Plant-insect interactions (herbivory, plant defenses, insect life history, and pollination), biological control, and conservation biology are strong themes in the department. Other areas for concentration and thesis research include plant protection, pheromone ecology, soil ecology, mosquito biology, genetics of resistance, insect behavior, effects of insecticides on birds, avian ecology, and ecology and behavior of turtles. 

Research facilities in and adjacent to Townsend Hall (home of the department) include laboratories, an insectary, programmed growth chambers, a greenhouse, field plots and a 35-acre woodlot on the experimental farm, collections of pinned, liquid, and slide specimens of insects, amphibians and reptiles and bird and mammal skins, digitizer, automated high performance liquid chromatograph, thin layer chromatography scanning system, capillary gas chromatograph, advanced optical systems, and an excellent library collection of pertinent journals and books. The USDA Beneficial Insects Research Laboratory also located on the campus provides additional opportunities. 

Minimum requirements for admission are an academic index of 2.8 overall and 3.0 in the major field of concentration and a combined score of 1050 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE. A TOEFL score of at least 550 is required for international students. Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. Applicants not meeting these minima may be admitted under unusual circumstances where it is clear that other strengths outweigh the academic deficiency. Applicants also must take the Advanced GRE test in Biology. No minimum scores are required, but the scores will be used to evaluate the candidate. An applicant should have satisfactorily completed the following: General Biology, Organic Chemistry, and General Ecology. Applicants lacking any of those courses must complete the missing course(s) during graduate study. Applicants must have three recommendation forms completed and submitted to the department. At least two of these should be from faculty of the applicant's major department. For further details, contact the chairperson of the department's Graduate Admissions Committee. Applications for financial support should be completed by March 1 for Summer or Fall terms and November 1 for entering in Spring term. 

Please refer to the chapter "Financial Aid" in this catalog. 

Requirements for the M.S. degree in entomology are (1) completion of at least 30 graduate credit hours, including 12 credit hours of required courses and a thesis describing independent research (6 credit hours); (2) passing an insect family recognition test; (3) passing an oral, general knowledge examination, centering on the student's training in entomology and related areas; (4) presenting the thesis research in a formal departmental seminar; and (5) passing a thesis defense. A student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. The written thesis must reflect the ability to do independent scholarly research and to report the results in a publishable manner. 

Written details concerning curriculum, selection of the student's advisor and committee, and procedures for exams and seminar are available from the department office.