Welcome to the Graduate Program of the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. Thank you for taking time to explore our top-ranked department. The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture offers the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Master of Agriculture (M.Agr.), a nonthesis degree. Our students' research projects explore applied and fundamental science topics.  Areas of concentration include plant physiology, plant genetics and breeding, cell physiology and molecular biology, environmental and production horticulture, and horticultural marketing. The goal of the graduate program in horticulture at Purdue is to prepare students for professional careers in basic or applied plant science emphasizing food or ornamental crops. If you would like more information about joining us as a graduate student, please contact our Graduate Coordinator, Colleen Martin.

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Graduate Curriculum

Students enter the graduate program with different professional objectives and varying academic backgrounds. Therefore, there are few required courses and no fixed credit requirements in our M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs. However, candidates for M.S. degrees usually take at least 24 credits at the graduate level, while Ph.D. students often complete an additional 20 to 24 credit hours. Candidates for the M. Agr. degree must complete at least 33 credit hours of course work. Training in biochemistry, plant physiology, genetics and statistics is required of all Ph.D. students, and course work in computer science, physical chemistry, and molecular genetics is highly recommended. Graduate programs generally include required and elective course work and seminars, written and oral examinations, and original research guided by a major professor. In addition, each student chooses his or her own faculty guidance committee. An increasing number of graduate student research projects are funded by extramural grants, which usually increase the resources available to the student researcher. Participation by graduate researchers at professional society meetings is actively encouraged and financially supported by the department. The duration of graduate programs varies, but the average M.S. program takes two years and one semester and the average Ph.D. program takes three to four years. Postdoctoral opportunities are becoming increasingly available as the amount of extramural funding increases. Students may also enroll in interdepartmental graduate training programs such as the Purdue Plant Biology Program and the Purdue Genetics Program. Many students and faculty within our department participate in these programs.

Graduate Faculty

The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture has an outstanding faculty representing a broad range of disciplines within horticulture and plant biology. These individuals can provide training opportunities in their areas of specialization. We recommend that potential students identify particular faculty members who share their academic interests and contact these individuals directly.

Graduate Faculty in Horticulture and Area of Specialization

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The home of Purdue University is Indiana’s Lafayette-West Lafayette area. Conveniently located one hour northwest of Indianapolis and two hours southeast of Chicago, Lafayette-West Lafayette offers a small town atmosphere with convenient and easy access to major metropolitan cities.

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Purdue University was founded in 1869 as a land grant institution. Today, Purdue University is one of the 25 largest universities in the nation and includes four campuses across the State of Indiana.

On the West Lafayette campus, the University offers over 70 graduate programs with more than 600 research and study areas organized in 12 colleges and schools within the Graduate School. Approximately 38,000 students are enrolled at the West Lafayette campus, including over 7,000 graduate and professional students.

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