PhD in Plant Biology

Enjoy unparalleled opportunities to connect disciplines, creatively solve problems, and integrate complex systems at any level of biological organization, from molecules to landscapes, with basic or applied topics.  

The PhD in plant biology program features diverse areas of focus in cell and developmental biology, evolution and ecology, genomics and genetics, and plant environment interactions. The common interest that plant biology members have in plants is a bridge for work across disciplines. 

Unlike traditional departmental graduate programs, plant biology allows students to select their faculty advisor from four departments on campus—Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, Environmental Conservation, and Stockbridge School of Agriculture—as well as from the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith). 

Facilities for research include a large set of growth chambers, an automated DNA sequencing lab, greenhouses, university-owned field sites, an outstanding living collection of plants, and the herbarium of record for New England. Many plant biology members collaborate with state and federal agencies, several of which maintain offices and staff on campus.