Detailed Information
Programs of Study
The Department of Plant Biology offers the degree of Ph.D. in plant biology. The need for well-trained specialists in certain areas of plant biology has never been greater, and the outlook for the future is very promising. For example, existing demands on all natural resources have resulted in a demand for people trained in the botanical aspects of environmental sciences, agriculture, conservation, biogeography, land reclamation, water resources, and many other fields. The advent of the biotechnology era has brought with it a demand for specialists in plant physiology and biochemistry, especially in the areas of nutrition, metabolism, growth regulators, tissue culture, biomass production, and environmental stress. There is currently an increased demand for specialists in molecular genetics. Since society’s greatest need is for a constant supply of wholesome, nutritious food, the biotechnology industry continues to direct its interests and energies toward the production and improvement of food products. Running a close second to the need for food is the need for new and better medicinal drugs and new methods for their mass production. Since plants are the only primary source of food and since most medicinal drugs are obtained from plants, the food and pharmaceutical industries need a continuous supply of well-trained plant biologists.
Course work for the degree consists of a minimum of 20 semester hours at the 400 and 500 levels in the plant biology program or related disciplines but excluding seminar, readings, research, dissertation, and research tool requirements. A course proposal including core courses must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee and the departmental chair and be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies within the first semester. Changes made after the first semester of the student’s program must be approved by the majority of the graduate student’s Advisory Committee. Students enroll in the plant biology departmental seminar and a seminar in a related discipline each year. Students also take, either prior to or during their program, courses in general plant biology, systematics, physiology, and ecology. Courses in plant anatomy and genetics are strongly recommended for students pursuing careers in teaching and/or research. Students must pass a preliminary examination, demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language and/or research tools, and successfully complete a dissertation.
Research Facilities
In addition to modern laboratories maintained by individual faculty members, research facilities in other departments are also available for use as are centrally administered University facilities. An example of the latter is IMAGE (Integrated Microscopy and Graphics Expertise), which supports a wide variety of analytical and quantitative electron microscopic methodologies. Within the Department of Plant Biology, individual faculty members maintain research equipment that permits a wide range of modern analyses in the areas of molecular biology, systematics, cell biology, and ecology. An excellent collection of science journals and books are located on the fifth and sixth floors of Morris Library. In addition to individual laboratories directed by PLB faculty members, the Department maintains a centralized laboratory that is used for teaching various courses in molecular biology. This Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory is outfitted to allow ultralow storage of tissue samples, tissue extraction (proteins, DNA, RNA), and gel electrophoresis (isozymes and DNA). Computer labs are readily available in several buildings.
The Southern Illinois University Herbarium currently houses about 250,000 specimens. As might be expected, the herbarium’s holdings are especially rich for southern Illinois, which includes the southernmost eighteen counties of the state. However, the collections also come from other areas of the state and country as well as from several different parts of the world, including Australia, Hawaii, China, Israel, Mexico, Belize, Montserrat, and Brazil. The plant families with the largest number of holdings in the herbarium are the grasses, sedges, legumes, and composites. In addition to the mounted plant specimens, the herbarium also houses ethnobotanical collections, the Walter Welch slide collection of approximately 5,500 kodachromes, and a library of books and reprints.
The Plant Biology Greenhouses comprise four interconnected houses, an office, and a head house. Most growing space in main house consists of in-ground beds, whereas the three attached houses (south, middle, and north houses) contain fixed elevated benches. The collection is taxonomically diverse and consists of representatives of all extant land plants (bryophytes, lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms). The collection is used for both teaching and research. The Phytotron provides climate-controlled growing space for plants that is ideal for conducting physiological experiments.
Financial Aid
The Department offers aid in the form of research assistantships and fellowships and teaching assistantships as well as a number of fellowships awarded through the graduate school as a whole.
Cost of Study
In-state graduate tuition is $328 per credit hour in 2009–10. Out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times the in-state tuition rate ($820 per credit hour). Graduate students with at least a 25 percent appointment as a graduate assistant receive a tuition scholarship. Fees vary from $589.03 (1 credit hour) to $1557.50 (12 credit hours). Students with a graduate assistantship receive a 50 percent reduction in the Primary Care Medical Fee. New graduate students from Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee qualify for the alternate tuition rate, which is equivalent to the in-state graduate tuition rate.
Living and Housing Costs
For married couples, students with families, and single graduate students, the University has 690 efficiency and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that rent for $499 to $720 per month in 2009–10. Residence halls for single graduate students are also available, as are accessible residence hall rooms and apartments for students with disabilities.
Student Group
Total University enrollment exceeds 21,000, including more than 4,000 graduate students. Men and women come from all fifty states and more than 100 other countries. About 53 percent of the graduate students are women, 23 percent are international students, and 13 percent are members of American minority groups.
Location
SIUC is 350 miles south of Chicago and 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. Nestled in rolling hills bordered by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and enhanced by a mild climate, the area has state parks, national forests and wildlife refuges, and large lakes for outdoor recreation. Much of the area is a part of the 240,000-acre Shawnee National Forest. Cultural offerings include theater, opera, concerts, art exhibits, and cinema. Educational facilities for the families of students are excellent.
The University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a comprehensive public university with a variety of general and professional education programs. The University offers bachelor’s and associate degrees, master’s and doctoral degrees, the J.D. degree, and the M.D. degree. The University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Graduate School has an essential role in the development and coordination of graduate instruction and research programs. The Graduate Council has academic responsibility for determining graduate standards, recommending new graduate programs and research centers, and establishing policies to facilitate the research effort. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale is a state-funded university founded in 1869.
Applying
Applicants to the doctoral degree program must have a plant sciences–related master’s degree (or equivalent). Criteria for admission include GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and availability of faculty, space, and facilities. To be admitted into the program a prospective student must have a minimum GPA of 3.25, and at least one PLB faculty member must be willing to serve as their Major Advisor. Co-advisers may be included if the student wishes to work in the Departments of Forestry or Plant, Soil, and General Agriculture. Deadlines for financial aid are February 1 for fall assistantships and November 1 for January graduate assistantships.
The Faculty and Their Research
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Aldwin Anterola, Ph.D., Washington State, 2001. Phytochemistry; biochemistry.
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Sara G. Baer, Ph.D., Kansas State, 2001. Ecosystem ecology.
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Loretta Battaglia, Ph.D., Georgia, 1998. Wetlands ecology; invasive species; community ecology.
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John Bozzola, Ph.D., Southern Illinois Carbondale, 1975. Electron microscopy and cytology.
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Stephen Ebbs, Ph.D., Cornell, 1997. Plant physiology; phytoremediation; ecotoxicology; mineral nutrition.
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Matt Geisler, Ph.D., Ohio State, 1999. Bioinformatics and gene expression.
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David Gibson, Ph.D., Wales, 1984. Plant population and community ecology; grassland ecology; multivariate methods; competition.
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Daniel L. Nickrent, Ph.D., Miami (Ohio), 1984. Plant molecular phylogeny and evolution; biology of flowering parasitic plants.
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Karen Renzaglia, Ph.D., Southern Illinois Carbondale, 1981. Biodiversity ultrastructure and phylogeny of early land plants.
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Sedonia Sipes, Ph.D., Utah State, 2001. Pollination ecology; molecular systematics; plant evolution.
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Dale Vitt, Ph.D., Michigan, 1970. Biogeochemistry and paleoecology of peatlands; biosystematics and taxonomy.
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Andrew Wood, Ph.D., Purdue, 1994. Stress physiology.
Correspondence and Information
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Dr. Dale Vitt, Department Chair
Department of Plant Biology
Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4317
Email:
dvitt@plant.siu.edu
