Bucks has partnered with the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) to become the only college in Pennsylvania to offer a Floral Design Certificate Program that meets the high standards of the AIFD.
“Floral design students
now have a chance to become
a Certified Floral Designer (CFD) by completing Bucks’ comprehensive curriculum,” said Assistant Director Elena Lydon.
There are nine prerequisite courses required to complete the program and students must complete a final evaluation, the Capstone.
Lydon continued, “Students need to complete six core classes and three electives for a total of 114 hours before they can sit for the Capstone. Once they take the Capstone and pass the final
evaluation, they are eligible to take the online test to receive their CFD certification. Once you are a CFD, you can test to become an accredited member at the National AIFD Symposium.”
Students must receive an 80 percent or higher within the first two weeks of access to the online test. Students of the program can only be absent once in each class in order to receive a certificate of completion.
Courses:
The first class, Basic Floral Design, is taught at both the
Newtown and Upper Bucks
Campus. In this class, students
are taught the basics of floral
design, how to care for the
flowers, floral terminology, and many other skills.
The remaining classes in the program are currently only being taught in Newtown. The next class, Flora 1001/Intermediate, gives students opportunities to use more complex techniques
in floral design. Students will
be able to take home their
arrangements.
Flora 1002 is the Advanced floral design class where students will be able to create Contemporary, European and Asian designs. Students will also learn how to edit design applications.
One of the electives offered is Floral Jewelry. In this course, students learn the mechanics and techniques of creating floral jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, and more.
A course titled, Large Scale Design “Bigger Is Better”
looks at different large-scale
designs. It is done as a group with demonstration and limited
hands-on participation. This
program ensures that students will leave with a better understanding large scale designs.
Another course titled,
European Style Floral Structure examines armature, a type of floral support, and European style structures.
Students construct an armature for competitions, exhibitions, and certification testing.
Holidays of Design teaches how to enhance any holiday arrangements. This class is about showing creativity and experimenting with different designs, mechanics, and textures to create new holiday decorations.
Fall In Love With Your
Home focuses on creating
beautiful pieces to put around your house. This class also works on seasonal pieces.
The She Wore Flowers In Her Hair course teaches the secrets of floral headpieces and making crowns, fascinators, combs, and headbands.
The college also provides the Capstone Revie and Capstone courses. The Capstone course evaluates students weekly
designs as they would be in
an AIFD environment. Students
receive a certificate of completion from Bucks.
For more details, visit the BCCC Floral Design Certificate Program’s page on Bucks’ website.