Current Standards - Effective until September 30, 2008
EDUCATION
DEFINITIONS
Horticultural Therapy Degree:
A horticultural therapy degree is an Associate,
Bachelor, or Master degree in horticultural therapy
from an accredited college or university.
Equivalent Horticultural Therapy Bachelor Degree:
An equivalent horticultural therapy Bachelor degree
must equal the minimum number of semester credits
in the subject areas required by the core curriculum
(see below) with an internship of 1,000 hours supervised
by a Registered Horticultural Therapist (HTR or
HTM).
Related Field:
A Bachelor degree in a related field is defined
as a degree containing a minimum of 40 semester
credits related to the core curriculum with not
more than 6 semester credits in areas of management.
An Associate degree in a related field is defined
as a degree containing a minimum of 20 semester
credits from the core curriculum with not more than
3 semester credits in areas of management.
POINT ASSIGNMENTS
COLLEGE DEGREE COURSEWORK:
Associate
Bachelor
Master*
Doctoral*
Horticultural
Therapy
2.0
4.0
1.5
1.5
Related Field
1.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
Unrelated Field
0.5
1.5
0.5
0.5
College degree coursework is college coursework
that is credited toward a degree.
*Points for Master and Doctoral degrees are assigned
in addition to the point designation for a Bachelor
degree. An Associate degree that is credited toward
a Bachelor degree is not eligible for a separate
point assignment. Transcripts must be provided to
document education at each level.
COLLEGE NON-DEGREE COURSEWORK:
Assigned a point value of .05 per one semester hour.
There is a 2 point maximum allowance for
this category.
College non-degree coursework is college coursework
that is not credited toward a degree. All coursework
must relate to courses listed in the core curriculum.
(see below).
AHTA-ACCREDITED HT CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS:
Horticultural Therapy Certificate Programs are horticultural
therapy programs sponsored by colleges, botanical
gardens, and other training facilities that are
specifically accredited by AHTA. Those currently
accredited by AHTA that are eligible for a point
assignment are:
Program
Name
Accredited
Point Value
Chicago Botanic
Gardens
1.5
Cook College
at Rutgers
1.5
Horticultural
Therapy Institute
1.5
Legacy Health
System
.95
New York Botanical Gardens
1.5
Providence
Farm
1.5
Therapeutic
Horticulture at Minnesota
Landscape Arboretum
1.5
University
of Cinncinnati
Clermont College
1.5
INTERNSHIPS (non-degree):
Assigned a point value of .25 per 1,000 hours.
Internships must be supervised by a Registered Horticultural
Therapist (HTR or HTM).
Documentation of a completed internship must include
a letter from the internship supervisor. Internship
hours over 1,000 hours will be considered work experience
valued at .25 per 1,000 hours. Internships that
are a part of a HT Bachelor degree are not eligible
for a point assignment as they are already credited
as part of the degree program.
WORK EXPERIENCE
DEFINITIONS
A Horticultural Therapist or a volunteer in horticultural
therapy is defined as an individual who has direct client
contact and utilizes horticultural therapy as a primary
treatment modality. Those individuals utilizing horticultural
therapy, but not as a primary treatment modality, will
be assigned points based on the percentage of time actually
spent utilizing horticultural therapy.
POINT ASSIGNMENTS
The Category of Work Experience carries an overall maximum
point allowance of 1.5 at HTR level. A letter from a supervisor must be
submitted verifying direct client contact and total
hours employed using horticulture therapy.
PAID HT EMPLOYMENT:
Assigned a point value of .5 per 2,000 hours.
VOLUNTEER HT EXPERIENCE:
Assigned a point value of .25 per 2,000 hours.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Points are assigned for the following associated professional
activities. A maximum number of points allowable for
this category is 1.5 @ the HTR level. Please note that each sub-category
also carries a maximum point allowance.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
All workshops/classes must relate to the subject matter
listed in the core curriculum (see below).
AHTA Accredited Workshops - assigned a point value of
.1 per 8 hours. All workshops must be AHTA accredited.
Workshop certificates must be submitted as documentation.
Continuing Education Units (CEU) - assigned a point
value of .1 per 8 contact hours. CEU certificates must
be submitted as documentation stating subject and hours.
Public Garden Classes - assigned a point value of .05
per 8 hours. Courses must be documented and submitted
stating subject and hours.
Master Gardener Program - assigned a point value of
.05 per 8 hours. Courses must be documented and submitted
stating subject and hours.
AHTA ACCREDITED WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS:
Assigned a point value of 0.1 per hour. This must
be an AHTA-accredited workshop or conference. A
copy of the agenda or letter from a workshop coordinator
must be included to document participation.
NON-AHTA ACCREDITED WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS:
Assigned a point value of .05 per hour. Non-AHTA accredited
workshop presentations must be relevant to horticultural
therapy. Outline of presentations and letter from workshop
coordinator verifying presentation must be included
with application.
WORKSHOP COORDINATOR:
Assigned a point value of .2 per 8-hour day. Workshops
must be accredited by AHTA.
HORTICULTURAL THERAPY INTERN SUPERVISION:
Assigned a point value of .25 per 1,000 hours. HT
Internship Supervisors must be Registered Horticultural
Therapists (HTR or HTM).
AHTA SERVICE:
All service must be documented.
AHTA Officer or Strategic Area Manager - .1 point
per year
AHTA Board Member - .1 point per year
AHTA Work Team Leader - .1 point per year
AHTA Work Team Member - .05 point per year
AHTA Chapter Officer, Chapter Board Member, or Chapter
Committee Chair - .05 point per year
HORTICULTURAL THERAPY PUBLICATIONS: AHTA Newsletter - assigned a point value of .1
for each article related to horticultural therapy.
Non-Referred Article - (i.e. magazine) assigned
a point value of .05 for each article related to horticultural
therapy.
Referred Journal Article - assigned a point value
of .25 for each article related to horticultural therapy.
TextBook Chapter - assigned a point value of
.5 for a chapter in a book related to horticultural
therapy.
TextBook - assigned a point value of 1.0 for
a major book on horticultural therapy.
CORE CURRICULUM
The core curriculum is a syllabus that can be used by those
individuals designing a curriculum for a Bachelors Degree
in Horticultural Therapy. It represents coursework and hours
required per content area for such a degree. Although course
titles may differ, subject content must be related.
Horticultural Therapy Specialization Courses: 8
semester hours required These are courses specifically dealing with the use
of horticulture as a treatment modality and the development
of horticultural therapy programs such as:
Horticultural Therapy Techniques
Horticultural Therapy Programming (assessment, goal
planning, activity planning, task analysis, etc.)
Program Funding
Research
Grant Writing
Horticultural Science Courses: 40 semester hours
required These are courses related to plant science, botany,
and horticulture such as:
Plant Propagation
Greenhouse or Nursery Production/Management
Botany
Landscape Design
Soil Science
Entomology
Plant Pathology/Physiology
Floral Design
Pest Control
Therapy/Human Science Courses: 24 semester hours
required Courses specializing in one of these areas: physical
disabilities, developmental disabilities, emotional
disabilities, geriatrics, psychiatric, correctional,
community outreach, etc.
Courses in the following subjects: group dynamics,
vocational rehabilitation, special education, recreation/therapeutic
skills and services, anatomy/physiology, sign language,
CPR, crisis intervention, etc.
Coursework may include:
Sociology
Psychology
Elective Coursework: 6 semester hours required Coursework may include:
Communications, Business, Economics, Research Methods/Statistics,
etc.
