Applied Plant Sciences Ph.D.

Applied Plant Sciences is an interdisciplinary program for educating students to become professional scientists well-grounded in the applied disciplines of agronomy/agroecology, horticulture, and plant breeding/molecular genetics. Graduates of the program are able to provide innovative leadership and contribute to problem solving within their disciplines in the public or private sector and within society at large. The program develops the quantitative and qualitative research skills necessary to conduct high-quality research and scholarship as well as skills needed for professional communication, teamwork and leadership. Students choose from among four specialization tracks: agronomy/agroecology, applied plant sciences, horticulture, or plant breeding/plant molecular genetics. Students gain broad familiarity with all of the disciplines within the program and gain in-depth knowledge within their area of expertise. The program's graduate faculty is drawn primarily from the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics and the Department of Horticultural Science; but also from the Departments of Plant and Microbial Biology; Plant Pathology; Soil, Water, and Climate; Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; and Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. The faculty embrace the University of Minnesota's position that promoting and supporting diversity among the student body is central to our academic mission.