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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Carbon credit quality
May 20, 2025 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photo by Evan KrapeUniversity of Delaware’s Rodrigo Vargas is among a group of leading forest scientists around the U.S. arguing in a new review that forest carbon market protocols are flawed and don’t ensure that issued carbon credits accurately account for reduced and removed CO2 emissions. The researchers say improvements could boost forest carbon credits’ quality and drive up demand as well as confidence in the market. -
Global crop data
May 19, 2025 | Article by Matthew TrunfioEfficient water usage in agriculture is crucial for sustaining a growing human population. Analyzing 21st century global crop dynamics, UD faculty member Kyle Davis and doctoral student Endalkachew Kebede co-authored new research that includes a comprehensive data library of crop-specific irrigated and rainfed harvested areas for all countries. -
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.
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.