The Department of Plant Biology offers a well-balanced graduate program leading to the degrees of Master of Science, Master of Science in Biological Sciences, Master of Science in Education in Biological Sciences, and the Doctor of Philosophy. The first Master's degree was granted in 1948, and the first Ph.D. degree in 1965. All areas of plant biology have been represented during the course of the department's history, with some shifts in emphasis according to both changing interests within the scientific disciplines and changes in faculty composition. The current areas of emphasis are those of the broadly diversified faculty which characterizes the department and faculty members of other departments who participate in joint programs. The departmental Master's programs and the Doctoral program are based on a combination of course work, teaching and research. Together, a student and his/her advisory committee can design an individualized program to meet the specific student's educational goals and career aspirations.
Graduate degrees in plant biology will be awarded to students in recognition of their ability to do independent research as evidenced by the acceptance of a thesis or dissertation and by the demonstration of competent scholastic ability. Teaching experience in undergraduate courses is expected as part of the Ph.D. degree program.
Students must be admitted to the Graduate School before they can be considered by the department. All applications to the department must include the following:
Criteria for admission include grade point average, letters of recommendation, and availability of faculty, space, and facilities. International students whose native language is not English must have a minimum of 550 or the equivalent electronic score on the TOEFL test. The application fee, attached to the top of the application form, is non-refundable and must be submitted with the application. Do not send cash. Only checks or money orders payable to United States banks will be accepted.
Prior to being admitted into the program, the student must consider one or more PLB faculty who would be willing to serve as Major Advisor. A Major Advisor must then be selected within the first semester. Following admission to the program and before registration for course work, the student must consult a faculty member or the Director of Graduate Studies for assistance in registration. At every registration, deficiencies and specific departmental requirements must be considered first. Any changes in registration must be approved by the student's Major Adviser.
The Major Adviser, in consultation with the student, will select appropriate faculty members to comprise the Advisory Committee. For the Master's degree program, a minimum of three people shall make up this committee, at least two of which (or half the committee) must be voting faculty from Plant Biology. The Advisory Committee for the Ph.D. degree program will be composed of at least five people, three of which must be voting faculty from Plant Biology and one which must be from outside the department. The duties of the Advisory Committe are to:
For both the Masters or Ph.D. program, following establishment of the Advisory Committee and before advance registration for the third term, the student will meet with the Advisory Committee to discuss the program of courses for the degree and plans for research. An approved research prospectus must be completed and filed with the Director of Graduate Studies by the end of the second semester. In this regard, the Advisory Committee is empowered to require course work in areas with which the student's interests are allied. The Advisory Committee will advise the student on the selection of readings on general and historical topics of importance which may not be encountered in formal courses. Copies of the approved program of courses and the plans for research must be placed in the departmental files.
All Master's degree students must earn a minimum of 2 hours credit in Plant Biology seminars (PLB 580 or PLB 589), at least 1 of which must be in general seminar (PLB 580). All Ph.D. students must earn 2 hours credit in Plant Biology seminar (PLB 580 or PLB 589) every year of residence until admitted to candidacy and at least 1 credit each year must be in general seminar (PLB 580). The general PLB 580 seminar will be offered once each year and all students are required to enroll in this course (the only exception will be doctoral students who are admitted to candidacy). It is strongly recommended that the student enroll in seminars dealing with subjects other than the general area of emphasis being pursued. Master's students who have not already taken a course in plant anatomy must include PLB 400-4 Plant Anatomy in their graduate degree program.
The general regulations of the Graduate School with respect to academic retention shall be followed. In addition, no course in which a grade is below C is earned shall count toward the degree or fulfillment of any requirement, but the grade will be included in the grade point average. No more than five hours of C work in graduate courses will count toward the degree. All students are subject to regular review by the department's Graduate Policies Committee. Those not attaining the minimum acceptable academic standards or who in any way fail to meet any other scheduled requirements or standards will be dropped as majors.
Appeals for variations from the departmental graduate program must be presented in writing to the plant biology graduate faculty meeting as a committee of the whole. Appeals must receive approval from a majority of the total plant biology graduate faculty. Appeals for changes in the student's graduate advisory committee or changes in the original program must be approved in the following order: (1) approval from adviser, (2) approval from remaining members of the student's advisory committee. Student appeals for change of major adviser must be presented in writing to the plant biology graduate faculty meeting as a committee of the whole. Appeals must receive approval from a majority of the total plant biology graduate faculty.
Applicants for the Master's degree must have a Bachelor Degree (or equivalent) in a life science, and have had a course in genetics. A student who does not meet these requirements may petition for admission to the department, or register as a regular nondeclared graduate student. Either prior to admission or during their programs, students must complete a course in each of the following categories: 1) plant systematics or plant diversity, 2) plant physiology, cell biology or molecular biology, and 3) plant ecology or environmental science. A course in plant morphology or plant anatomy is strongly recommended.
