Graduate Programs

The committee bases admissions recommendations on:

• Grades and coursework at the undergraduate and graduate levels
• Letters of recommendation
• Standardized examination scores
• Written statements of academic and professional goals
• Other documentation of research
• Academic potential and accomplishment

Requirements

For Plant Biology:

• A basic background in chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology, roughly equivalent to the Department's undergraduate program in Genetics and Plant Biology.

For Microbiology:

• A basic background in chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology, roughly equivalent to the Department's undergraduate program in Microbial Biology.

For Both Plant and Microbiology Programs:

• Completed online Graduate Application for Admissions and Fellowships. Fall 2014 applications will be available in early September.
• Transcripts from each college and graduate institution attended.
• Resume.
• Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be written by science faculty. All reviewers should be familiar with the student's scholarly abilities.
• General Aptitude test scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The Department recommends but does not require the GRE subject test in biology (B24) or biochemistry, cell and molecular biology (B22). Take the exam(s) early enough so that scores will arrive by the application deadline. To have the scores sent to the Department, note on the GRE order form the institution code R4833 (UC Berkeley) and the department code 0112 (Plant Sciences).
• The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score for applicants who have received undergraduate degrees from institutions where English is not the language of instruction. With few exceptions, UC Berkeley requires a TOEFL score of at least 570 on the paper and pencil test, or 230 on the computer-based test. Take the TOEFL by November. Note on the TOEFL order form the institution code 4833 (UC Berkeley) and the department code 37 (botany). Please read the Graduate Division's Evidence of English Language Proficiency for more information.
• If you have additional questions, please contact Graduate Student Advisor Rocío Sanchez at rocio_s@berkeley.edu or call 510-642-5167.

Before the beginning of the fall semester, new students discuss their background and interests with the graduate advisors, who help plan academic programs. During the first semester, all new students enroll in a two-credit seminar in which faculty members summarize their current research programs. Each student also rotates through three research laboratories for ten weeks each in the first academic year. The rotations give students the opportunity to explore areas of interest as possibilities for Ph.D. research.

All students must take a two-semester core course comprised of six modules, which cover the following topics: plant developmental genetics, genomics and computational biology, plant diversity and evolution, plant cell biology, plant biochemistry and plant systems biology. All graduate students must enroll in two graduate-level seminar courses during their first two years. With their emphasis on student presentations and discussions, these courses further introduce faculty and students. At the end of the first year, each student will select a permanent Research Advisor (major professor) and will begin work on the thesis project.

Graduate Student Instruction

Each student serves as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for approximately 20 hours per week for two semesters. Students participate in the GSI training conference sponsored by the Graduate Division and the Graduate Assembly and enroll in a two-credit teaching workshop. Students are appointed as a GSI for a lower-division course before being a GSI for an upper-division course sponsored by the Department. International students educated in schools where English is not the language of instruction are required to pass the Test of Spoken English (TSE) before they serve as teaching assistants.

During the second year, students may take additional courses in preparation for the Ph.D. qualifying examination. This examination usually is taken by the end of the second year. The Qualifying Examination Committee, a four-member committee, including one Berkeley Academic Senate member from outside the Department, is appointed in consultation with the student. The goal of the examination is to assess the candidate's broad knowledge of plant biology as well as to determine in-depth knowledge in the proposed area of research. Each examination covers five of the following eight subject areas: physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, development, structure, and plant-microbe interactions. The Committee also discusses the student's research topic.

After passing the qualifying examination, the student selects a three- or four-member committee to serve as the student's Dissertation Committee. The chair of this committee is the student's Research Advisor. An adjunct faculty member can serve as co-chair with a regular departmental faculty member as the other co-chair. This committee meets on a regular basis to supervise and assist the student in the research that will be described in the Ph.D. dissertation. All members of the committee must approve the dissertation. The student is not subjected to a formal final examination. Rather, the results of the dissertation project are presented at a departmental colloquium.

The department trains students in modern research areas of plant biology concentrating in molecular, cellular, genetic, biochemical, physiological, developmental, and structural biology; as well as plant microbe interactions. Each student's course of study is individually designed. The graduate program features an introductory seminar, a two-semester core course and additional special topic courses and seminars in areas of faculty specialties. 

For additional details on this program please see the Graduate Studies Plan and a detailed outline of program requirements.

We provide each student with a breadth of understanding of microbial biology from the molecular to the cellular levels of organization; and the interactions of microbes, beneficial and pathogenic, with other organisms.

The department administers the Graduate Group in Microbiology, an inter-disciplinary approach that reaches across the UC Berkeley campus in collaboration with experts in biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, pathogenesis, ecology and evolution. We provide access to these diverse disciplines through an integrated program of study oriented toward each students special interests. We award the Ph.D. degree in Microbiology; we do not award Master's degrees.

For a complete description of program details, including financial support, advising and requirements, please see the Graduate Group in Microbiology pages on this site.