Botany Department Graduate Degree ProgramsThe Botany Graduate Program offers MS and PhD degrees in Botany. The Botany Department offers graduate education in a wide range of botanical specialties, with emphasis placed on tropical botany and conservation. Major research areas include terrestrial and marine plant ecology, evolution, systematics, conservation and ethnobotany. Hawai`i provides an outstanding location for many types of botanical studies. The rich endemic flora and the insular isolation, for example, provides unique opportunities for studies of evolution, conservation biology, and alien plant invasions. Similarly, the host culture and access to the other Pacific island nations allows studies of plants in a human context, such as assessments biodiversity and its maintenance. Research studies are not limited to the Hawaiian Islands. Faculty and students have research projects in many areas of the tropics throughout the world. A wide range of taxa are studied by faculty and students in the Botany Graduate Program, including marine and terrestrial angiosperms, algae, fungi and ferns. Steep environmental gradients are common throughout the Hawaiian Islands and provide excellent opportunities to study physiological ecology, adaptation, and genetic differentiation. Research often involves applying modern genetic technology to address questions relating to plant ecology, population genetics, evolution, species hybridization, molecular systematics and evolution. The Botany Graduate Program has developed collaborations with leading international conservation agencies and greatly benefits from productive interactions with local communities. For example, ethnobotanical studies include conservation analyses, historical aspects of plants in human migrations, and the sustainability of human-plant systems. Many research programs make use of the strong ties to Hawai`i's National Parks, terrestrial and marine conservation areas, and living botanical collections. Students enter one of seven Tracks on beginning the UH Botany Graduate Program:
Each Track includes is supervised by several faculty and is organized around the central theme. For current research conducted in each track, please see our Research pages. Separate graduate programs having to do with Plant Molecular Biology and Plant Pathology reside in the College of Tropical Agriculture and students interested in these programs should request application materials directly from these programs. Entrance Requirements
General Graduate Program RequirementsPrior to advancement to candidacy for the MS or PhD degree, the student must submit a written document (usually a paper written for a course) that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the student's interim committee that he/she has the ability to collect, analyze, integrate, and communicate scientific information effectively in the English language. A further requirement for all graduate degrees is proficiency in presenting seminars. Ordinarily, a student must enroll in at least two BOT 610 seminars in order to demonstrate this proficiency. In addition, MS Plan A and PhD students must present two public seminars. The first required seminar outlines the background of a research problem and the student's proposed research program. The second required seminar, at the conclusion of the program, describes the research results and conclusions, at which time the student is examined by the thesis or dissertation committee. The final examination for MS Plan B students includes the presentation of a public seminar summarizing the results of one of their directed research studies.All students in the Graduate Program are required to take courses to meet proficiency for their selected Track, if they have not taken such courses earlier in their career (see list of required proficiencies for each Track). In addition, all students take a full-year course, Foundations in Current Botany (BOT 612), which introduces students to content and analytical skills to bear on the breadth of topics within modern Botany.
Master's Degree ProgramsPlan A (thesis) and Plan B (portfolio) are separate Master's of Science programs with distinct purposes. Before admission to candidacy, the plan that a candidate intends to follow must be declared and approved. Plan A is the usual program to be taken by candidates. Plan B is offered for students who do not intend to make research in botanical sciences their profession. The Plan B program emphasizes teaching and technological aspects of the botanical sciences. Graduates with an MS degree have found employment in the areas of private and public research, land management, conservation, education, and business. Many students opt to continue their studies in the Doctoral program at UHM or elsewhere. MS Plan A (Thesis)Course requirements:
MS Plan B (Portfolio)Course requirements:
PhD Degree ProgramThe PhD is offered for students who intend to make research and/or university teaching their profession. Students in the PhD program acquire the skills and knowledge needed to propose, conduct, present and publish independent, innovative research in the botanical sciences. Recipients of the PhD degree often gain employment with government agencies, with private consulting firms, or with conservation organizations. Many PhD recipients accept university post-doctoral research positions. Others obtain teaching positions at colleges and universities. PhD RequirementsWorking knowledge of an approved foreign language or other skill that will be useful in the student's research (e.g., computer programming). Suitability of the language or tool is determined by the graduate faculty according to the student's area of specialization, and proficiency is usually determined by examination or satisfacory completion of a specific course of study. The student must pass a comprehensive examination that is solely oral or both oral and written, administered by the candidate's committee, plus any members of the graduate faculty who wish to attend. The candidate is examined in general botany as well as in-depth areas of the botanical sciences that have been previously agreed upon by the student and the committee. The student must complete and defend a dissertation consisting of an original contribution based on independent research. It is initiated by the preparation of a critical review of the literature that becomes the basis for a dissertation proposal. Dissertation research for the PhD degree is carried out in an aspect of botanical sciences for which a member of the graduate faculty will accept responsibility as committee chair.Financial SupportTeaching assistantships are open to students accepted in either the MS or the PhD program. Teaching assistantship appointments include nine month stipends, and include a tuition waver. Applications for teaching assistantships (download forms as Word documents: regular, form-fillable) are due January 15 for Fall semester applicants. Research assistantships are available in association with particular fields of study, and usually include a tuition waver. Research assistantship positions are usually made for 11 months. The application deadline is the same as for teaching assistants. Students with interests in ecology, evolution and conservation biology are encouraged inquire about possible support and program opportunities through the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate (EECB) Specialization Program. Information concerning this program may be found at: www.hawaii.edu/eecb The East-West Center offers scholarships to Asian, Pacific, and American students for affiliation in one of their programs. Of particular interest to some students in botany are the Resources Institute and the Environment and Policy Institute. Inquiries should be directed to the Office of Admissions, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI 96822 Tuition wavers may be available for students who do not receive teaching or research assistantships. Applicants will be asked if they wish to be considered for these at the time of admission.AffiliationsHawaii`i provides a rich set of environments and cultural settings in which to do research, and has many collaborative institutions that help promote and support research programs.
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