A student deficient in three or fewer of these five areas must be admitted with conditional standing. A student admitted with conditional standing must make up all deficiencies within the first academic year, and until such deficiencies are completed, no more than ten academic units can be accrued toward the degree. Students lacking four or more of these areas must register as nondeclared. All deficiencies must be made up by taking for credit the pertinent undergraduate or graduate courses and passing each course with a grade of B or better.
A minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit is required beyond the bachelor's degree, including no less than 22 hours of plant biology courses, 9 of which may be individualized instruction courses, including up to 3 (minimum of 2) hours of seminar, and up to 6 (minimum of 3) hours of thesis. A graduate minor of at least 10 graduate hours may or may not be required; this is to be determined by the student and the advisory committee. At the time of completion of the thesis, the student must schedule a public seminar presentation of the thesis material (this is in addition to the comprehensive examination).
Seminar Requirements:
All Master's degree students must earn a
minimum of 3 credit hours in graduate seminars (PLB 580, 589,
554 or equivalent), at least 1 of which must be in departmental
seminar (PLB 580). All Ph.D. students must earn a minimum of 2
credit hours in graduate seminars (PLB 580, 589, 554 or equivalent)
each year of residence, at least 1 of which must be in departmental
seminar. Additional seminar requirements can be mandated, if determined
to be appropriate, by a student's Advisory Committee.
Applicants to
the Doctoral Degree Program
must have a plant sciences related Master's degree (or equivalent).
Exceptions to this rule include the Accelerated
Entry or Direct
Entry
options described below. Criteria for admission include GPA, GRE
scores, letters of recommendation, transcripts and availability
of faculty, space and facilities. To be admitted into the program,
a GPA of 3.25 and at least one PLB faculty member willing to serve
as Major Advisor are required. Coadvisors may be included if the
student wishes to work in the Forestry or Plant, Soil and General
Agriculture departments. Students desiring financial assistance
should note that the deadline for fellowship and assistantship
applications is February 1. Application forms are available from
the Director of Graduate studies in the Department of Plant Biology.
Course work for the degree shall consist of a minimum of 20 semester hours at the 400 and 500 levels in the Plant Biology program or related disciplines but excludes seminar, readings, research, dissertation, and research tool requirements. The student may select a minor area of specialization once the major area has been declared. A course proposal including core courses must be approved by the student's Advisory Committee and the respective departmental chair and be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies within the first semester. Changes made after the first semester of the student's program must be approved by the majority of the graduate student's Advisory Committee.
Core Courses - Students will enroll in the Plant Biology departmental seminar and a seminar in a related discipline each year. Students also will take either prior to or during their program, courses in all of the following four categories:
Courses in plant anatomy and genetics are strongly recommended for students pursuing careers in teaching and/or research.
Research Tools - Students shall demonstrate knowledge in two research tools approved by his/her Advisory Committee. One of the research tools must be a foreign language or statistics. A tool is defined as training in laboratory (or field) methods, instrumentation, technology, and communication skills including languages that are integral to the pursuance of research. Specific tool requirements will be determined by the student's Advisory Committee. Courses used to satisfy tools requirements shall not be applied toward the total number of hours required for the degree.
The foreign language requirement can be met by earning a grade of B or better in an appropriate 400 level course (Latin, French, German, Spanish or Russian). The requirement can also be met by passing an Educational Testing Service (ETS) examination in French, German, Spanish or Russian. The ETS passing level for French and German is 465 and for Russian and Spanish it is 440. If the student holds a degree from an institution in which the official language is not English but one of the above four languages, the language requirement may be waived.
Statistics requirements will be satisfied by earning a B or better in at least one graduate level statistics course. Recommended courses include Field Plot Design (PLSS 560a and b) or Inferential Statistics (EPSY 506) and Multiple Regression (EPSY 507) as well as others deemed acceptable by the student's Advisory Committee. Tool requirements other than language or statistics may be completed by earning a B or better in courses selected from current lists approved by the Plant Biology faculty. If a student and his/her committee wish to use a course not on the list as a tool requirement, the student and/or committee can petition to the entire PLB faculty to add the course to the list.
The student's Advisory Committee, plus two additional faculty members appointed by the chair, shall serve as the Preliminary Examination Committee. This committee will be responsible for preparing, administering, and evaluating the examination which will be both written and oral.
The written examination will be taken first and will cover the candidate's knowledge of plant biology and related fields, the student's accomplishments in the course of study outlined, and the student's progress in the special field. Prior to taking the examination, the student must have taken, sometime in her/his training, a second level course in each of the subdisciplines listed for the General Examination (ecology, physiology, anatomy/morphology, systematics, and genetics/cell biology). The candidate will be expected to show an understanding of the application of his/her formal work to the research area. The written examination will consist of three parts: the Specialty examination which will include questions in the student's field of interest, the General Examination which will include questions testing basic knowledge in all subdisciplines in plant biology, and the Minor examination which will include questions in the student's minor field or secondary concentration within plant biology. The General Examination should encompass concepts and information at a level and depth consistent with the department's non-elective requirements for a bachelor's degree in plant biology. The entire written examination is to last no longer than five days and each part is to last no longer than eight hours.
