UConn Early College Experience is a program that allows high school students to take UConn courses at their high schools for high school and college credit. The courses taken through UConn ECE are equivalent to the course provided at UConn. UConn ECE instructors are high school teachers certified to teach UConn courses. Learn more about the ECE program.
The Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture offers several ECE Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems courses, outlined below.
Check to see if your high school is a Partner School and offers Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems courses.
Courses
SPSS 1100: Turfgrass Management (*Pilot Program: contact office before applying)
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
An overview of turfgrass adaptation, selection, and management. Topics include turfgrass growth, physiology, soil
interactions, establishment, and maintenance. Cultural system practices for lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and other
turf areas. Turfgrass pest management practices for weeds, insects, and diseases.
Eligibility Guidelines: Successful completion of one year of high school biology recommended.
SPSS 1110: Fundamentals of Horticulture
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
Science and practice of horticultural plant propagation and culture. Basic concepts of plant structure, growth and
function. Integrated pest management. Impact of new technology. Horticulture and the environment.
Eligibility Guidelines: Successful completion of one year of high school biology recommended.
SPSS 1150: Agricultural Technology and Society
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
Development of agricultural systems and technologies and their influence on societies. Topics include plant and animal
domestication, food and industrial crops and centers of production, environmental issues, and agricultural ethics.
Eligibility Guidelines: Successful completion of one year of high school biology recommended.
SPSS 2120: Environmental Soil Science
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
Introduction to the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. The relationship between soils and the growth of
higher plants. Impact of soils on environmental quality.
Eligibility Guidelines: Successful completion of one year of high school chemistry recommended.
SPSS 2520: Floral Art
Two credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-Year.
The study of flower arrangement as an art form with emphasis on historical background, artistic principles, color
harmony and care of perishable media. Individual expression is encouraged in the creation of floral composition.
Eligibility Guidelines: Successful completion of one year of high school chemistry recommended.
SPSS 3230: Biotechnology- Science, Application, Impact, Perception
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
Scientific, legal, and ethical aspects of Biotechnology application in agriculture, health medicine, forensics, and the
environment.
Eligibility Guidelines: None
SPSS 3245: Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
Three credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year.
Principles and applications, economic, social and environmental impacts, advantages, potentials and limitations of major
traditional and modern plant breeding technologies including crossing/hybridization, mutagenesis, genetic engineering
and genome editing.
Eligibility Guidelines: A student must pass SPSS 3230 with a grade of a “C” or higher to continue on to SPSS 3245.
SPSS 3530: Advanced Floral Design
Two credits. Offered Fall, Spring, or Full-year. Prerequisite: SPSS 2520.
In-depth study of post-harvest requirements for specialized floral crops. Exposure to novel floral materials with an
emphasis on special events and wedding designs. Mass marketing, retail price structuring and mass-production concepts
are covered.
Eligibility Guidelines: A student must pass SPSS 2520 with a grade of a “C” or higher to continue on to SPSS 3530
Page last updated: 4/11/2023