Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics:

Academic Programs

Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) Degree

Ph.D. students must have 30 hours beyond the M.S. degree to graduate, which must include a minimum of 16 hours of 8000 or 9000 level courses and 3 hours of dissertation writing (9300). The following courses are required for graduation: two credits of Graduate Seminar (CRSS/HORT 8860 & CRSS/HORT 8861), Advanced Plant Breeding (CRSS/HORT 8140), and Plant Breeding Practicum (CRSS/HORT 6000). Ph.D. students can only transfer 9 graduate course credits from another institution after beginning at UGA. A list of our core courses and typical electives our students take are below. Students will work with their major professor and advisory committee to determine the best program of study.

* Note CRSS/HORT 8860 is the prerequisite for CRSS/HORT 8861.

Plant Breeding Courses:

CRSS 6000. Plant Breeding Practicum
HORT 8102. Breeding Ornamental Plants
CRSS (HORT) 8140. Advanced Plant Breeding
CRSS 8870. Translational Genomics
CRSS 8871. Genome analysis and comparative mapping
CRSS 8872. QTL mapping and discovery
CRSS 8873. Transgenic breeding
CRSS 8880. Quantitative Aspects of Plant Breeding

Genetics and Cytogenetics Courses:

PBIO 8100. Plant Genetics
CRSS 8890-8890L. Plant Cytogenetics: Behavior and Evolution of the Plant Genome
PBIO 6720-6720L. Plant Variation and Evolution

Plants and Their Environment Courses:

PATH 6910. Genetics of Host Plant Resistance to Disease
PATH 6280-6280L. Diagnosis and Management of Plant Diseases
HORT 8150. Growth and Development of Horticultural Crops

Biometry and Bioinformatics Courses:

STAT 8090 Statistical Analysis of Genetic Data
STAT 8200 Design of Experiments for Research Workers
PBIO(BIOL) 6550. Bioinformatics Applications
STAT 6640. Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics. II
BCMB 8140. Advanced Topics in Genomics and Bioinformatics

Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Courses:

GENE 8920. Nucleic Acids
GENE 8930 Advanced Molecular Genetics
GENE 8940. Genome Analysis
BCMB 8010. Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I

Electives for professional development:

ALDR 7200 Foundations of Agricultural Leadership
ALDR 7350 Group, Team, and Organizational Development in Agricultural Organizations
CRSS (HORT) 8860. PBGG Communication Seminar
CRSS (HORT) 8861. PBGG Research Seminar
PBIO 8930. Science Writing for General Audiences
PBIO 8820. Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology Seminar. (critical analysis of literature)
GENE 8650 Responsible Science
EDHI 9010. Academic Programs in Higher Education
CRSS 7990. Supervised Teaching Practicum in Crop and Soil Sciences

Course Descriptions

Course Schedule through Fall 2013

Checklist for New Students

Graduate students in the Institute are encouraged to follow these guidelines to ensure timely progress towards their graduate degree.

When first arriving, please contact the Degree Program Assistant (Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, Room 139) to inform the department of your arrival.
Work with the Degree Program Assistant to complete forms for your assistantship, and to be assigned an office and a mailbox and obtain keys to building, offices, and laboratories.
Make an appointment with your Major Professor to be advised on courses to take during your first semester.
After being advised, contact Degree Program Assistant (Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, Room 139) to be cleared for registration.
During the first and second semesters, work with your Major Professor to prepare drafts of your Program of Study and research proposal, and to identify committee members for your Advisory Committee. Before the end of the second semester, hold a meeting of your Advisory Committee in which your Final Program of Study and your research proposal are approved.
Once the courses in your Program of Study are completed, contact your Advisory Committee to hold a Comprehensive Examination (also called preliminary exam), which consists of a written exam from each committee member and an oral exam with all committee members present. Notify the Degree Program Assistant of the date, time and place of the oral examination so that the Graduate School can be notified at least two weeks in advance of the exam.
Make sure that an annual Graduate Student Evaluation Form is completed by your supervisor and Graduate Committee by May 30 of each year.
When all requirements for your degree have been met, contact your Advisory Committee to hold a final defense. Notify the Degree Program Assistant of the date, time and place of the examination so that the Graduate School can be notified.

Assignment of Major Professor

Graduate students who have not made a commitment as to their major professor will be assigned one before they are accepted by the Institute. These will be tentative assignments subject to change by consent of the major professor, student, and Institute Director. Many assistantships, scholarships, etc. are assigned to research program leaders and may not be transferable to another major professor.

