Botany - PhD

The Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin has an active graduate program leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Graduate students work with faculty and staff on a wide range of projects in plant biology at any level of organization, from molecules, through cells and organs, to populations, communities, and lineages of organisms. Major research areas emphasized are molecular, cellular and developmental biology, structural plant biology, ecology, evolution and systematics. Advanced instruction and opportunities for research are also available in phycology, bryology, ethnobotany, paleoecology, restoration ecology, taxonomy, genetics, and physiology. Increasingly, graduate student projects in Botany encompass more than one of these categories. 

Graduate study in the Department of Botany requires a combination of advanced coursework, participation in seminars, and original research. The course requirements have been set up in four tracks: General Botany; Ecology; Evolution; and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Independent research is usually initiated soon after arrival. Through consultation with a faculty member supervisor, each student selects a track that includes a combination of courses and research topics that are related to his or her interests and that will provide the array of techniques and detailed knowledge needed for effective research.