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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Kickstarting Mid-Atlantic Kernza
October 09, 2026 | Written by Katie PeikesKernza, the world’s first commercially available perennial grain, has been picking up steam in regenerative agriculture, a conservation approach focused on improving soil and ecosystem health. UD scientists teamed up with scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study and compare Kernza’s roots with the roots of common crops. -
Communicating plant stress
October 06, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photo illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase | Photos and video courtesy of Jung-Youn LeeUniversity of Delaware plant scientists have uncovered new knowledge that tiny nanopores called plasmodesmata send alert signals from cell to cell, generating a huge burst of hydrogen peroxide when a plant is wounded. The team recently published their findings in the journal The Plant Cell. The role of this burst of hydrogen peroxide is a key finding that could prove useful in engineering more climate-resilient crops. -
Next-gen soil scientists
September 10, 2026 | Written by: Molly Schafer | Photos courtesy of Moklesur Rahman and Shreeram InamdarDelaware high school students had the chance to get their hands dirty while learning about wetland ecology during a workshop led by researchers from the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Watershed Sciences Research Group.
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.