Question 1

What is the Urban Agriculture Certificate (UAC) Program?

Accepted Answer

• The UAC Program is for land stewards and food justice movement builders who wish to develop their political education, build community with others, and hone their skills in both urban agriculture and food justice principles.

• The two-year, hybrid (virtual and in-person) Certificate Program runs from March-October 2026 and includes three modules: Food Justice Foundations (FJF), Introduction to Land Stewardship (ILS), and an immersion at a community partner location.

• Participants must complete all three modules to receive a certificate and otherwise are eligible to receive letters of completion per course.

Read more on our Urban Agriculture Certificate (UAC) Program page here.(http://farmschoolnyc.org/uacprogram)

Question 2

What are tuition costs?

Accepted Answer

FSNYC has a sliding scale tuition model for all offerings. We use an honor system that allows students to self-select their tuition tiers based on capacity, privilege, access to resources, and needs. Learn more here.(http://farmschoolnyc.org/tuition)

Question 3

Who are FSNYC courses for?

Accepted Answer

• Beginning and intermediate land and food justice stewards and advocates working along the entire food system interested in gaining 1) the hands-on skills to be a proficient steward of the land and 2) a deeper analysis of the food  and agriculture system within the U.S.

• This includes chefs, educators, service workers, foodies, growers, parents, backyard gardeners and more!

• People who are curious and excited to learn collaboratively and open to hands-on, popular education-(https://highlandercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/methodologies-EN-color-1.pdf)based learning

• People who are interested in sharing the knowledge gained with their family, friends, peers, and community (passing on the gift, the Training of Trainers approach)

• Citywide alumni who need to fulfill requirements for the following courses: Food Justice, Growing Soils, Plant Beginnings (fka Botany and Propagation), Irrigation, Learning the Land, Caring for Crops (fka Crop Management), Training of Trainers, and Seminar

Question 4

Can I take courses if I am not interested in a certificate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. UAC courses may be opened to the public if there is space available after certificate students have signed up. FSNYC also offers public workshops, separate from the Certificate Program, and throughout the year. Learn more here soon.

Question 5

What happened to the Citywide Certificate Program?

Accepted Answer

FSNYC paused the Citywide Program in 2023 to embark on a Re-Visioning process, the first of its kind since the program’s founding more than a decade ago, and we are now back with a new iteration. Simply, the Citywide Certificate Program has been replaced with the current Urban Agriculture Certificate (UAC) Program. (See first question for more info.)

Question 6

Can I still get a Citywide Program certificate?

Accepted Answer

Yes, former students missing course requirements for Food Justice, Growing Soils, Plant Beginnings (fka Botany and Propagation), Irrigation, Learning the Land, Caring for Crops (fka Crop Management), Training of Trainers, and Seminar can apply to take these courses in 2026. Reach out to programs@farmschoolnyc.org (mailto:programs@farmschoolnyc.org)to discuss further.

Question 7

How do I know if I am an alumni?

Accepted Answer

• While many Citywide students do not get to complete the certificate program in the allotted 1-2 years and have up to 5 years to complete the requirements, we consider students in the cohort program who have completed Food Justice, Training of Trainers, Learning the Land and 3 more core courses (not advanced or public) as Alumni.

• If you began Citywide and/or public courses at any time, you are considered part of our community. While this doesn’t exactly translate to alumni status, we encourage you to email programs@farmschoolnyc.org (mailto:programs@farmschoolnyc.org)with any questions.

• If you have questions about what courses you’ve completed and your status, email programs@farmschoolnyc.org.

Question 8

I’m new to Farm School, what should I expect?

Accepted Answer

We are constantly refining the ways we support the well-being of our programs, students, and community. See FSNYC’s mission, vision, and values here.(https://www.farmschoolnyc.org/mission-vision) Below are some of the values and expectations we have for our community:
 • Care for ourselves and each other.  At the beginning of each class, we usually take a moment to step out of our busy lives and "ground" ourselves. This may look like stretching, breathing, or a similar activity.

• Embrace difference and diversity.  One way we do this is by sharing our gender pronouns when introducing ourselves. By doing this, we respect the breadth of gender and the way everyone identifies.

• Lean into growth. It can hurt. Students are encouraged to engage with open hearts and minds. Transformation requires expanding our growing edge by sitting through discomforts that may arise in learning spaces.

• Pass on the gift.  Knowledge and expertise do very little if kept to yourself. Because our model is popular education, we expect everyone to continue sharing with their wider communities. We are all teachers and learners.

Question 9

What is FSNYC's COVID policy?

Accepted Answer

FSNYC continues requiring masking and COVID rapid testing. Read more here.(https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSX8Kv_HubnasYFLqEf4pVvyH7xiFIb-JU4fFEMYlJ0bV7BpXsv4aLa2m7GK8J6w0liZaaykUu7i7Gq/pub)