Plant and Soil Sciences Graduate Program
One graduate program. Two concentrations. Three degree options.
Plant Science involves course work in plant molecular biology, plant breeding, plant pathology, plant tissue culture, horticulture, crop science, plant anatomy and/or plant physiology with thesis research in one of those areas.
Soil Science involves course work and thesis research in soil chemistry, soil fertility and management, soil physics, soil microbiology and biochemistry, environmental microbiology, soil and water quality and soil formation and biogeochemistry.
Degree options:
- Ph.D. dissertation degree
- M.S. thesis degree
- M.S. non-thesis degree (full- or part-time)
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University of Delaware wins impact award at 2025 Farm Robotics Challenge
May 13, 2025 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photo courtesy of Yin BaoA team of University of Delaware students won recognition for designing a technological solution to tackle challenges farmers face. -
Rice, Resilience, Representation, and Research Mentors
April 22, 2025 | The Rice Stuff PodcastAngelia Seyfferth discusses her innovative study of arsenic uptake in rice, the trouble of salt water intrusion, and growing rice where it isn’t typically found. The Plant and Soil Sciences faculty member addresses the challenges and rewards of academia, mentorship, gender representation in STEM, and much more. -
Uncovering Earth’s respiration
April 13, 2025 | Written by Nya WynnElizabeth Smith, a former NSF Graduate Research Fellow and UD Plant and Soil Sciences Ph.D. alumna, investigated soil respiration using machine learning to better understand its role in the global carbon cycle. Analyzing two decades of data from multiple datasets, her research revealed unexpected patterns in national and global soil respiration trends. Now a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech, Smith is expanding her computational expertise to study enhanced rock weathering, a technique for carbon capture in agriculture. Passionate about science communication, she also works to make environmental research more accessible, bridging the gap between scientific discovery and public understanding.
Important Links
Application process update: Due to coronavirus (COVID-19), the program of PLSC is waiving the GRE requirement for our graduate program. If you wish to apply without a GRE score, please enter a future GRE exam date into the application. It need not be a legitimate exam date. Entering a future exam date causes the system to finish your application and send it on to our review committee where it will receive full consideration.