Students learn experimentally in the classroom, laboratory, greenhouse, the ten-acre Thomas E. Ricks demonstration garden, and the farms as they pursue an Associates or Bachelors Degree. Using the mediums of plants and technology, students develop habits of hard work, enlightened minds, and healthy living that assist in gainful employment opportunities.

The purpose of the Department of Applied Plant Science is to prepare graduates with a foundation of artistry, technology, and science for careers in horticulture, agronomy, crop and soil science, and agricultural technology.