College: College of Letters and Science
Designation: Department
Major: Botany
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.
Other: Ph.D. Minor
Faculty: Professors Fernandez (chair), Allen, Baum, Givnish, Graham, Spalding, Sytsma, Waller, J. Zedler; Associate Professors Gilroy, Larget; Assistant Professors Emshwiller, Hotchkiss, Otegui; Faculty Affiliates Brunet and P. Zedler
The Department of Botany, with an active graduate program leading to the master's and Ph.D. degrees, consists of 18 faculty members and approximately 50 graduate students. According to the American Council on Education Rating of Graduate Program Quality, the department ranks, as it has for many years, among the top five departments of botany in the country.
Faculty and graduate students work on a wide range of projects in plant biology at all levels of organization, from molecules through cells and organs, to populations and phylogenies of organisms. The major areas emphasized are molecular biology, genetics, cellular and developmental biology, structural botany, physiology, ecology, evolution, taxonomy, and molecular systematics. Advanced instruction and opportunities for research are also available in ethnobotany, phycology, and mycology.
For students with research interests that extend into other fields bordering botany, there are opportunities for course work, collaborative research, and seminars presented by experts from throughout the world in many other departments. Interdisciplinary work is encouraged, both within the department and in combination with other departments or programs, including agronomy, bacteriology, biochemistry, chemistry, entomology, forest ecology and management, genetics, geology, horticulture, physics, plant pathology, plant breeding and plant genetics, soil science, wildlife ecology, and zoology.
Faculty research addresses issues mainly at four levels of biological organization: phylogenetic relationships; whole plants and their interactions; development, anatomy, and morphology of plant tissues; and cellular, subcellular, genetic, and molecular mechanisms that affect all other levels. Faculty interests can be grouped into four corresponding areas, with considerable overlap: physiological, cellular, and molecular biology; structural botany; ecology and evolutionary biology; and systematics and taxonomy.
The Department of Botany will consider as candidates for advanced degrees applicants who fulfill the minimum admissions requirements of the Graduate School. The credentials of each candidate must be submitted to the department. Applications for fall admission should be submitted by January 2 in order to be considered for financial support; applications may be reviewed until April 15. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE); the advanced test in biology is highly recommended. Admission is based on the applicant's undergraduate record, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, previous research experience, statement of purpose, and shared interests with one or more potential faculty advisors.
For more information: Department of Botany, Graduate Coordinator, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1381; 608/262-0476; botgrad@ls.wisc.edu; www.botany.wisc.edu.