Plant Biology Doctoral Degree Requirements

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

A Ph.D. candidate is required to complete one core course in three of the following areas of study: Molecular and Cell Biology of Plant Development, Plant Ecology, Plant Evolution, Plant Genetics, Plant Development, Plant Microbe Interactions, and Plant Physiology. Specific course listings to fulfill the above core requirements are available from the Plant Biology Program Office. In addition, two elective courses are required, to be selected from the list of upper-level offerings. Formal course requirements should be completed by the end of the fourth semester. However, for each semester throughout the entire training period, the student will be required to participate in a journal club.

Each first-year student completes two laboratory rotations; the first consisting of a series of short (three-week) exposures to four different laboratories, and the second of a six-month project in a particular laboratory. Thereafter, students are expected to identify a laboratory in which they will carry out the research for the Ph.D. thesis.

Formal testing is initially conducted in two steps: the first is an oral examination at the end of the first year based on the core coursework that the student has completed, as well as basic Plant Biology, and the second is an oral defense of the student's thesis proposal, which is to be completed by the end of the fifth semester. There is also a final oral defense of the written dissertation. It is expected that students will complete the Ph.D. degree in four to five years. Funding, consisting of a teaching assistantship or a research assistantship, is guaranteed for up to five years, contingent upon satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. degree.