Doctor of Philosophy in Horticulture and Agronomy

The Ph.D. program is structured to meet the needs of a diverse student body whose unifying characteristic is an interest in the application of biological principles to the solution of problems in crop production and resource management. Two primary objectives of the curriculum are to foster a sense of community among the students and to provide them with a breadth of knowledge about agronomic and horticultural principles and how they are used in a variety of practices. Students will be aligned into one of five areas of emphasis - Agroecology, Crop Improvement, Crop Production Systems, Plant Physiology, and Post-harvest Biology/Physiology - and pursue projects in these cropping systems: Agronomy, Environmental Horticulture, Pomology, Vegetable Crops, Viticulture, and Weed Science. A wide range of study areas can be pursued including: Biotechnology, Breeding and Genetics, Crop Physiology, Floriculture, Horticulture, Integrated Pest Management, Landscape Horticulture, Modeling and Quantitative Systems Analysis, Nursery Production, Plant Growth and Development, Plant Nutrition, Post-harvest Biology and Technology, Precision Agriculture, Revegetation/Restoration, and Water Relations. In addition, students can become involved in Designated Emphasis programs such as Biotechnology.

Letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically through the online application. Do not have recommenders send letters in hard copy. Transcripts, Only the general GRE test (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing) is required. There are no minimum required scores, the scores are just one factor used to determine admissibility, and will be considered along with GPA, academic background, letters of recommendation, and previous research experience. The minimum acceptable TOEFL scores are:
550 (paper based exam) , 80 total (IBT or web based exam) The minimum overall band score required for admission to graduate study at UC Davis is 7.0 on a 9-point scale.
Applicants must submit official TOEFL or IELTS examination scores unless they have earned or will be earning a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from either: A regionally accredited U.S. college or university where English is the sole language ofinstruction, OR A foreign college or university which provides instruction solely in English (UC Davis Graduate Studies must review and approve requests made on this basis.
A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) from the institution where you have earned or will earn your bachelor's degree