The program is diverse and includes faculty from the following Divisions and Departments:
Agronomy
Animal Science & Industry
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics
Biology
Entomology
Horticulture & Natural Resources
Plant Pathology
Statistics
As a result, research opportunities are diverse and include plant and animal breeding, population and evolutionary genetics, quantitative genetics, molecular and developmental genetics, and genomics and bioinformatics. Interdisciplinary interactions are fostered and encouraged based upon a common interest in genetics. Such interactions often bridge basic and applied genetics and merge diverse fields such as agriculture and computer sciences. Thus, the Genetics Graduate Program offers students a truly interdisciplinary and interactive environment in which to pursue their scientific interests.
After meeting the core curriculum requirements, students in the program are encouraged to choose an emphasis, which enables them to specialize in a particular subdiscipline of genetics. At present, the following emphases are available: Arthropod Genetics; Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Genetics; and Quantitative Genetics. These tracks have been designed so that there is significant overlap in coursework.
