Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping: The Basics of Apiculture (Rutgers NJAES)

Category: Learning Also called: Rutgers Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping; Rutgers beginners beekeeping; AE0401WA27; Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education beekeeping; cpe.rutgers.edu/beekeeping Last checked: 2026-09-30

What it is

Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping: The Basics of Apiculture is a first-party Rutgers University beekeeping education course run through the Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Its official page (cpe.rutgers.edu/beekeeping/beginners-beekeeping) describes a self-paced online course that teaches students “how to start, maintain, and care for a honey bee colony” and says participants are introduced to bee biology and management, hive assembly, colony examination, and honey and beeswax harvest. Official copy states the course “fulfills the legal requirements of the State of New Jersey for beekeeper education.” It is not a county club and not a hive-equipment retail shop.

Who it’s for

Would-be and early-career beekeepers—especially those who need New Jersey’s printed beekeeper-education requirement—who want a fee-printed university Extension online course they can take on their own schedule during a fixed open window. Printed tuition is $315.00 per person (discount tiers $295 for NJ or PA Beekeepers Association members and Master Gardeners; $175 for students). The next offering on the check date runs October 1–31, 2026. Not a substitute for a local club meeting or for buying woodenware.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Learning program with printed dollar tuition and discount tiers, a written cancellation fee, named Rutgers Cooperative Extension / Working Girls Meadows instructors (Mike Haberland; Debra Haberland), a dated October 2026 registration/access window, optional live Zoom Q&A, 1.4 Rutgers CEUs, a New Brunswick campus contact block, and a digital badge on completion. It is curriculum- and fee-first, not a blog and not an affiliate landing page.

• Course format & inclusions (course page, checked 2026-09-30): Course code AE0401WA27. Self-paced online in Canvas; about 14 hours of content inside a four-week open window. Topics listed: bee biology, disease and mite prevention, hive assembly and management, honey extraction, queen purchasing. Optional live Zoom Q&A with instructors October 21, 2026, 6:30–8:00 p.m. EDT (recording shared if you miss it). Digital badge on successful completion. Approved for 1.4 Rutgers CEUs (14 contact hours). Also noted as approved by the New Jersey State Approving Agency for Veterans Training (GI Bill®) on the course page.
• Fees, access & cancellations (same page, checked 2026-09-30): Registration Fee: $315 per person. Discount fees: $295 NJ or PA Beekeepers Association members; $295 Master Gardeners; $175 students. Course Opens: October 1, 2026, 8:00 a.m. EDT; Course Closes: October 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT; Registration Closes: October 26, 2026. “No time extensions will be allowed for late registrations.” $75 cancellation fee; substitutions permitted. Check / money order / PO payees printed to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, mailed to Office of Continuing Professional Education, Attn: Registration Dept., 102 Ryders Ln, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8519.
• Instructors & campus contact (course page + beekeeping hub, checked 2026-09-30): Mike Haberland (associate professor / County Environmental Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension); Debra Haberland (Working Girls Meadows apiaries). Senior Program Coordinator: Pamela Springard-Mayer, 848-932-7463, [email protected]. Office: Office of Continuing Professional Education, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 102 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8519; 848-932-9271; [email protected]. Beekeeping classes hub: next Bee-ginner’s offering October 1–31, 2026; registration open on the check date. Companion courses (Small Scale Queen Rearing, Sustainable Beekeeping, and others) showed Next Offering Expected: TBD / Registration Closed on the hub.

Fees, access windows, Zoom date, CEUs, and instructor names above are what the official pages showed on the check date. Use the live Rutgers CPE page before treating any seat or figure as available. No registration was attempted from Beekeeping Plaza.

Official URL

Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping (description, $315 fee, Oct 2026 window): https://cpe.rutgers.edu/beekeeping/beginners-beekeeping

Beekeeping Classes hub: https://cpe.rutgers.edu/beekeeping

Location

Online (self-paced Canvas), with optional Zoom Q&A on October 21, 2026 (Eastern Time). Program home: Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education, 102 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8519.

This is a Learning / university Extension course address, not a Local club hall and not an Equipment retail counter.

Notes

• Category is Learning. This is a curriculum- and fee-first Rutgers NJAES / Cooperative Extension online course ($315; Oct 1–31, 2026 window). It is not Equipment and not Local clubs. It is distinct from the Learning programs already listed (Montana, Cornell, UF IFAS, Penn State, Oregon, Texas, CSU Extension, Purdue, California/UC Davis, Tennessee Master Beekeeping, UMN Beekeeping in Northern Climates): a different university, a New Jersey legal-education fulfillment claim, and its own fee/window schedule.
• The $315 / $295 / $175 fee tiers, Oct 1–31 2026 open window, Oct 26 registration close, Oct 21 Zoom Q&A, 14-hour / 1.4 CEU claim, $75 cancellation fee, Haberland instructor roster, and 102 Ryders Lane address are transcribed from official cpe.rutgers.edu pages checked on 2026-09-30 and may change. The NJ Department of Agriculture “Diseases of bees” PDF is linked from the course page as the legal-requirement reference; it was not re-hosted here. No registration or payment was attempted.
• First-party documentary image saved beside this listing as rutgers-beginners-beekeeping.jpg (official course header beginners-beekeeping.jpg on cpe.rutgers.edu; recompressed only to keep the file smaller, no other edits).
• Not affiliated with Beekeeping Plaza.
• No Beekeeping Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: What does the Rutgers Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping course cost?
A: Official course page (checked 2026-09-30): $315.00 per person. Discount fees: $295 for NJ or PA Beekeepers Association members and Master Gardeners; $175 for students. A $75 cancellation fee applies; substitutions are permitted. Confirm https://cpe.rutgers.edu/beekeeping/beginners-beekeeping before paying.

Q: When does the next offering run, and is it only online?
A: Course opens October 1, 2026, 8:00 a.m. EDT and closes October 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT; registration closes October 26, 2026. Content is self-paced online (~14 hours) plus an optional live Zoom Q&A on October 21, 2026, 6:30–8:00 p.m. EDT. Confirm the live page for the current window.

Q: Is this a local bee club or a supply shop?
A: No. This listing is Learning: the Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education online Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping course. For a Des Moines–area meeting club see Local clubs (Central Iowa Beekeepers Association). For hive and gear retail see Equipment (e.g. Premier Bee Products, Beez Needz).