NEW Horticulture Therapy Certificates
Students in the College of DuPage Horticulture program now have pathways to credentials in horticultural therapy. COD is one of nine colleges in the U.S.—and the only one in the Midwest—to offer certificates in this discipline.
COD’s Horticultural Therapy and Advanced Horticultural Therapy certificates launch in fall 2025. Students in the Horticultural Therapy certificate program will learn horticulture therapy techniques and how to develop programs for horticulture therapy, while students in the Advanced Horticulture Therapy certificate program will deepen their expertise and professional reach within the field.
Horticultural therapy is the practice of using gardening and plant exposure for rehabilitative and healing purposes that serves “a wide range of populations,” said Adjunct Horticulture Professor Kelly Warnick. “As a therapeutic tool in health care settings, it’s tantamount to occupational therapy or recreational therapy. As a registered horticultural therapist, I have seen many patient breakthroughs in garden settings.”
[Image and text by Cat Pastoor, College of DuPage Newsroom]
Students in the Horticulture program utilize the Library's Horticulture Research Guide
Connecting with our Community in Positive Ways
College of DuPage partners with the DuPage County Sheriff's Office and JUST DuPage to offer detainees at the DuPage County Correctional Facility the opportunity to earn college credit while pursuing a Certificate in Urban Agriculture and/or Power equipment technology.
An important part of the DuPage County Sheriff’s approach to rehabilitation, the program gives detainees the opportunity to earn college credit, increase their employability after release and donate thousands of pounds of fresh produce to a number of local food pantries.
Learn more:
DuPage County Correctional Facility and JUST of DuPage Grow Partnership with COD’s Horticulture Program by Leo Boshardy, College of DuPage Newsroom