During the course of study leading to the doctorate, the student will meet all University, College, and Department requirements, including:
1. Completing courses in major and related fields as prescribed by a Guidance Committee.
2. Fulfilling department or college language requirements.
3. Meeting academic standards, including maintaining a 3.00 grade point average.
4. Passing doctoral comprehensive examinations covering the major and related fields.
5. Preparing a dissertation that is acceptable to the Major Professor, Guidance Committee, and Department, and is based on original research which makes a significant contribution to knowledge.
6. Passing a final examination in defense of the dissertation.
Course Requirements:
Courses are as specified by the Major Professor and Guidance Committee. Some programs may require reading knowledge of a foreign language. In addition, all PhD students must follow this list of recommendations:
1. All of the following courses:
PLP 894 – Seminar in Plant Pathology
PLP 405 – Introductory Plant Pathology
PLP 810 – Current Concepts in Plant Pathology
2. Two of the following courses:
PLP 812 – Epidemiology of Plant Diseases
PLP 881 – Molecular and Biochemical Plant Pathology
PLP 885 – Plant Diseases in the Field
3. Two of the following courses:
PLP 847 – Advanced Mycology
PLP 880 – Plant Virology
PLP 884 – Prokaryotic Diseases of Plants
ENT 870 – Plant Nematology
Seminar Requirement:
Each Ph.D. student must enroll in at least three graduate level seminar courses in the biological sciences which require a formal presentation. At least one of these must be PLP 894.
In addition to meeting course requirements, all graduate students are expected to attend a seminar in Plant Pathology and other seminars as recommended by the major professor. Each candidate for the Ph.D. degree is required to present a departmental seminar concerning his/her research prior to defense of the dissertation (this is usually presented in the hour preceding the defense and is considered to be part of the final dissertation defense.
Teaching Requirement:
Each PhD student must gain teaching experience by participating in the teaching of at least two different courses at the ¼ time level of effort. Students are expected to participate in the University TA orientation program prior to teaching, irrespective of funding source.