The student must pass all parts of the written exam before proceeding to the oral exam. Pass means that the student's Preliminary Examination Committee has determined that the answers given reflect an appropriate level of knowledge of the subject matter. This will be determined by a majoirty vote of the Preliminary Examination Committee which must be taken immediately following the grading of the written examination. If a student fails any part (subdiscipline) of the general examination, she/he must be reexamined on the failed portion. If the student fails more than one portion of the general examination, retesting on all failed portions must be taken concurrently. A student will be allowed only two attempts to pass the written examination or any part thereof. A part is defined as the 1) Specialty examination, 2) Minor Examination, and 3) the General Examination. In any event, the student must pass the written examination by the second attempt in order to continue in the doctoral program. Upon failing the written (or any part thereof), the student may not retake the exam during the same academic term.
The oral examination will be taken no sooner than ten days nor later than thirty days following the passing of the written examination. The preliminary examination should be announced (by means of posted flyers) at least 10 working days before the examination is to be given. The examination may only be scheduled when classes are in session, including finals week. The examination shall last at least two hours and no more than four hours and should be scheduled to allow attendance of a maximum number of the Plant Biology graduate faculty and all of the Preliminary Examination Committee members. The student's answers to the written examination will be made available to the graduate faculty in Plant Biology (upon request) before the oral part of the preliminary examination. All attending graduate faculty members will be given the opportunity to express their opinion on the examination. A vote on performance in the oral examination must be taken immediately following completion of the examination. A vote to pass must be by unanimous vote of the Preliminary Examination Committee and may have conditions. If the vote is pass, then two levels of pass may be recognized: Pass and Pass with Distinction. A student will be allowed two attempts to pass the oral preliminary examination. Doctoral students entering the program with a Master's degree must pass the preliminary examination and be admitted to candidacy by the end of 36 calendar months after first registering in the doctoral pro-gram.
The final examination will be oral. The advisory committee must notify the departmental Director of Graduate Studies of its recommendation for the date of the final examination at least two weeks before the examination. The final examination should be announced at least 10 working days before the examination is to be given and it must be held at least one month before graduation. The examination may only be scheduled when classes are in session, including finals week. The final examination shall last for no more than three hours. It is to cover the dissertation and related subject matter. Passage of the final oral examination should be construed to mean that there be no more than one dissenting vote of the advisory committee. Should a student fail this second attempt to pass the final examination, he/she will be dropped from the program.
Day 1: Candidate submits document to full committee.
Day 7-8: Committee members each sign "thesis is defendable" form submitted to departmental chair. Candidate provides date/time/place and thesis title/abstract to the departmental chair.
Day 10: Departmental Chair organizes announcement of defense
Day 14: Final announcement posted
Day 28: 45-50 minute thesis presentation followed by 2-3 hr defense
Day 29-30: Supervisor provides results
to Graduate Advisor
A student who enters a master's program in plant biology may, if deemed capable, be permitted to apply to be accelerated into a program leading directly to a Ph.D. degree subject to the following conditions and specifications. In order to qualify for consideration, each endorsed student must: (a) have been in the SIUC plant biology graduate program no less than one academic term when proposed, (b) have a graduate grade point average of 3.75 or better, (c) have no grade (in any course, conditional or otherwise) in the graduate record of less than B and (d) be deemed by the graduate faculty and Evaluation and Awards Committee as having superior capabilities.
Once advanced into the doctoral program by the Graduate School, the student shall be eligible to qualify for graduate assistance totaling no more than 60 months. Once in the doctoral program, the student is subject to all of the academic, retention, and exit requirements for a regular doctoral program.
If for any
reason, a student who has been
admitted into the accelerated entry program fails to complete
the doctoral program successfully that student shall not automatically
be readmitted into the master's program. Instead, the student
may (if so desired) make formal application for admission into
the master's program in plant biology subject to all considerations
of qualification and evaluation.
Students with outstanding academic preparation and a baccalaureate degree in the plant sciences may be admitted directly into the doctoral program prior to beginning their program at SIUC. Students admitted under this option will take a written comprehensive diagnostic examination prior to the first week in the program. The examination is constructed by a committee of faculty members from the student's department and is administered by the Director of Graduate Studies. A student deemed to have deficiencies based on the outcome of the qualifying exam must satisfy these deficiencies by taking appropriate courses within the first year of study following the first meeting of his/her graduate advisory committee. When admitted to the doctoral program the student will be eligible to qualify for graduate assistance totaling no more than 60 months. In the event of failure of the diagnostic examination, the student can opt to enter a master's degree program.
Plant Ecology - The Department of Plant BIology
provides
a Certificate in Plant Ecology to prepare students to take the
Ecological Society of America's certification test. For more
information,
visit the Certificate
in Plant Ecology web page.