Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Biology
- Fall January 10
- Spring September 1
- Pullman: Yes
- 550 TOEFL Minimum score
- 80 TOEFLI Minimum score
- GRE General test
- 7 IELTS Minimum score
Degree Description:
Our plant biology students generally focus on research in the broad areas of plant physiology, ecology, evolution, systematics, and molecular biology.
Admission Requirements:
A supplement application form is required for this degree: https://sbs.wsu.edu/supplement-to-application-form/
Student Learning Outcomes:
All graduates will be able to:
- To direct students for successful and productive careers in biological sciences, we will facilitate:
- Achievement of the highest level of expertise in biological sciences, master knowledge of these fields and apply that knowledge to address novel and emerging problems.
- Presentations of student research to national and international audiences through both peer-reviewed and popular publications, professional meetings and conference proceedings.
- Participation in professional organizations.
- Development of professional foundations through activities such as teaching, internships, fellowships, and preparation of grant applications.
- To prepare students to be leading researchers in the fields of biological sciences by training graduate students to do the following:
- Become independent researchers by developing expertise in their chosen area, thereby enabling original contributions that extend beyond their degree program.
- Apply sound research methods and tools to problems in their area of study.
- Communicate their research clearly and professionally in both written and oral forms.
- Develop a comprehensive knowledge of previous and current research in their field of expertise and be able to demonstrate clearly such knowledge.
- Train students to be highly effective teachers in the fields of biological sciences by:
- Providing a teaching training course to all students in the program.
- Encouraging students to become engaging instructors in their chosen fields using modern pedagogical techniques.
- Teaching students to incorporate emerging scientific discoveries in lectures, thereby keeping the classroom experience cutting-edge for students.
- Teaching students to review and revise classroom materials to enhance the learning experience for students.
- To enhance visibility of the master’s and doctoral programs in biological sciences nationally and internationally, we aim to:
- Attract, secure, retain and graduate high-quality students.
- Provide ample support and resources for fellowships, research, travel to conferences.
- Place graduates in academic and professional positions in the U.S. and internationally.
- Attract, retain, and support research-active faculty.
- Ensure that cutting-edge and relevant courses are offered to graduate students.
Student Opportunities:
Our program offers teaching training and grant writing courses. Other professional development opportunities include weekly reading groups, ecolunch meetings, a graduate student research symposium and frequent graduate seminars.
Career Opportunities:
Most students continue into postdoctoral research positions. Other students pursue careers at community colleges or in Federal or State governments.
Career Placements:
Recent graduates have obtained faculty positions at: Cornell University, University of California- Bakersfield, University of Arizona, Purdue University, and Eastern Washington University. Others hold jobs with: US Forest Service, USDA, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, the Marine Selby Botanical Gardens and the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Faculty Members:
Bishop, John, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair of graduate committee
Research Interests
plant ecology and evolution
Bollens, Stephen, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Brunner, Jesse L, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair of graduate committee
Research Interests
Disease Ecology
Busch, Jeremiah W, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Plant Evolutionary Genetics
Carter, Patrick Andrew, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary Physiology
Cavagnetto, Andy, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Dr. Cavagnetto’s research focuses on helping teachers provide greater opportunities for their students to engage in scientific practices in order to motivate learning of fundamental science concepts. This work has not only emphasized the use of inquiry approaches, but as importantly, the social aspects of science -specifically opportunities for students to engage in the construction and critique of evidence-based arguments.
Coffin, Allison, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
We study sensory hair cells: polarized epithelial-type cells that converts acoustic signals in the environment to electrochemical signals in the nervous system. These cells are exquisitely sensitive to sound and unfortunately to damage from a variety of sources including noise and some classes of medications. Research in the Coffin Lab uses cellular, molecular, bioinformatics, and electrophysiological approaches to understand the cellular events underlying hearing loss and develop drug candidates to preserve hearing.
Cooper, Cynthia, Ph.D.
Serves as: co-chair or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Zebrafish developmental mechanisms.
Cornejo, Omar Eduardo, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary genomics and population genetics
Cousins, Asaph B, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair of graduate committee
Research Interests
The ability to monitor and predict how plants both influence and are influenced by future climatic conditions is critical for the health of our planet and for future food production. My research couples molecular biology techniques with plant physiology and mathematical modeling of photosynthesis to understand the mechanistic processes dictating plant-environment interactions.
Crespi, Erica, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ecological & Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Dybdahl, Mark, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Animal Evolutionary Ecology
Evans, Raymond David, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ecosystem Ecology
Gomulkiewicz, Richard, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary Theory
Hellmann, Hanjo Alfred, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Plant Physiology/Stress Response
Hufford, Larry Don, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolution of Plants
Kang, Chulhee, Ph.D.
Serves as: member only of graduate committee
Research Interests
SR Calcium Regulation in Cardiac Muscle
Biochemical approaches for cancer-associated proteins and UV-damaged DNA to develop anticancer drugs. Enzyme and Plant engineering for effective generation for biofuel.
Kelley, Joanna, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary genomics and adaptation by statistical, molecular and genomic approaches to identify/characterize specific genes and pathways.
Knoblauch, Michael, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Plant Cell Biology and the physiology of plant tissues, especially the phloem
Kunz, Hans Henning, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Investigate chloroplast ion transport and homeostasis, discover and characterize new chloroplast ion transporters, design of organelle specific gene family targeting amiRNA library
Lee, Raymond W, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ecological Physiology
McCubbin, Andrew, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair of graduate committee
Research Interests
The research in our lab is centered on the developmental processes and signaling events associated plant reproduction. Presently we have 2 main foci, first signaling events involved in pollen tube growth, in particular to role of calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPK’s) in signal transduction in this process. Pollen tubes extend by tip-growth and it is well established that there is a steep tip focused calcium gradient and there is evidence that CDPK isoforms may by involved in downstream signaling events. We are investigating this using negative dominance and catalytically modified CDPK constructs as well as searching for CDPK substrates using the yeast 2-hyrid system.
New, Leslie, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair of graduate committee
Owen, Jeb, Ph.D.
Serves as: member only of graduate committee
Research Interests
Medical and veterinary entomology
Porter, Stephanie S, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary Ecology of Mutualisms
Portfors, Christine, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Hearing and Communication
Roalson, Eric, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular phylogenetics, genomics, and evolutionary origins of characters of interest, notably photosynthetic pathway novelties
Robbins, Charles T, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Nutrition and energetics of larger wild mammals.
1) use of stable isotopes to determine food habits of living and extinct bears,
2) seasonal fat cycles in bears and how they are influenced by food resources, and
3) foraging, energetics, and habitat use of free-ranging bears.
Rollwagen-Bollens, Gretchen, Ph.D.
Serves as: co-chair or member of graduate committee
Schultz, Cheryl, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ecology of at-risk species in response to key drivers: habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, habitat degradation, invasive species, alteration of ecosystem process, and global climate change.
Schwabl, Hubertus Georg, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Neuroendocrinology
Schwartz, Elissa, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
– Experimental and theoretical techniques to investigate mechanisms in virology, immunology, and infectious disease epidemiology
– Control of lentiviral infection, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV).
– Mathematical and computational models of viral dynamics with clinical and experimental data to elucidate the determinants of virus control and escape.
Skinner, Michael K, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Mammalian Reproduction/Environmental Epigenetics
Storfer, Andrew, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Landscape Genomics and Coevolution
Tegeder, Mechthild, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular and physiological mechanisms of nitrogen transport; regulation of transport; flower/seed development; plant productivity
Verrell, Paul Adam, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Animal Behavior
Watts, Heather
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee