Abstract
Horticulture programs continue to deal with declining enrollment and fewer graduates than jobs available. A college student often first learns about horticulture in an introductory, or similar, course taken as part of their major or core curriculum. These courses can be an important source of new majors. Data from a survey, administered during spring 2020 to students in introductory courses at colleges and universities in Texas, were used to estimate an ordered logit model to analyze the propensity of a student to choose a horticulture career. Factors positively associated with a horticulture career included: having an immediate family member in the horticulture/plant science industry, having a friend or distant family member in the industry, and interest in a career working with plants. Students interested in a horticulture career also expressed a willingness to accept a salary between $30,000 and $45,000, though the number of students interested in a horticulture career increased with higher salaries. Factors that did not play a role included gender, race, and college or university attended. The majority of students (53.2%) were interested in a career working with plants, and 37.6% were interested in a career in horticulture.