Kildalton College is located on an estate that was owned by the Bessboro family. The old house and grounds are a beautiful setting to study horticulture. While Kildalton may be better known for its agriculture studies, the college has been in horticultural education for the last 45 years.

Grainne McMahon, who is assistant principal at the college, says: “We believe very much that doing is the best way to learn and we try to incorporate that as much as possible.”

The proof is in the pudding, as there is an extensive range of practical facilities at Kildalton. There are 10 acres of orchards at the college, where cider apples are grown and sent to Bulmers. There is also half an acre of glasshouses.

Kildalton holds various types of tunnels, strawberry production, cut flower production, fruit production, bedding plants and vegetables.

There is a par-3 golf facility, where sports turf and green-keeping are taught on the amenity end of the college, while more studies are conducted on 40 acres of established gardens.

“We’re very privileged here that the college is based on an old estate and we have various plants around, especially old, established trees because of that,” says Grainne.

Courses

There are three full-time horticulture courses at Kildalton at present: a Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture, which is a one-year course; a Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture, which is an add-on year to the Level 5 course; and a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture with WIT, which is a three-year course.

Level 5 Certificate

in Horticulture

The Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture is a 28-week course which runs from September to May, five days a week. The course includes four weeks of a practical learning period, where students go out and work with a commercial industry that they’re interested in. Grainne McMahon meets many people who are concerned that perhaps they’re too old to begin a course, but she says “the only age limit on this course, or any of our courses, is that you must be 17 on 1 January the year after you start the course. After that there is no upper age limit, we have students well into their 60s coming to Kildalton, so that’s not a concern. Our courses are generally made up of a mixture of young and more experienced students.” Applications are made directly to the college and fees for the year are €800.

Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture

The Level 6 course is an add-on year to the Level 5. This means that if students did their Level 5 in another institute or college, they can apply directly to this Level 6 programme. Course fees are €800. The course is 32 weeks in duration – half of that is work experience out in the industry and half of that is in the college. Students on this programme specialise in a specific area of horticulture, such as food production, which is fruit and vegetable production; landscape, which is landscape design and construction; nursery, which is nursery stock production and garden centre operations; and sports turf, which is the sports turf and golf course industry. Kildalton encourages students to do their work experience from September until December. Students then come back to the college in January until May, for 16 weeks of classes. “From the Level 6 you’re training people to be supervisors. Many students may also be considering going into business for themselves, so it’s about developing those skills, as well as specialising their knowledge within the different areas that they’re in,” says Grainne.

Bachelor of Science in Horticulture

A Bachelor of Science in Horticulture is a WIT degree and it’s run in conjunction with Kildalton College, so it’s a three-year full-time course. It’s designed to train professional horticulturists, ie those who are intending to go into management within the horticutural industry. In year one students are focused on horticultural science – getting the basics of biology, chemistry, soil science, plant science, plant protection and pest diseases. In second year, students focus on a particular area of horticulture, such as nursery stock production, landscape design, sports-turf, nursery design or food. There are also lab skills for horticulturists. During the second term of second year, students go on a practical learning period for about 15 weeks, while in third year they get to specialise in another area of horticulture, as well as completing several management subjects which aim towards business, middle management or entrepreneurship.

Accommodation

There is accommodation on-site at Kildalton – approximately 88 bedrooms, which are available to first-year students. Rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Some students prefer to live locally, in houses that they rent together as a group, or they get digs in Piltown. Others prefer to live in Waterford, while some people prefer to commute.

Work experience abroad

There is also the opportunity to gain work experience abroad when studying horticulture in Kildalton. “We’ve tried to encourage our students to go abroad, because the broader experience and the more you can bring from abroad and bring back to the industry, the better it is for the industry and the better it is for our graduates,” says Grainne. Kildalton has established links with Ohio State University, while many students have also gone on work experience to New York. “A lot of our students who go to the States fall in love with it and they want to go back, and they’re very much sought after when they come back here, especially in the turf grass industry,” says Grainne.

Component Awards

The Component Awards are a new initiative brought into Kildalton in recent years. This allows people to choose just one or two modules from the Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture to study on a part-time basis. “Some people opt to come in and do two modules a year and build up their credit that way – some people just want to do plant propagation, or plant identification and use, and we’re very happy to welcome anyone in to do that,” says Grainne. These Component Awards are run over the 28 weeks of the year, starting in September and finishing in May. These subjects are run the exact same way as the Level 5 course, they’re part theory and part practical. “So anything you learn in theory you’re going to go out and do it hands-on as well, down in the horticultural unit,” says Grainne. There are also Level 6 component awards, where people can go in and study one or two Level 6 modules. Candidates interested in doing this, however, need to have a Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture, or they need to be working within the horticultural industry, and meet certain criteria in that regard. These modules are run for 16 weeks from January to May.

How to apply

For any of the Level 5 or Level 6 programmes, candidates need a copy of their birth cert, proof of their PPS number, two passport-size photos and a deposit of €10. Students interested in the degree programme must apply directly through the CAO system. If you have a Level 5 Certificate you can apply directly to WIT, or if you have a Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture you can apply for advanced entry into the second year of the Level 7 degree.