Navreet Mahal: Shaping next-generation horticultural professionals
Texas A&M educator melds teaching and industry engagement with horticulture curriculum redesign
On most days, Navreet Mahal, Ph.D., is in front of her students, but her work and impact extend far beyond the lecture hall.
Mahal’s courses in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Horticultural Sciences introduce her students to the breadth of horticulture.
Mahal believes horticulture sustains us beyond the food we eat. It propels better living. It lowers stress and brings beauty to our daily lives. It fuels entrepreneurial and economic opportunity and cultivates creativity grounded in nature.
As associate department head for undergraduate programs, Mahal is managing and leading a redesign of the horticulture undergraduate curriculum within the department. Also an instructional assistant professor, she teaches a broad range of foundational and advanced courses.
The positions give her a unique perspective on the future of horticulture and students’ opportunities in the field.
Mahal’s goal is clear: prepare students for meaningful careers in a field that is rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected across food systems, environmental management, design and business.
Helping students connect with career opportunity
Mahal’s teaching and administrative roles give her a clear view of student development, how they can apply what they learn to a career, and what the horticulture field expects from graduates.
From plant propagation to organic crop production, her courses connect students to the range of opportunities in horticulture. Through industry collaborations and dialogue between professionals and students, she ties research and classroom learning to real-world application.
In the Greenhouse Management and Sustainable Crop Production course, students grow hundreds of plants as part of semester‑long projects. They manage irrigation, diagnose pests, develop budgets, price their plants and finish the semester with the student‑run plant sale. The intent, Mahal said, is to give students a real look at what greenhouse or nursery operations experience daily.
Field trips and internships expand that view even further. Students travel to commercial nurseries, visit ornamental growers, and meet and engage with industry professionals and insiders. Internships deepen that engagement and affirm what they’ve learned.
“It’s interesting to see students come into the classes and learn about plants and watch their interest develop into something they see themselves pursuing as a career,” Mahal said. “The most gratifying part of my job is seeing students discover what they’re passionate about. We want every student’s experience and what we are teaching them to translate into career and life success.”
In 2025, Mahal received the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Professional Early Career Award for Teaching and Education Systems, and she was recently honored with a Dean’s Outstanding Achievement award for teaching.
Reimagining curriculum for next-generation horticulturists
While teaching may be at the heart of her work, Mahal is also reshaping the academic framework that supports every student in the program.
She and her colleagues are now deep into an ambitious curriculum redesign. The redesign aligns coursework with what the industries and employers need and will ensure graduates are prepared for the workforce and well-positioned as the field continues to evolve.
Curriculum updates address innovation and advanced technology across horticulture with an emphasis on experiential learning. Courses may incorporate artificial intelligence and advanced controlled environment production system learning in classrooms and labs that are then applied with hands-on projects.
The process led to the creation of two new certificates – sustainable interior and exterior landscape design and controlled environment horticulture. Additional interdisciplinary certificates related to hospitality and public health are in the proposal phase. The suite of certificates underscores Mahal’s belief that horticulture intersects human wellbeing, technology, food systems and the spaces people inhabit every day.
“It’s surprising how much the industry has changed; the talent the industry is looking for is very, very different from what it was,” Mahal said. “We’re looking to enhance classroom instruction with experiential learning that will bridge the gap between theory and practice. We believe that will translate into real-world success for our students.”
