About the School

ACS was founded in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a well known Australian based gardening author and former parks manager, landscape designer and nurseryman.

Today ACS operates two administration centres (in the UK and Australia).

Horticulture is the school's largest faculty offering over 140 different courses by both traditional distance education (paper based notes) as well as many courses online or by CD.

The school has built a distinguished international reputation, and offers unique education opportunities at all levels from hobby to professional development at the highest level.

The school's credentials include:

• Various accreditations/affiliations and memberships in Australia, the UK and beyond
• Outstanding tutors, including many internationally renowned industry leaders
• ACS developed courses adopted by other many other colleges artound the world.
• Many leading horticultural text books and garden magazines authored by the principal and staff (around 200 publications 100% written by ACS)
• Thousands of horticultural graduates spread over around 50 countries working in industry.
• An ethical approach to education with high Academic standards and strong student support services are key characteristics of the ACS approach to teaching horticulture.
• A "green" policy .... amongst other things, we offer a discount on course fees for students who choose paperless CD based courses.

ACS HORTICULTURE PROGRAMS are unique have maintained high academic standards while many other (often government accredited) institutions have compromised and weakened standards.

-Tutors on average have more than 15 years industry experience beyond just education.

-Most horticulture tutors and course writers hold two or more tertiary qualifications.

-Certificates awarded by ACS are 600 or more hours of study and will teach you to identify plant families as well as at least 200 different species. (Many government accredited certificates had similar standards in the past, but often produce graduates well below this standard today).