Graduate Program Overview
Why join us
Training the next generation of scientists is a core part of our identity, whether you plan to build an academic research career or want to ’change the world’ through non-academic pathways. Here is what our students say makes us different:
"It is like playing ‘capture the flag.’ We do have institutional goals to meet, but my PI gives the troops the freedom to take different paths up the mountain,” Rodney Burton, former post-doc
Program Features
Graduate Research is coordinated within the context of other on-campus
graduate programs. Conducting Masters or Ph.D. research within a PRL lab includes a number of features:
- Interdisciplinary training in plant biology and photosynthetic microbes
- Rotations in 3+ labs for first-year graduate assistants
- Research opportunities in collaborative group projects that tackle some of today’s most pressing challenges in plant biology, energy, and sustainability
- Renewable 12-month research assistantships, including:
- Stipend
- 9 credits per semester free
- In-state tuition rates for all additional credits
- Health insurance coverage
- Exposure to broader plant research activities through seminar offerings twice weekly
- Opportunity to pursue Certification in Teaching College Science and Mathematics, a voluntary comprehensive program to prepare graduate students in the for careers in post-secondary education
- Regular departmental events featuring presentations of research projects, group outing /activities and discussion of the vision of PRL
- Training to prepare students for a variety of scientific careers and exposure to non-academic career paths
Student and Alumni Profiles
From first-year graduate students up to National Academy of Science members, our people are making a difference in their classrooms, labs, and communities, everyday. Here are some profiles that highlight their achievements.