The faculty offers a comprehensive program of study and research
and provides specialties in most fields of plant biology. Greenhouse
and research facilities and equipment are extensive. Students may do
fieldwork in several experiment stations, farms, research stations, a
nearby primeval forest ecosystem, an old field, and ancient habitats. A
seminar series of invited scientists provides rich opportunities for
students during graduate study.
The faculty offers the
master's degree without thesis, the master's degree with thesis, and
the doctoral degree. The master of philosophy degree is available to
doctoral candidates. Required undergraduate preparation normally
includes calculus, general and organic chemistry, physics, general
biology or equivalent, genetics, and some botanical training. Some
undergraduate training in biochemistry and/or molecular biology is
recommended as background for the core curriculum. Students with strong
academic records and other evidence of scholarly talents or promise are
encouraged to apply. Submission of the Graduate Record Examination
score is required, and the biology, biochemistry, or cell and molecular
biology subject test score is recommended. A variety of fellowships and
teaching and research assistantships is available.
The
graduate faculty includes members from several units, including the
departments of plant biology and pathology; biochemistry and
microbiology; landscape architecture; ecology, evolution, and natural
resources; and environmental sciences at Cook College and the
biological sciences department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences- New
Brunswick. Faculty also may be affiliated with the Biotechnology Center
for Agriculture and the Environment, the Center for Theoretical and
Applied Genetics, the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, and the Center
for Interdisciplinary Studies in Turfgrass Science.
Students
in the plant biology program may choose from four research and
curriculum tracks: (1) molecular and cellular biology, (2) organismal
and population biology, (3) horticulture and plant technology, and (4)
plant pathology. The core curriculum draws on courses from the four
tracks. Additional curriculum requirements are tailored to students`
individual interests. The tracks are interwoven, and members of the
graduate faculty may be involved in more than one track. Students are
encouraged to take courses in more than one track.
Students in
the molecular- and cellular-biology track may specialize in
photosynthesis, carbon metabolism and partitioning, developmental
physiology and genetics, growth regulation, nitrogen metabolism, ion
uptake and electrophysiology, molecular biology of subcellular organ-
elles, regulation of gene expression, genetic transformation of plants,
senescence, ripening of fruit, seed germination, water relations,
tissue culture, comparative or developmental anatomy and morphology, or
ultrastructure. Students in the organismal and population biology track
may emphasize physiological ecology, population ecology, species
interactions, community organization and dynamics, ecosystem dynamics,
pollination and reproductive biology, and evolutionary biology. The
horticulture and plant technology track focuses on course work and
research activity associated with plant biology as it relates to
agriculture. A wide diversity of student interests is served by this
track, from fundamental investigations of plant function at the
molecular level to studies of how environment and biotic stress affect
crop production. Students with interests in agricultural biotechnology,
plant breeding and genetics, plant physiology, growth and development,
and plant interaction with the environment are supported by this track.
Among the issues that students in the plant pathology track may address
are host/pathogen interactions, epidemiology and control of plant
disease, plant virology, bacteriology, mycoplasmology, mycology,
molecular biology of plant pathogenic or endophytic microorganisms, and
biotechnology.
The master's degree without thesis requires 31
course credits and 1 credit for a paper. The master`s degree with
thesis requires 26 course credits, 6 research credits, and a research
thesis. For the doctoral degree, 72 credits with a minimum of 32 course
credits and a minimum of 34 research credits, a research thesis, and
one academic year in residence are required. There is no language
requirement. Prospective students are invited to visit the program's
web site or to write the program director for the Guide to Graduate
Study in Plant Biology and the Faculty Research Interests. Both books
provide additional information.
In addition to the graduate
courses described below, consult those courses listed under
biochemistry, ecology and evolution, environmental sciences,
microbiology and molecular genetics, and statistics. Many advanced
undergraduate courses (400 level) listed in the New Brunswick
Undergraduate Catalog, the Camden Undergraduate Catalog, and the Newark
Undergraduate Catalog may be used for graduate credit.
