own greenhouse, which produces tomatoes for commercial purposes every year. There are also several research studies conducted in the greenhouse. The greenhouse is utilized during the studies, and it give a great practical approach to horticulture. The campus has also various parks and gardens, that are also used for this purpose.

 

Responsibility is one of the main elements of Finnish production, and it is, together with sustainable development, underlined in this degree programme as well.

Apply to study

Bachelor of Natural Resources, Professional Horticulture, full-time studies, Joint application

  • Application begins:
  • Application ends:
  • Studies begin:Autumn 2025
  • Places of Study:15

Bachelor of Natural Resources, Professional Horticulture, full-time studies, HAMK Direct application intake 2025

  • Application begins:
  • Application ends:
  • Studies begin:Autumn 2025
  • Places of Study:15

For Students Living in Finland

Study Paths – Open Studies Leading to a Degree

In our Study Paths, you will complete studies that are part of a degree program as a student of the Open University of Applied Sciences, alongside degree students. Once you have completed the required amount of studies with the necessary grades, you can apply to become a degree student and continue your studies to completion as usual. Check more information:

Students outside of Finland: As Open University Studies are not leading to a degree it is not possible to get a residence permit only for that purpose.

3 Reasons to Study Professional Horticulture!

You get to study in a fully equipped greenhouse on campus.

Horticulture offers great employment opportunities in Finland and abroad.

You’ll get to experience your studies in the heart of Finnish horticulture, Lepaa campus.

See a Video About Professional Horticulture:

Please accept marketing cookies to view this content.

Follow Us in Social Media!

See how it is like to study with us and get to know our every day life:

Heikki Peltoniemi

The degree programme in Professional Horticulture combines advanced technology and knowledge of biology with plant production. Food production in particular is a significant business, where efficiency and sustainable production methods are of primary importance.

Studying in Lepaa is communal, the teachers are motivated and the teaching methods are modern. Also, our learning environments are of high quality, such as the greenhouse on campus!

Heikki Peltoniemi
Head of Degree Programme
Professional Horticulture

Studying in Finland

Finland is a great place to study! Here are some information for international applicants:

Study Methods

Full-time Studies, Contact Lessons

Your studies will proceed at a steady pace in a familiar student group here on campus. You get to develop your competence in different teams and in close connection to the world of work. Studying is full-time and the student is committed to working every weekday.

Full-time studies as contact lessons are part of HAMK’s Studymode 8-16. You can read more about our approach to studying here:

Campus

As a student of Professional Hoticulture programme, your home campus will be Lepaa.

Lepaan kampuksen kermanvalkoinen pyöreä päärakennus. Etualalla vanhoja sammaleisia kivia ja vihreitä istutuksia.

Lepaa Campus, Hattula

At our Lepaa campus, you’ll get to experience the field of horticulture up close. The campus has a long history, educating horticultural professionals for over a hundred years, since 1910. HAMK’s horticulture programs are unique in Finland, complemented by several vocational programs from Häme Vocational Institute at the campus. Lepaa also hosts the Built Environment Research Group under the Bioeconomy Research Unit, focusing on current developmental challenges emerging at the interfaces of social, vegetative, and built environments.

The Lepaa Campus is located 20 kilometres away from City of Hämeenlinna, and the drive takes approximately 20 minutes by car. There is no public transportation between Hämeenlinna City and Lepaa Campus, so you will need your own car for convenient travel outside the campus.

Studies Tailored to You

Your degree consists of 240 credits and includes four core elements:

The core competence studies, or core competence modules as we call those, form the foundation of your degree and professional skills. These studies are designed to support your development as a professional in your field and provide a solid groundwork for future elective studies

You will learn the core knowledge and skills in horticulture, such as growth factors and their management, plant knowledge, entrepreneurship, and horticultural production methods using renewable resources in a responsible way.

Part of your degree consists of profiling competence modules, enabling you to build expertise in your chosen direction according to your own goals. These studies offer opportunities to broaden, deepen, and enhance professional skills and personal development.

In profiling studies, you will acquire the skills to plan and develop horticultural crop production, for example by using research and innovation methods. If you wish, you can choose studies from other degree programmes to diversify and support your horticultural skills.

Your work placements are divided into two periods, both 15 credits. The first one is a work placement period in a company in the field, and the second one is a work placement in a rural expert position.

Before the work placement, you will set a professional development goals to yourself in cooperation with the employer and us. You can work in different tasks in a practical working environment, either in Finland or in another country, to apply and advance your professional skills and identity. You’ll take an active, responsible role in the working community and develop your self-evaluation skills.

