New in 2020! The Department of Plant Pathology will now offer the Ph.D. and M.S. (Option I and II) in Plant Pathology, as well as a minor for graduate students outside the department. Prior to that, our department offered only a Specialization in Plant Pathology as part of the School of Biological Sciences (SBS) and Department of Agronomy and Horticulture.
A graduate degree in Plant Pathology offers a wide range of research opportunities in both basic and applied topics. Our graduate programs are designed around your own research, extension, and career goals. Opportunities for research at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels include:
- molecular plant pathology
- fungal molecular genetics
- phytobacteriology
- nematology
- virology
- epidemiology
- biocontrol
- disease resistance
- plant diseases
Opportunities also exist for inter-disciplinary programs in biotechnology, plant breeding, microclimatology, plant stress, pest management, and international agriculture.
Our Department
We are a medium-sized department of 16 faculty who have diverse interests. Our graduates are sought for positions in academe, government, and the private sector.
The department has access to state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation to support research interests ranging from the most applied to the most basic. Laboratory based research is conducted in Plant Sciences Hall, Beadle Center, and Center for Virology with ancillary greenhouses, growth chambers and small plots available, as needed. Larger field research projects may be carried out at UNL Research and Extension Centers as well as a network of farm cooperator locations coordinated by our extension team.