Advisory Committee

A PhD Advisory Committee must have five faculty members, consisting of the major professor and four other faculty members. The major professor must have full Graduate Faculty status and at least two other members must have Graduate Faculty status. Students with co-major professors must have three additional members on their advisory committee. At least one committee member must be from outside the Institute. This committee will approve the plan of study and dissertation prospectus and conduct preliminary and final examinations. The student will keep the Advisory Committee informed of progress being made. Forms for appointment are available from the Graduate School Web site and must be submitted to the degree program assistant by the end of the first year.

Program of Study

The student shall submit to the Graduate Coordinator through his/her major professor a preliminary program of study by the end of the first year of residence. This program of study must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator and the Advisory Committee then submitted to the degree program assistant. The final Program of Study must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator and the Advisory Committee, with any changes in courses or committee make-up by the time the notification of the preliminary oral comprehensive examination is given, at the end of the first year and prior to admission to candidacy. The Final Program of Study must be turned into the degree program assistant. All courses on the program of study must fall within a six-year time limit.

Written and Oral Comprehensive Examinations

The Graduate School requires that all Doctoral students pass a Written and Oral Comprehensive Examination before they are admitted to candidacy for the Doctoral degree. Students planning to take the Written Comprehensive Examination must meet with their Advisory Committee, as a whole, to discuss the examination. No student will be allowed to take the examination without having attended such a meeting. The final step before Admission to Candidacy is the Oral Comprehensive Examination, administered by the Advisory Committee.

According to the Graduate School, the Oral Comprehensive Examination may include, but must not be limited to, the presentation, discussion and defense of the dissertation prospectus (Bulletin, p. 64). The Graduate School requires notification of the Oral Comprehensive Examination two weeks before it is to be held so you must notify your program degree assistant three weeks prior to the examination. All members of the Advisory Committee must be physically present for the entire period of this Examination.

Once the Oral Comprehensive Examination has been passed, the student will be admitted to candidacy for the Doctoral degree. Admission to candidacy expires in 5 years. If the dissertation is not completed within 5 years, the student must pass another set of Written and Oral Comprehensive Examinations and be readmitted to candidacy. The student may also request an extension of the 5-year time limit from the Dean of the Graduate School. Such a request requires the endorsement of the student's major professor and the Graduate Coordinator.

Admission to Candidacy

Ph.D students must have completed all prerequisites set as a condition for admission, filed a final Program of Study, met residence requirements, passed preliminary exams, and maintained a 3.0 average on courses listed on the plan of study. A Ph.D. student must apply for admission to candidacy at least one full semester before the date of graduation. After admission to Ph.D. candidacy, a student must register for at least 10 credit hours of dissertation or other appropriate graduate credit. A student must register for a minimum of 3 hours of credit in any semester when using University facilities and/or faculty or staff time. The Admission to Candidacy form must be filled out, approved by your major professor and the Program Coordinator and submitted to the degree program assistant at least one full semester before your attended graduation date.

Thesis/Dissertation Completion

A final draft of the thesis or dissertation must be submitted to the Advisory Committee no later than three weeks before the final examination. The draft is one which is approved by the major professor as being complete and editorially correct. The style of the thesis or dissertation should be based upon professional journals in the field of study. The thesis may be formatted either in traditional thesis style, or as a series of manuscripts, based on Graduate School Guidelines. A corrected thesis or dissertation must be supplied to all members of the examining committee at least one week before the final oral examination date. A complete formatted copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the Graduate School along with the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation form, for a first format check by the deadline listed for the graduation semester. Also, please submit your final dissertation to the degree program assistant.

PBGG Exit Seminar/Oral Defense

Final examinations (M.S. and Ph.D.) will consist of a seminar presentation of the student's research, followed by the defense/final exam. Questioning in the defense will emphasize the defense of the thesis or dissertation, but questions may be raised in any appropriate area. All members of the Advisory Committee must be present during the final examination. Faculty holding the rank of Assistant Professor or above are invited and encouraged to be in attendance at the defense/final exam. The degree program assistant should notify the Institute faculty of time and place of the final seminar and exam. An oral defense of your dissertation with your major professor and advisory committee must take place by the graduate school deadline. Please submit an electronic copy of your dissertation to your advisory committee three weeks prior to your oral defense. The graduate school’s Approval Form for PhD Dissertations must be completed at the defense and submitted to the degree program assistant.

**It is the student's responsibility to abide by Graduate School deadlines for graduation. Please check the Graduate School site for such information. The Graduate School deadline can be found on their web site. Look under Current Students, Academics, Important Deadlines and Dates.