Your thesis is a development or research project you work on towards the end of your studies. It helps you get better at what you’ve learned and shows how you can use that knowledge. It’s worth 15 credits, and you get to pick a topic that interests you and fits your career plans. It aims at solving problems emerging from the workplace. We encourage you to choose a real problem to solve from a company, to put your skills into practice and create new solutions for your industy.

As a student at HAMK, you can tailor your degree to suit you. You have the option to choose various studies from us and around the world, and complete the required studies in different ways.

Explore more about the content of the program and learn about planning your studies at HAMK:

Innovative Study Options That We Offer

At HAMK, we develop new, innovative ways of study. Our goal is to provide you with versatile expertise that you can develop in various directions. We hope to inspire you to try something completely new!

Kaksi opiskelijaa vierekkäin pöydän ääressä
Entrepreneurial university

Entrepreneurship is about recognizing opportunities, innovation capability, and the ability to create something new. In an entrepreneurial university, learning happens through collaboration and experimentation!

Design Factory

Design Factory is an operational and learning environment that brings together businesses, students, teachers, and researchers. Join projects where you develop new solutions together with students from various fields!

Neljä henkilöä seisomassa pöydän äärellä
RUN EU -studies

HAMK is part of the RUN-Europe University, comprised of nine European universities. You can leverage the fantastic opportunities provided by RUN Europe University for accumulating international study experiences!

Exchange Studies

Exchange studies are a unique opportunity to explore the world. We encourage all our students to seize the chance and go abroad for an exchange. Will you go too?

Vaaleahiuksinen henkilö valkoisessa paidassa
HAMK’s Study Selection

We offer you a wide range of studies that you can choose as part of your degree. You can also select modules from other degrees at HAMK. Or why not utilize the expertise you’ve gained previously, for example, from scouting!

Opiskelija seisoo aulassa kannettava tietokone kainalossaan ja katsoo suoraan kameraan.
Cross-Institutional Studies

As a student at HAMK, you have the opportunity to take courses at other universities as well! It’s called cross-institutional studying, aiming to allow you to study comprehensive units that support your own goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

From here you can find answers to frequently asked questions from Professional Horticulture programme!

Professional Horticulture degree programme is designed to be taught on campus, face to face. We offer accommodation in our students’ dormitories on campus. You will have to apply for a room. More information can be found on Student Accommodation at Lepaa.

Teaching days are starting normally around nine o´clock and end in the afternoon. There is always a break for lunch time. Teaching might take place in the classroom or in the greenhouse. There might be one or two days without teaching during the week, but that means that normally those days are dedicated to teamwork and writing reports or performing different tasks for the upcoming week.

Being a student is a full time commitment and responsibility. However, depending on your status and/or residence permit, you might be able to work part-time. The priority should be your study progress and campus attendance. It has to be kept in mind that classes are usually starting between nine or half past nine until afternoon (including lunch break).  There might be one or two days without teaching during the week, but that means that normally those days are dedicated to teamwork and writing reports or performing different tasks for the upcoming week.

Want to Ask More?

If you want to ask more about the content of the programme, please contact:

If you need more information about applying to this programme, please visit here:

Looking for Something Else?

Choosing the right education for yourself can sometimes be challenging, especially when there are plenty of good options available! We’ve gathered a few more alternatives in the same field for you, in case you’re interested in exploring our other programs as well. You can find our entire range through the search tool:

Climate Smart Agriculture

Natural Resources and Biotechnology

240 ECTS credits

  • Bachelor Level Studies – EQF 6

Information and Communication Technology, Circular Economy

IT and ICT

240 ECTS credits

  • Bachelor Level Studies – EQF 6

Professional Horticulture

Natural Resources and Biotechnology

240 ECTS credits

  • Bachelor Level Studies – EQF 6

Sustainable Forest Management

Natural Resources and Biotechnology

240 ECTS credits

  • Bachelor Level Studies – EQF 6

Sustainable Urban Design

Technology and Traffic

240 ECTS credits

  • Bachelor Level Studies – EQF 6

Sustainable consultation for companies and sustainable, innovative business models

Entrepreneurship and Business

21 credits

    Sustainable Development.Now

    Natural Resources and Biotechnology

    2 credits

    • Open Studies
    • Implementation period: 01.08.2024 – 30.07.2025

    Sustainable Development.Now

    Natural Resources and Biotechnology

    2 credits

    • Open Studies
    • Implementation period: 01.08.2024 – 30.07.2025