Undergraduate Majors

Postdoc Rebecca Bart works closely with undergrad Annalise Petriello in the Staskawicz Lab

We offer two outstanding majors to undergraduates, and have recently revised and restructured our offerings to reflect the rapidly changing fields of plant and microbial biology. The new curriculum organizes the upper division electives into five tracks:

Genetics and Plant Biology

Biotechnology & Bioenergy
Plant Diversity and Evolution
Plant Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics
Plant-Microbe Interactions
Experimental Plant Biology (design your own)

Microbial Biology

Host-Pathogen Interactions
Evolution/Computational Genomics
Ecology & Environmental Microbiology
Microbial Biotechnology
General Microbiology (design your own)

Both majors lead to the Bachelor of Science Degree, and the newly designed emphases reflect the breadth of exciting research that is being done in our department. In addition, there are many opportunities for undergrads to do research and join our labs.

Arabadopsis seed - Steve Ruzin photo Plant Biology emphasizes the study of plants from the genetic to the organism. From oxygen to food to shelter to energy to shade, plants provide us with virtually everything we need to survive and thrive. There is important work for those who want to unravel the mystery of genes, teach the next generation of biologists or to devise ways to feed the world.

Microbial Biology focuses on small life forms such as microbes, viruses and fungi that make up the majority of planetary biomass. Microbes play fundamental roles in maintaining biosphere health. They degrade environmental pollutants, supply essential nutrients and chemicals directly to multi-cellular organisms and they engage in numerous beneficial symbioses with higher organisms.

Selecting a Major

When you apply to UC Berkeley you will be required to select a college in which to enroll, and you may also indicate a major. (Junior transfer students are required to select a major at the time of application.)

You are encouraged to apply directly to a major, but if you need time to decide which of our majors is best for you, you may also select the College of Natural Resources' undeclared option.

Students can choose from one of 5 majors or design their own The benefit of applying directly to one of our majors is that if you are admitted and accept the offer of admission, you will start your first semester under the department you wish to graduate in. Declaring your major will not, however, give you any special advantage. All students who apply will be evaluated based on their application and not the particular major selected.

If desired, you may be able to change to a different major within the College of Natural Resources. Changing to a different major outside of the College takes a bit more work as each of the colleges and majors have different requirements that you need to fulfill. Thus, it is important that you apply to the college in which you believe you will eventually declare a major.

Requirements

The lower-division requirements for a Microbial or Plant Biology major include general biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and statistics. The upper-division requirements include the core requirements and science electives. Both Microbial Biology and Plant Biology have four tracks each, or students can design their own track (Experimental Plant Biology or General Microbiology).

Campus-wide requirements remain the same for microbiology and plant biology. For detailed information, please prefer to the Plant Biology Major Requirements or the Microbial Biology Major Requirements.

Detailed information about Undergraduate Admissions Procedures at UC Berkeley.

Research

Undergrad Chihiro Hirai works in Associate Professor Mary Wildermuth's lab

The Department of Plant & Microbial Biology conducts groundbreaking research in the field of microbial and plant biology. We offer many opportunities for students to get involved in research:

These are just some of the ways undergraduates can get involved in research. Students can contact their advisors for advice on obtaining a research position.

Read more about Sangita Annamalai and Chihiro Hirai, two undergrads doing research in PMB.

Careers

Our majors prepare students for many careers. Both programs closely follow the course requirements for many professional schools, including most medical school and other health science programs.

We also prepares students for graduate school in a number of fields. If you want to work right after school, you'll find that the experience you gain in laboratory research and the challenging courses will be invaluable on your resume.

Advising

Advising of undergraduate students for both Plant and Micro is handled by Trey Patridge, Undergraduate Major Advisor.

For more information please contact Trey at 510.642.1986 or trey@berkeley.edu

For detailed information about Admissions Procedures at UC Berkeley please visit the UC Berkeley Undergraduate Admission website.

Parents

UC Berkeley and the College of Natural Resources are especially dedicated to providing resources and information to parents of continuing and prospective students. For more information, please visit the CNR website Parent page.

FAQs

For detailed answers to a variety of questions about applying to the College of Natural Resources, please visit the CNR FAQs.

To learn more about the majors, please refer to the Plant Biology Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative or the Microbial Biology Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative.

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