The Department of Plant Science offers a Masters degree program which provides students with an excellent opportunity to further their studies in broad areas of plant science including agronomy, soil-water relations, plant physiology, ornamental horticulture, entomology, pathology, and weed management. The program consists of 30 units of coursework which includes required courses in plant physiology, laboratory techniques, experimental design, technical writing and formal presentation of research reports along with electives and a thesis project. Students work closely with their faculty advisors to formulate and conduct an original research project in their area of interest.

Our graduate faculty have diverse areas of expertise and solid research backgrounds. They maintain active research programs involving industry and public stakeholders in agriculture. Many research projects in the department involve cooperation with other state and federal agencies such as the University of California or the USDA.

Our graduate students are also diverse in their backgrounds and interests. We encourage interaction and cooperation between graduate students to promote a sense of community and to increase the breadth of experiences to which they are exposed. Classes are small and provide students an excellent opportunity to receive individual attention from instructors.