Faculty

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Academic Program

The program in botany of Claremont Graduate University at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden places its main emphasis on the systematics and evolution of higher plants. Subfields include monographic and revisionary studies, population and conservation genetics, molecular systematics, phylogenetics, plant anatomy, floristics, comparative morphology, plant geography, and reproductive biology. The program is research intensive with a strong fieldwork component. Considerable interaction exists between students and faculty.

The facilities for graduate work in botany are housed at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden within close proximity to the main CGU campus. Among the physical facilities for advanced study and research are a botanical library, a comprehensive herbarium (with approximately 1.1 million specimens), wood and pollen slide collections, a fully equipped molecular laboratory with automated DNA sequencing, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), growth chambers, greenhouses, long-term seed storage facilities, experimental plots, extensive California native living plant collections, and well-equipped anatomy laboratories and computing facilities. Claremont lies within easy reach of deserts, mountains, and the ocean, and is thus conveniently located for diverse botanical field studies.

Thesis work leading to the Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree may be carried out in various systematics-related fields including anatomy, agrostology, biogeography, comparative morphology, ecology, conservation biology, floristics, monography, molecular systematics, cytotaxonomy, phylogenetics, and population and conservation genetics.

Taking appropriate courses at one of the undergraduate Claremont Colleges may make up for undergraduate deficiencies. The graduate courses offered any particular year are dependent upon the needs and interests of the students.

For more information, visit the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden website.

Degree Requirements

For course requirements and other institutional policies, see the “Degree Regulations” section of this Bulletin.