Applicants seeking admission to the Ph.D. program in the Department of Plant Pathology as regular students must have an awarded baccalaureate degree. Each Ph.D. student’s program is guided by a Major Professor (Dissertation Director) and an Advisory Committee throughout the student’s graduate career. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to give the student continuity of direction and counsel and provide intellectual stimulation throughout residency to completion of the doctorate.
The DGS, or a designee (usually the Major Professor), serves as advisor to beginning graduate students until the Advisory Committee is appointed. Most students enter the program having already committed to a Major Professor; however there is an option for an incoming Ph.D. student who is supported on departmental assistantship or fellowship money to do two or three short lab rotations before choosing a Major Professor. This option is not available to students who are supported on individual grant funds. The Advisory Committee should be appointed before the end of the student’s second semester. It MUST be appointed no less than one year prior to the Qualifying Examination. The Major Professor and Advisory Committee must be recommended to the Graduate School by the DGS. The DGS will approve the committee only if it meets all Graduate School requirements (below), provides a reasonable breadth and balance of expertise in the major and related disciplines, and presents no obvious conflicts of interest. Once the DGS has approved and recommended the committee, it will be officially appointed by the Graduate Dean. The Dissertation Director and the Advisory Committee specifically set requirements (within the rules and regulations of the Plant Pathology program, Graduate School, and University), which the student must meet in pursuit of the doctorate.
The Ph.D. Advisory Committee has a core of four members. This core consists of the Major Professor (Dissertation Director) as chair, two other faculty members from Plant Pathology, and at least one representative from outside the Plant Pathology Department. At least one representative must be from a minor area(s), different from the student’s major research focus. All members of the core must be members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kentucky, and at least three (including the chair or a co-chair) must possess Full Graduate Faculty status. Additional faculty members can serve as members of the Advisory Committee. The core of the Advisory Committee must be kept at its full complement throughout the graduate career of the individual student. Thus, in the event of an unforeseen vacancy on the committee, an appropriate replacement must be made prior to any subsequent committee decisions. The DGS must recommend any replacements or changes to an Advisory Committee to the Graduate School. All decisions of the Advisory Committee are by majority vote of its Graduate Faculty members. Advisory Committee decisions are reported promptly to the DGS, who then transmits them to the Dean of the Graduate School.
In addition to advising and program planning, the Advisory Committee also administers the Qualifying Examination, supervises the preparation of the dissertation and, along with the Outside Examiner (selected by the Graduate School), administers the Final Examination. Regular committee meetings are essential both before and after the Qualifying Exam. Each student must meet with her or his Advisory Committee at least once a year to present a written and oral progress report. At a meeting prior to the submission of the thesis or dissertation to the Advisory Committee, agreement should be reached on the extent of additional research to be conducted for the completion of the thesis or dissertation. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule all necessary meetings with his or her Advisory Committee. A record of each meeting that includes the written progress report, signed by the student and the Major Professor, will be provided to the DGS by the Major Professor within two weeks of the meeting, and a copy will be placed in the student’s file.
Admission Requirements
The Graduate School’s requirements for admission are likewise the minimum requirements for acceptance into the Ph.D. program of the Department of Plant Pathology. However, additional materials are required for application to the Plant Pathology Ph.D. program. Each applicant must arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent, and must also provide a curriculum vitae and a written statement identifying the applicant’s reasons for desiring to undertake studies in this department, to the Plant Pathology DGS. These materials, and those submitted to the Graduate School, are considered on a case-by-case basis by the department’s Academic Program Committee, which then makes a recommendation on admission. Admission to a graduate program in Plant Pathology does not guarantee financial assistance to the student. Applicants who are admitted will also be informed of any financial offer in a contract that they must sign in order to be admitted to the Graduate School.
Degree Requirements
Departmental Requirements
All graduate students pursuing a Ph.D.degree in the Plant Pathology program ideally should have, or should obtain, a background in the following areas: mathematics through differential and integral calculus; physics; chemistry, including analytical, organic, and biochemistry; and the equivalent of introductory courses in botany, plant physiology, genetics, molecular biology, statistics and microbiology. The Academic Program Committee will inform the Major Professor and the student, in writing, of any relevant course deficiencies at the time of admission to the program. Deficiencies should be corrected early in the graduate program either by formal coursework or, with the approval of the Advisory Committee, by independent study. In some cases, the Advisory Committee may decide to waive certain of these requirements, depending on the student’s background, goals, and interests. Agreements regarding remedial coursework, independent study, or waivers should be recorded in the notes of the meeting in which they were discussed, and included in the student’s file.
Basic Course Requirements
All students are strongly encouraged to take PPA 400G PRINCIPLES OF PLANT PATHOLOGY , even if they have had a similar course previously. This course provides a common basis for subsequent required courses in the department, and will allow international students to become conversant with domestic terminology and perspective in the discipline. Required courses for the Ph.D. are PPA 500 PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANT HEALTH AND DISEASE , PPA 600 CRITICAL METHODS IN PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS , PPA 640 IDENTIFICATION OF PLANT DISEASES , PPA 641 PLANT DISEASE, POPULATION BIOLOGY, AND BIOTECHNOLOGY , and PPA 770 PLANT PATHOLOGY SEMINAR . Ph.D. students are required to complete all of the above courses, and also to take at least two of the following courses: PPA 670 PLANT BACTERIOLOGY , PPA 671 ADVANCED PLANT VIROLOGY , PPA 650 FUNGAL BIOLOGY , and PPA 673 ADVANCED PLANT DISEASE RESISTANCE . The Advisory Committee may decide to waive one or more of these course requirements if the student has already taken equivalent coursework at another institution. A record of this decision should be placed in the student’s file.
Individual Course Requirements
Elective courses will be determined by the student together with the Major Professor and Advisory Committee, taking into account the student’s background, research topic, and area of specialization.
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