Graduate Profiles
Bernadette Carroll
Course: Graduate Diploma of
Horticulture, awarded 2005 (Dux)
“Having completed a Bachelor of Arts some years
earlier, I was keen to realise a long-held ambition
to study horticulture at a tertiary level. I enrolled in
the Graduate Diploma of Horticulture at Melbourne
University’s Burnley campus and completed the
course over 12 months full-time in 2004. Since
then, I have run my own business as a Horticultural
Consultant (City to Sea Horticultural Consulting &
Design) and I am also working for Hume City Council
as Senior Horticulturist on a part time basis.
“I found the course enormously enjoyable. It was
a challenge to go back to studying at a postgraduate
level after a long break from study, but
the lecturers were extremely encouraging and
passionate about their field. As Burnley is a
relatively small community, I found it easy to settle
in to student life and was fortunate to have had
some excellent mentors.
“I selected a broad range of subject areas in my
electives and have found this extremely useful in my
current work as a horticultural consultant, as it does
require expertise across a wide range of areas.
“I feel that the course gave me a really solid
grounding on which to build through the everyday
experience of working in the field. The practical,
theoretical and research skills learnt at Burnley are
part of my everyday ‘tool kit’ on the job and I have
found that having qualifications from Melbourne
University has always been very highly regarded by
private and corporate clients alike.
Although not studying at present, I still feel a
close connection to Burnley and I look forward to
continuing my professional development through
further study with the Land and Food Resources
Faculty in the future.”