Graduate Program Contacts
Apply
Applications for the Ph.D. in Plant Pathology should be completed through the Office of Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Once you have applied and been accepted, the Plant Pathology team will work with you on the next steps, course scheduling, etc.
Application Deadlines: All required materials for the application (including letters of recommendation) must be received no later than December 1st for Fall semester admission and no later than September 1st for Spring semester admission. To be considered for a departmental GRA, it is recommended that students apply for the Fall semester admission. Applications for Spring admission are considered only at the request of a faculty member on behalf of an applicant and will be given consideration for GRA support, as available. Some students arrange with their advisors to begin research prior to formal matriculation (for example in May or June for field studies over the summer).
We are proud of our graduate program and hope information on this website about our department and the university will help you reach a decision to apply to the University of Nebraska.
Courses
Coursework is offered in plant pathology that enables students to acquire specialized skills and core plant pathology-specific knowledge. Specific skills of plant pathologists include disease diagnosis, plant pathogen isolation and culturing, and identification of plant pathogenic organisms. Core plant pathology-specific knowledge areas include the biology and ecology of plant pathogenic organisms; plant disease epidemiology; evolution, phylogentics, and systematics of plant pathogens; molecular, cellular and genetic interactions between plant pathogens and plants; and plant disease management strategies.
Ph.D. students are required to take 90 credits for their degree. 16-19 of those credit hours are expected to come from required and elective courses within Plant Pathology. The remainder of the credits may come from previous universities, coursework complementary to degree objective, and dissertation research hours.
Ph.D. Students |
Coursework (16-19 cr): PLPT 801 Biology of Pathogens, 3 cr PLPT 802 Ecology & Management of Plant Pathogens, 3 cr PLPT 891 Plant Disease Across Nebraska, 1 cr PLPT 968 Plant Pathology Seminar, 3-5** cr Two courses from the following: PLPT 866 Plant Pathogenic Nematodes, 3 cr PLPT 867 Plant Associated Microbes, 4 cr PLPT 963 Genetics of Host-Parasite Interaction, 3 cr PLPT 965 Plant Virology, 3 cr |
| Minor: No minor is required for the Ph.D. |
Remaining credit hours to meet total: Other courses as designated on Program of Studies and/or PLPT 999 Doctoral Dissertation, up to 24 cr per semester and maximum of 99 cr total |
Course credit in PLPT: 16-19* Total credits required for Doctorate: 90 |
*In addition to completion of these required courses, Ph.D. students must also meet other credit hour requirements as specified by UNL Graduate Studies
**PLPT 968 is a 1 credit hour course that is taken once per academic year for the duration of the student’s program