Course programs for the Plant Biology MS Plan I (thesis) and Plan II (Comprehensive Exam)
Seminar Requirements: Each quarter a MS student is in the Plant Biology Graduate Program, they must enroll in the BPSC department seminar (BPSC 250). One BPSC 250 presentation is required for graduation. In addition, MS students must take two BPSC 240 seminar courses. See the Handbook for a complete description of these requirements.
Section I. Upper Division Undergraduate Courses (Plan I and Plan II)
Three courses from the following lists below are required. Students who have taken courses comparable to these during their baccalaureate training may have a portion or all of this section waived. If the course is used to fulfill the Entry Requirements they cannot be used in Section I.
(Three classes from this list)
BPSC183/BCH 183 (Plant Biochemistry)
BIOL/MCBL/PLPA 120 (Introduction to Plant Pathology)
BIOL/PLPA 134 (Introduction to Mycology)
BPSC 104/BIOL 104 (Foundations of Plant Biology)
BPSC/BIOL/ENTM 112 (Systematics)
BPSC/BIOL 132 (Plant Anatomy)
BPSC 133 (Taxonomy of Flowering Plants)
BPSC/ENSC/SWSC 134 (Soil Conditions and Plant Growth)
BPSC 135 (Plant Cell Biology)
BPSC/BIOL 138 (Morphology of Vascular Plants)
BPSC/BIOL 143 (Plant Physiology)
BPSC 146 (Plant Ecology)
BPSC 148 (Quantitative Genetics)
BPSC 150 (Genes, Selection and Populations)
BPSC/BIOL 155 (Chromosomes)
BPSC 158 (Subtropical and Tropical Horticulture)
BPSC/BIOL 165 (Restoration Ecology)
BPSC 166 (Environmental Plant Physiology)
BPSC/ANTH 170 (Ethnobotany)
BPSC/BCH 185 (Molecular Evolution)
Section II. Graduate and Upper Division Undergraduate Courses in Related Departments or Programs (Plan I and Plan II) (minimum 6 units)
Graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses in related departments or programs and professional development courses (ie., BPSC 200A-B). While it is highly recommended that MS students participate in BPSC 200A-B, it is not currently required. Applicable courses are approved by the Graduate Educational Advisory Committee. A minimum of 6 units of course work is required. No more than 4 units may be from professional development classes. Only one course cross-listed with other departments may be used. Students cannot use a cross-listed course already used in Section I above or used in Section III below:
Section III. Graduate Courses (Plan I and Plan II)
Plan I (Thesis) students must take at least 6 units from the following list.
Plan II (Comprehensive Exam) students must take at least 12 units from the following list.
BCH/CMDB/GEN/MCBL/PLPA 205 (Signal Transduction Pathways in Microbes and Plants)
BPSC 201(E-Z) (Methods in Plant Biology) (for a maximum of 2 units)
BPSC 210 (Methods in Arabidopsis Research)
BPSC 221 (Advanced Plant Breeding)
BPSC 222 (Origins of Agriculture and Crop Evolution)
BPSC 223 (Applied Evolutionary Genetics)
BPSC 225 (E-Z Advanced Topics in Plant Biology)
BPSC 230 (Molecular Plant-Microbial Interactions)
BPSC/BCH 231 (The Plant Genome)
BPSC/BIOL 232 (Plant Development)
BPSC 234 (Statistical Genomics)
BPSC 237 (Plant Cell Biology)
BPSC 239 (Plant Metabolism)
BPSC 240 (Special Topics in Plant Biology) (only if taken in addition to the required two BPSC 240 classes)
BPSC 243 (Environmental Plant Physiology)
BPSC 245 (Advanced Plant Ecology)
BPSC 246 (Landscape Ecology
BPSC 247 (Ecological Theory and Modeling)
The Plan I and Plan II MS degrees require a total of 36 units. Many of these units will be from research or literature review (BPSC 290, 291, 297, 299).
Section IV. Plan II (Comprehensive Exam Plan) Only – At least 6 units and a maximum of 12 units from BPSC 290 (literature review) and BPSC 297 (research project) may apply to the degree. The results of these classes should be described in a report to be submitted for evaluation by the comprehensive examination committee.
Section V. Thesis Research (Plan I only) No more than 12 units of BPSC 299, BPSC 297 and BPSC 290 may apply toward the degree. If BPSC 297/290 units are used, no more than 6 units (total) can be used for Section V.
Additional Units. Any additional course units that are needed to meet the 36-unit requirement for the degree. BPSC 291 units do not apply.