Social and therapeutic horticulture is the purposeful use of horticultural activities to promote health and well-being and facilitate social inclusion. This exciting new course is designed to offer people, who are working in horticulture or therapy, the opportunity to further develop their skills in social and therapeutic horticulture. They will also reflect upon, debate and critique their current practice. This programme is the first to be developed in the UK and will build upon Coventry's well-established and vocationally focussed qualification, the Professional Development Diploma.

It is anticipated that a significant proportion of the MSc candidates will be engaged within work settings. It is anticipated that this programme will further increase an applicant’s employment opportunities in social and therapeutic horticulture and develop their career prospects through promotion, areas of responsibility and research opportunities. Although a ‘registered’ Social and Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner professional role does not currently exist there is evidence that specific practitioner roles are being advertised. The programme will offer wider career enhancement opportunities for the prospective students who are already employed in a Social and Therapeutic Horticulture setting.