Floral Design Certificate Program

Overview

The New York Botanical Garden is home to New York City’s oldest and most prestigious Floral Design Program, and for over four decades has sent hundreds of graduates on to enjoy rewarding careers. With hands-on practice and with personal attention from NYBG’s rigorous yet nurturing instructors, you’ll develop the mastery and confidence to express yourself through flowers.

The NYBG Certificate Program helps you develop your own aesthetic and master the mechanics for everything from simple bouquets to grand-scale arrangements, while giving you a practical, real-world, business foundation. No experience is necessary—just your flair and enthusiasm. 

Throughout the course of the Program, students will:

  • Create over 40 floral designs for many occasions, including weddings, parties, and holidays.
  • Gain a solid grounding in color theory and an understanding of floral styles throughout history.
  • Develop skills needed to build or sustain a thriving floral business: retail ordering, cost analysis, scheduling, project management, marketing, client relationships, and managing personnel.

Certificate students must complete 142 total course hours (118 required + 24 elective), plus an 80-hour internship. Students are also required to submit a portfolio showcasing photographs of class assignments and their own unique creations.  

The Floral Design Certificate Program is an accredited Education Partner of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD).

 

REQUIRED COURSES

COURSE CODE              
 HOURS
Fundamentals of Form FDN 300   16
Fundamentals of Style FDN 302  P 16
Wedding Design I: Personals  FDN 304  P 16
Wedding Design II: Ceremony & Reception  FDN 305  P  16
Color Theory for Floral Design FDN 306    8
Flower ID from A to Z FDN 308    8
Interior Plantscapes FDN 310    8
Shopping the New York Flower Market  FDN 400    4
Modern Sympathy Design FDN 382  P  6
Grand-Scale Arrangements FDN 502  P  8
Event Planning for the Floral Designer FDN 504  P  12
Elective courses     24
TOTAL REQUIRED HOURS                                                            142

ELECTIVES

Elective course offerings vary with every catalog season.

 

P = Courses with a prerequisite before you can register.