We are pleased that you are considering our department to pursue your goals, and feel that plant pathology and environmental microbiology offer exciting opportunities that are likely to continue to increase in the future! Food supply, and food quality will remain issues of wide concern in the future, as they have been in the past. The potential for use of microorganisms to solve many of our environmental problems is just beginning to be realized. Many exciting opportunities await you!
As a faculty, we are committed to providing you with the best training possible. Much of what we teach will be by apprenticeship methods. The best way to teach this is by the laboratory rotations, laboratory classes, seminar courses, field trips, and research experiences that will be provided to you. So our best advice to you is to start to wean yourselves from text-books and other crutches of undergraduate education. More of your learning will now be from the primary literature and from your personal contacts with professors, technical staff, and fellow students.
Graduate Student Advising
Graduate students in the department have access to several sources of advice. Graduate students also develop close ties to their major advisors and benefit from these interactions as well as from their peers and as members of the Graduate Student Club. The Department Head also meets with students and the Graduate Student Club and provides academic and professional advice.
PLPM Graduate Admissions
The Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology considers the following student information, each with roughly equal weight, for graduate admission decisions:
- Professional Statement of purpose and career goals
- Quality of Letters of Recommendation
- Leadership and Life Experience
- Quality and Depth of Research and/or Teaching Experience
- Alignment of Interests with Faculty Research
- Academic Performance as an Undergraduate. Typically the minimum Grade Point Average for consideration is 3.0.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores are REQUIRED for International Students. Official Scores must be sent directly to TAMU (School code: 6003). Please visit the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) website for a list of requirements, exemptions, and other useful information regarding the TOEFL/IELTS exams.
- To achieve admission, international graduate students must attain English proficiency verification. To become eligible to teach in positions such as Graduate Assistant-Teaching, Instructor, Lecturer, etc., the State of Texas requires that international graduate students attain English proficiency certification.
Each year the graduate recruiting committee, consisting of three faculty, works with the Associate Department Head for Academics to identify the students to admit. If you wish to discuss the likelihood your application will be competitive, feel free to contact the graduate advisor. Once you choose to be considered:
- Submit an application via UniCAS online.
- Make sure your essay within the application explicitly addresses all aspects of the prompt.
- Provide at least three letters of recommendation from individuals, preferably faculty or advisors, who know you and your professional goals well. Submit these via UniCAS online.
- Make sure to submit a resume/CV via UniCAS online. To improve competitiveness of your application make sure the CV/resume highlights your education, experience and leadership skills.
- Official transcripts from all previous college/university study should be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.
Priority deadline for applicants who are seeking assistantship support is January 15th.
After the priority deadline, applicants could be considered for assistantship support based on funding availability. Second round deadline (if assistantships are available) is April 15th.
Contact for Graduate Admissions Applications
Ms. LeAnn Hague
979-845-6148