
Graduate Student Programs
Push your success to the next level
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers four doctoral and more than nine master’s degree programs. Our campus includes newly renovated laboratories, a state-of-the-art greenhouse complex, modern computing facilities, wetlands and ecology woods, farm animal facilities, and agronomic field plots.
Our graduate programs, which include both funded and self-paying, are characterized by individualized advising, engaging coursework, and faculty who are personally committed to the success of their graduate students.
Funded M.S. and Ph.D. programs are characterized by highly competitive graduate stipends, cutting-edge research in basic and applied disciplines, and travel opportunities for participation in professional meetings. Our self-paying M.S. programs are coursework-based, offer more flexibility, and excellent student-to-faculty ratios.
Advanced Degree Programs (by Department)
Animal and Food Sciences
DESIGNED FOR DISCOVERY
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UD’s animal science graduate degree paves a path to veterinary school
May 12, 2025 | Written by Molly SchaferWhen Lexi Roloson decided to become a veterinarian, she had a problem: it was her senior year of college, and she had not completed the coursework or work experience required for competitive veterinary school applications. UD’s non-thesis M.S. in animal science provided the solution. The degree allowed Roloson to gain the necessary experience inside and outside the classroom, and start saving animals before she even received her diploma. -
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.