INTRODUCTION

This handbook provides information on the Master's and Ph.D. degrees. Portions of this handbook have been extracted from the Graduate School Bulletin www.umass.edu/grad_catalog/, the Graduate School Handbook www.umass.edu/gradschool/handbook, and Typing Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations www.umass.edu/gradschool/dissertationandthesis/index.html. Students should read these publications for complete information. All are also accessible through the University of Massachusetts Graduate School web site www.umass.edu/gradschool/students.html. Paper copies are available at Office of Degree Requirements, 534 Goodell Building, or in a binder maintained by the Graduate Program Secretary in the Main Office, 102B Fernald Hall.

Entomologists should have a strong foundation of knowledge in the basic concepts of biology. Most of these concepts are acquired through undergraduate work. It is expected that candidates for graduate degrees have an understanding of the basic principles of biology including, but not limited to, invertebrate zoology, evolution, genetics, botany, chemistry, and biochemistry.

Graduate work is more than a continuation of undergraduate studies. The most critical assurance of success is your dedication to scholarship, manifested in your commitment to productivity and quality in your coursework and research. Upon entering your graduate program, you have a multi-faceted commitment to achieve high standards: to yourself, to the Department, to your peers, and to your advisor. It is your responsibility to ensure that your research is of high quality and suitable for publication in reputable journals.

Your relationship with this Department will continue throughout your professional career. Your participation in courses, research, and departmental affairs will influence how you are perceived by the faculty and by your graduate student peers, and how their perceptions are conveyed to others.

SHORT HISTORY OF THE FORMER DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY

The University of Massachusetts began in 1867 as the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the Land-Grant College of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, established under the Morrill Act of 1862. Entomology became part of the curriculum in 1868, one year after the College opened, with a course taught by A.S. Packard, Jr. Packard, also on the staff of the Peabody Academy of Science, in 1869 published a Guide to the Study of Insects which probably represented the substance of his course. Packard left the College in 1876, and the teaching of entomology appears to have been neglected until the appointment of Charles H. Fernald in 1886 as Professor of Zoology.

Charles Fernald had been teaching Mineralogy, Geology, Botany, Zoology, Comparative Anatomy, and Entomology in Maine before coming to Amherst. Entomology was his first love, however, and he soon found himself in charge of entomological research at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station (founded in 1882). Fernald published the first entomological contributions from the college in 1887 (on beetles) and 1888 (The Orthoptera of New England).

The early emphasis of Experiment Station research was on such pests as the gypsy moth, browntail moth, spruce budworm, and San Jose scale. There was some taxonomic work as well, on the Crambidae and Pterophoridae of North America.

In 1899, the College decided that three areas were strong enough to offer the Ph.D. degree: Botany, Chemistry and Entomology. As a result, a new Department of Entomology was created and Dr. H.T. Fernald was hired as Full Professor. H.T. Fernald was C.H. Fernald's son, and he had been teaching Entomology and Zoology at Pennsylvania State College. C.H. and H.T. Fernald divided the teaching of Entomology between them. In 1902 W.E. Hinds received the first Ph.D. degree awarded by the Massachusetts Agricultural College for his work on the Thysanoptera of North America.

The Entomology program grew rapidly thereafter, and by 1908 had outgrown its building. In 1909/1910 a new building (which became Fernald Hall) was completed. It originally housed the Departments of Geology, Zoology and Entomology. The building was dedicated in 1911 by Dr. L.O. Howard.

Professor C.H. Fernald retired in 1908 at the age of 70. At this time there were seven graduate and 63 undergraduate students in Entomology. Dr. G.C. Crampton was hired to replace Fernald in 1911 and became one of the world authorities on Insect Morphology. Apiculture became part of the curriculum in 1912 with the appointment of Dr. B.N. Gates as Professor of Beekeeping. A third member, Dr. W.S. Regan, was added to the staff in 1915, and remained until 1921; H.T. Fernald says little more about him except that he resigned rather precipitously. C.P. Alexander was hired in 1922. H.T. Fernald retired in 1930 and the Department of Entomology was combined with Zoology and Geology. Dr. Alexander was in charge of instruction in entomology. He became the world's authority on Tipulidae and named over 10,000 species.

The Department expanded rapidly during the next 5 years and by 1935 the faculty consisted of C.P. Alexander, G.C. Crampton, H.L. Sweetman and F.R. Shaw. Research professors associated with the Experiment Station included A.I. Bourne, H.J. Franklin, W.D. Whitcomb and W.B. Becker. The faculty remained unchanged until J.T. Hanson and Marion E. Smith were added in 1948 and 1949, respectively. It was in this period that the Department gained a reputation for excellence in research, particularly taxonomy. The Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology were merged in 1958 under Dr. John H. Lilly. Dr. Lilly resigned as Head in 1965 and was replaced by Dr. M.A. MacKenzie. The two departments were again split in 1968, and Dr. T. Michael Peters served as Department Head until 1975. From 1975 until 1977, Dr. John G. Stoffolano and Dr. Henry H. Hagedorn served as Acting Department Heads until Dr. James B. Kring joined the faculty as Head in 1977. After only a year and a half Dr. Kring was appointed as Acting Dean of the College. Drs. Peters, John D. Edman, and David N. Ferro served as Acting Heads until the appointment of Dr. Ring T. Cardé in 1982. Dr. Cardé was succeeded by Dr. Edman in 1987. Drs. Cardé and Edman alternated as Heads until Dr. Peters again became Head in 1995. Dr. Ferro became Chair of the Department in 1998 and served until a debilitating stroke in 2000. Drs. Elkinton and Averill stepped in until Roy van Driesche was appointed Chair in 2001. In 2004, Entomology was merged with the former Department of Plant & Soil Sciences and with the Plant Pathologists from the Department of Microbiology. The Department Head of the new Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences is Peter Veneman, with Roy van Driesche as Chairman of the Entomology Division.

The current Entomology Division Faculty include Dr. Lynn Adler, Dr. Anne Averill, Dr. John Burand, Dr. Joseph Elkinton, Dr. Ben Normark, Dr. Adam Porter, Dr. Stephen Rich, Dr. Roy van Driesche, and Dr. Patricia Vittum.

The Department is within the College of Natural Resources and the Environment. Fernald Hall houses much of the Entomology Division, but activity occurs throughout campus, including in major portions of Hatch Laboratory and Agricultural Engineering, as well as in the Apiary.

We welcome you as participants in our endeavors to maintain high standards in our contributions to the discipline of entomology.