• Program Description
• Admissions Requirements
• Financial Assistance
• Degree Requirements
• Research Facilities and Equipment
• Courses Offered
• More Information
• Application Materials

Program Description

Admissions Requirements

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an educational institution of recognized standing.
2. Have adequate preparation in the desired area of advanced study and the potential to undertake advanced study and research as evidenced by academic performance and experience.
3. At the baccalaureate level, have earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 or equivalent. Students with a graduate degree with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 or equivalent may be admitted in full standing.

Applications should be submitted directly to the Graduate School before the upcoming academic year. Mid-year admission is also possible. Official transcripts (transcripts having an appropriate seal or stamp) of all previous undergraduate and graduate records must be received by the Graduate School before the application is complete. When a transcript is submitted in advance of completion of undergraduate or graduate studies, an updated transcript showing all course credits and grades must be provided in advance of initial registration at NDSU. Three letters of recommendation are generally required before action is taken on any application. Personal reference report forms are available from the Graduate School.

Applicants to the Botany/Biology Department are not required to submit test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). However, it is recommended that at least scores from the GRE general test be submitted, especially in the case of applicants whose records might be regarded as weak or marginal. The TOEFL examination is required of international applicants whose primary language is not English. A score of 550 or greater is required for admission.

Financial Assistance

A limited number of State Board of Higher Education Scholarships are available through the Graduate School. These require nomination by the department. Applicants are considered for these scholarships after acceptance into the program. Outstanding scholarship and financial need are primary considerations for these fellowships. Scholarships in specific areas also are available through the Department of Botany/Biology. These are generally supplemental and do not include tuition waivers. Students are considered for these awards after enrollment, with the primary considerations being scholastic performance and research at NDSU.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science degree may be earned by either of two options. The thesis option emphasizes completion of a research project. The comprehensive study option requires more course work; and, instead of conducting research and presenting a thesis, the candidate presents a paper or papers approved by the adviser to the examining committee, demonstrating ability for scholarly study and written expression. Candidates under both options must present a seminar on the thesis research or comprehensive study and must pass an oral examination.

Aspirants for the Ph.D. degree are required to complete preliminary written and oral examinations prior to becoming an of official degree candidate. The Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate a reading proficiency in one foreign language relevant to the major field. When the candidate has completed the independent research with a significant contribution to knowledge in the field, he/she shall present it in concise English as a dissertation. The candidate must present a seminar on the dissertation research and complete a final oral examination, which is a defense of the candidate's dissertation.

Research Facilities and Equipment

Faculty in the Department of Botany have research programs in systematics, evolution, anatomy, morphology, ecology, lichen systematics and ecology, physiology, cell biology, and molecular biology. The department has access to a vascular plant herbarium with 240,000 specimens emphasizing Northern Great Plains flora and a lichen herbarium consisting of about 15,000 specimens with a worldwide representation of taxa. Various habitats and ecosystems suitable for field research are within easy access of the NDSU campus including tall grass and mixed grass prairies, wetlands, lakes, and temperate deciduous forests. Farther away, but still accessible, are badlands areas and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests.

The department offers access to a range of equipment and facilities necessary for laboratory research including greenhouses, growth chambers, tissue culture facilities, ultracentrifuges, spectrophotometers, electrophoresis, light microscopes, gas chromatography, GC-mass spectrometry, and high performance liquid chromatography. In addition, the campus offers access to a soil testing service, Agriculture Experiment Station sites at several locations around the state, and the Biotechnology Institute Service Centers. The BISC provide basic research techniques such as protein sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, interactive laser cytometry, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy.

For more information contact:

For application materials contact:

Prospective students may schedule a visit by calling 1-800-488-NDSU.