I. Scholastic Deficiencies at the Time of Entrance
Courses that you were deficient in (see section below) at the time of entrance into the program must be taken during the first year of your studies. These courses cannot be counted as part of the degree program.
II. Degree Requirements
Curriculum: Plant Pathology interfaces with all plant science disciplines and with food sciences and veterinary medicine. Areas of concentration include biological control of plant disease, forest pathology and microbial degradation of wood, microbial ecology, mycotoxicology, physiological and molecular plant-microbe interactions, disease resistance, environmental pollution and climate change, and virology. The course of study varies with the requirements of the area of concentration and interest of the student.
Prerequisites for Admission: Master's degree applicants must have a sound college background in the basic biological and physical sciences and mathematics, including 35 semester credits in biology with at least one course in each of the following areas: botany, zoology, genetics, plant physiology, and microbiology. Applicants must also have completed at least one course in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. If deficiencies exist in the prerequisites, they must be corrected during the first year of the graduate programs.
M.S. or Ph.D.:
All students accepted into the department with a B.S. degree are admitted into the M.S. degree program. After a minimum of two semesters, students who qualify may elect to change their degree status to a Ph.D. program. Criteria for the change include scholastic standing, potential for success in completing a Ph.D. and writing competency. Such a change in status must be approved by the appropriate departmental committees and the director of graduate studies. Ph.D. applicants must satisfy all the prerequisites for the master's degree program in plant pathology or have a master's degree in plant pathology or in a field of natural science.
Use of 4xxx courses - For MS Plan A and Ph.D. students, 4xxx courses are not permitted toward degree requirements.
MS Degree Requirements:
Plan A (thesis) and Plan B (non-thesis) both require a minimum of 14 course credits in plant pathology and 6 course credits in a minor or related field. In addition, Plan A requires 10 thesis credits (PlPa 8777) and Plan B requires 8 project or elective credits.
Prerequisite (if lacking introductory plant pathology course): Biology of Plant Disease (PlPa 5201) 4 cr (to count toward M.S. major requirements)
Students are required to enroll in a minimum of four of the following courses, chosen in consultation with the DGS, advisor, and advisory committee:
Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees (PlPa 5003) 3 cr
Field Plant Pathology (PlPa 5202) 2 cr
Biology and Ecology of Fungi (PlPa 5203) 3 cr
Plant Disease Management (PlPa 5204) 3 cr
Causal Organisms in Plant Disease (PlPa 5501/8101) 4 cr
Epidemiology & Genetics of Host-Parasite Interactions (PlPa 5502/8102) 3 cr
Physiology & Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (PlPa 5503/8103) 3 cr
and,
Present one departmental seminar (PlPa 8200) 1 cr
Take Thesis Credits (M.S.) (PlPa 8777) with a minimum of 10 cr for Plan A
Take Six credits in a minor or supporting field.
Language Requirements - A foreign language is generally not required. However, knowledge of a foreign language may be necessary for students doing research in non-English-speaking countries.
Final Exam - The final exam is oral.
Requirements of a minor for students majoring in other fields is a minimum of 6 credits for a master's minor. The department offering the minor should be consulted for exact requirements.
Example Practitioner Program:
Biology of Plant Disease (PlPa 5201) 4 cr
Field Plant Pathology (PlPa 5202) 2 cr
Biology and Ecology of Fungi (PlPa 5203) 3 cr
Plant Disease Management (PlPa 5204) 3 cr
Causal Organisms in Plant Disease (PlPa 5501/8101) 4 cr
Department Seminar (PlPa 8200) 1 cr
Thesis Credits (M.S.) (PlPa 8777)
Minor or supporting Field
Example Pre-Doctoral Program:
Biology of Plant Disease (PlPa 5201) 4 cr
Biology & Ecology of Fungi (PlPa 5203) 3 cr
Causal Organisms in Plant Disease (PlPa 5501/8101) 4 cr
Epidemiology and Genetics of Host-Parasite Interactions (PlPa 5502/8201) 3 cr
Physiological and Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions ( PlPa 5503/8203) 3 cr
Department Seminar (PlPa 8200) 1 cr
Thesis Credits (M.S.) (PlPa 8777)
Minor or supporting Field
All students in Plant Pathology (M.S. & Ph.D.) who enroll in courses with dual designations (5000/8000) are required to enroll at the 8000 level.
Ph.D. Degree Requirements:
The Ph.D. requires a minimum of 17 course credits in plant pathology (which may include 5000 and 8000 level courses in plant pathology or others approved by the DGS taken before admission into the Ph.D. program), 12 credits in a minor or supporting program, and 24 thesis credits (PlPa 8666 before taking the preliminary oral examination, PlPa 8888 after passing the examination). Upon admission, students should meet with the DGS, advisor, and advisory committee to determine a suitable course program.
All Ph.D. students must take both of the following courses (if not taken previously):
Epidemiology and Genetics of Host-Parasite Interactions (PlPa 8102) 3 cr
Physiological and Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (PlPa 8103) 3 cr
Students must also complete the following:
Supervised Classroom or Extension Teaching Experience (PlPa 8005) 2 cr
Two Department Seminars (PlPa 8200) 2 cr
(Only one if PlPa 8200 or equivalent was taken at the master's level)
Doctoral Pre-Thesis Research (PlPa 8666) and Thesis Research (PlPa 8888)
Minor or Supporting Field
Written Preliminary Exam
The written preliminary exam will be held once annually. In September of each year, the prelim exam coordinator will meet with that group of students planning to take the exam during the next year. The dates for the exam will be selected in September by mutual agreement of the students and the prelim exam coordinator. The 3 days of the exam must fall within a single week between January 1 and June 15 of the next year. If any student(s) choose not to take the exam on the predetermined dates, they must wait to take the exam with the next year's group of students.
The structure of the exam will be as follows:
The examination will consist of 3 half-day sessions during which students will be expected to answer a total of 9 questions, 3 per day. Questions test general knowledge of plant pathology such as would be covered in required courses. All faculty members are invited to submit questions.
Day 1: Cellular, Molecular, and Physiological Plant Pathology. On day 1, there will be two categories of questions. Approximately one-half of the questions on the exam will address cellular, molecular, and physiological plant pathology; the other half of the questions will cover the broad range of general plant pathology. Students will be required to answer at least one question among those offered in the area of cellular, molecular, and physiological plant pathology. Students will answer two additional questions from either category.
Whole Plant and Population-based Plant Pathology. On day 2, questions will be approximately equally divided between whole plant and population-based plant pathology, and general plant pathology. Students will be required to answer at least one question among those offered in the area of whole plant and population-based plant pathology. Students will answer two additional questions from either category.
Day 3: Individualized exam. The advisor will be responsible for providing the committee with questions to be answered by the student on the final day of the exam. Students will be required to answer three questions on the final day of the exam; the advisor will determine whether or not the student will have a choice of questions. The advisor may at his or her discretion choose to include questions from members of the student's committee.
It is expected that the 3 questions on each day will require approximately 4 hours for the students to complete.
Authors of exam questions will not be identified at the time of the exam. However, authors will be identified when students receive their graded exam questions.
All students will be required to prepare their prelim exam responses on a computer. Laptop computers will be provided by the department faculty for this purpose. |
