Japanese gardens are renowned for their serenity and tranquility. Gardens are painstakingly designed and maintained to create beautiful scenes linked to Japanese landscape, culture and history.
The care of Japanese-style gardens in the UK need the skills of well qualified and sensitive horticulturists. The Japanese Garden Society South East branch wishes to support those who would like to further their horticultural qualifications and gain new appreciations of the wide ranging aspects of the profession by sponsoring one candidate on the 2022 RHS Master of Horticulture (MHort) cohort.
The degree-level award is ideal for the professional horticulturist seeking to advance their knowledge and grow further in their career, providing the opportunity to expand and develop research, communication, business development and supervisory/managerial skills. If candidates have a love of Japanese garden construct and design, then they could pursue this interest without the expenditure of the programme fees.
To be eligible, applicants must have some Japan-related element in their dissertation topic completed in year three. The Japanese Garden Society (JGS) are happy for ‘Japan’ to be interpreted in the broadest possible sense, including the design and aesthetics of Japanese gardens, Japanese garden plants, construction, management, maintenance, history and cultural associations of Japanese gardens. Applicants don’t need to decide on their dissertation topic when applying, just have a general idea about what they might like to do. However, the dissertation focus needs to be on an aspect of Japanese Horticulture, which would specifically benefit the UK horticulture sector/UK Gardens.
The JGS commented, “There are a number of historic and modern Japanese-style gardens in the UK requiring Japanese gardening skills for their ongoing maintenance. There are also, in our view, many other opportunities where application of Japanese garden related knowledge and skills could be usefully applied.
It is our experience that there are too few people with the relevant skills. We would like to increase the number of UK based gardeners (living and working in the UK), designers and garden managers with Japanese garden related knowledge and practical experience.
Our hope is that a JGS SE scholarship would assist with this objective”.
After completing their dissertation, the candidate will be required to do a presentation on their findings to the Japanese Garden Society. A fantastic opportunity, which could open many doors.
Applicants interested in applying will need to complete a scholarship application form, and if awarded a place on the MHort, they will then move onto the next round of screening for the scholarship.
For those applicants that are interested in completing the MHort without the scholarship; the programme is competitively priced at under £6k for the award in its entirety. There are also flexible payment options, including monthly, to help spread the cost.
Mainly completed online, the programme is flexible, allowing candidates to study and grow their career alongside work or other commitments. The award links candidates to a range of professional networks and provides a great opportunity to grow global connections with candidates from around the world, including the USA, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Singapore, Europe, and the UK.
Holders of the award may use the designation MHort (RHS) after their name.
Annual applications close on 1 September 2022 for an October start.
Email: mhort@rhs.org.uk
Website: rhs.org.uk/mhort
Twitter: @RHS_Learning
