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Plant Biology

Explore the rich world of plants through molecular, cell, and evolutionary biology, biochemistry, biophysics, genetics and functional genomics, physiology, and root biology

Program Overview

Plants are fundamental to life on earth. Plant biologists use these important organisms to address issues such as global climate change, food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, and disease. The Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology offers students the opportunity to conduct research on plants—ranging from the cellular level to the whole-plant level.

Students' program of study includes a comprehensive set of team-taught courses that reflect the breadth of scientific fields, and the linkages between them. All students must also complete a thesis based on their own original research.

Program Ranking

The Plant Biology program was ranked among the top-four programs of its kind (out of 118 programs) by the latest National Research Council Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs, which took place in 2006. The study was based on 20 different characteristics related to research activity of faculty members, student support and outcomes, and the diversity of the academic environment.