Graduate Education
General Information
The School of Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences (SPESS) offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Plant, Environmental Management and Soil Sciences (PEMSS). There are three optional areas of concentration within the degree programs: Agronomy, Horticulture, and Soil Science. The M.S. and Ph.D program requirements are in the LSU Catalog at the following links: M.S. program Ph.D.
Application information can be found at LSU Graduate School Application Information. Our School does not require the GRE as part of the application. Contacting potential advisors is strongly recommended; our School generally does not admit applicants unless a faculty member has indicated a willingness to serve as major professor to the student and provide funding in the form of an assistantship if that is needed.
Graduate minors in Agronomy and in Horticulture are also offered by the School for students in other programs. In order to complete a minor in Agronomy, graduate students in other programs must complete a minimum of 9 hours in AGRO courses at or above the 4000 level, with at least 3 of those hours at 7000 or above. Additionally, a faculty member in SPESS with appropriate expertise must be included as a member of the student’s advisory committee. In order to complete a minor in Horticulture, graduate students in other programs must complete a minimum of 9 hours HORT courses at or above the 4000 level, with at least 3 of those hours at 7000 or above. Additionally, a faculty member in SPESS with appropriate expertise must be included as a member of the student’s advisory committee.
Contacts
David Picha, Chair
dpicha@agcenter.lsu.edu
Maud Walsh, Graduate Advisor
evwals@lsu.edu
Sheila Rohwer, Graduate Administrative Assistant
srohwer@agcenter.lsu.edu
Telephone: 225-578-2110 or 225-578-2158
Fax: 225-578-1403 or 225-578-0396
Courses
Course descriptions are available through Course Search in the LSU Catalog. The School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences offers classes in Agronomy (AGRO), Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Horticulture (HORT). Graduate classes are 4000 and above.
Financial Aid
Both teaching and research assistantships are offered by the department. Students holding teaching assistantships may assist in the teaching of a course, or teach one to two laboratory sections. Research assistants are required to work up to 20 hours per week. Students are assigned to supervisors who may or may not be their major professors.
Facilities
This department includes 59 research laboratories, plus numerous student and faculty offices, eight classrooms, and teaching laboratories. All laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art multimedia facilities. Graduate students have access to a modern computer laboratory with Internet access. Students are encouraged to attend professional meetings. Their travel expenses to these meetings are usually paid by grant funds. Field work may be conducted on one or more of 17 LSU AgCenter branch stations or on commercial farmer fields when appropriate.