PhD in Botany is a research-intensive program with a robust fieldwork component. The program is offered in conjunction with California Botanic Garden. Located in a unique 86-acre learning environment dedicated to conservation of the state’s flora, facilities include a botanical library; well-equipped morphology, anatomy, and molecular laboratories (including a scanning electron microscope); comprehensive herbarium; greenhouses; and growth chambers.

University Policies

Policies detailed in the current Policies and General Information Bulletin apply.

Admissions Requirements

Admission requirements are detailed in the Admissions section of the current Policies and General Information Bulletin.

Degree Requirements

Coursework. A minimum of 72 units of coursework is required. All students are expected to enroll in the seminar series (401) and in Readings in Phylogenetics (412) throughout their graduate careers in the Botany program.

Research and Dissertation.  Research for the required dissertation may be carried out in a variety of systematics-related fields, including the following:

• Agrostology
• Biogeography
• Comparative Biology
• Conservation Biology
• Ecology
• Floristics
• Monography
• Morphology and Anatomy
• Phylogenetics (including Phylogenomics)
• Population and Conservation Genetics
• Systematics