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Graduate Program
General Information |
Degree Requirements
Application Information |
Resources for Students
General Information
This
department has a long history of internationally recognized
basic and applied research on diseases caused by bacteria,
fungi, and nematodes in agriculture. Climatic conditions in
Louisiana allow cultivation and research of semitropical
crop species such as rice, sugarcane, cotton, sweet potatoes
and soybeans. Graduate students have the opportunity to work
with Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station personnel who
are conducting investigations in plant pathology and crop
physiology. Research problems may also be selected in plant
molecular biology.
M.S. and Ph.D. graduates of the department are prepared for
appointments at universities, in government and private
research labs or in international agricultural development.
Other employment opportunities exist in agricultural
chemical development, with government regulatory agencies or
with private research foundations. Students may wish to
emphasize biotechnology, a field with a variety of
employment opportunities and a major research thrust.
Plant
Pathology:
A plant pathologist is a scientist who specializes in
diseases of plants that may be caused by bacteria, fungi,
viruses, nematodes and abiotic agents. The task of keeping
plants healthy calls for knowledge of these organisms as
well as related disciplines such as biochemistry, botany,
ecology, epidemiology, genetics, microbiology, molecular
biology and physiology. One or more of these disciplines are
used to investigate the mechanisms by which pathogens cause
disease and by which plants resist infection. Plant
pathologists were among the first to use biotechnological
and genetic engineering techniques in the plant sciences.
Classical means of disease control, such as chemical,
biological and cultural, also are studied.
Crop
Physiology:
Crop physiologists use basic and applied research to
understand how plants function. Research in crop physiology
has had major impacts on agricultural practices and our
knowledge of life processes. It is an important component of
the biotechnology revolution. Crop physiology has now become
broadly defined and includes a wide range of areas including
developmental biology, tissue culture, stress physiology and
molecular biology. In addition to academic positions, crop
physiologists work in government agencies to conduct
research on improvements in food and fiber production and in
the private sector in plant biotechnology and tissue culture
laboratories, agricultural industries and environmental
agencies.
The Department of Plant
Pathology and Crop Physiology offers the M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees in Plant Health, with opportunities for
specialization in Plant Pathology and/or Crop Physiology.
There are three options for the graduate degree programs:
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Option 1: |
Enroll in the M.S.
degree program. Students wishing to continue
their studies in the Department for the Ph.D.
would need to reapply for admission to the
graduate program.
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Option 2: |
Enroll in the
Ph.D. program. Applicants without an M.S. in
Plant Health or a closely related field of study
will be required to receive an M. S. degree in
the course of their Ph.D. by doing the
following: complete the M.S. course degree
requirements, complete the “Introduction and
“Literature Review” sections of their
dissertation and a minimum of one chapter
related to their research, submit these to their
Advisory Committee, and have them approved at
the M. S. exam. This M.S. thesis will then be
submitted to the graduate school.
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Option 3: |
Enroll in the M.S.
non-thesis program. This program requires 36
hours of graduate level coursework to be
selected by the students committee. Students who
enroll in this program will not be eligible for
the Ph.D. program in Plant Pathology at LSU. |
Degree Requirements
Application Information
Resources for Students
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