Potential graduate students often express confusion about the multiplicity of departments and programs in plant biology at the UW-Madison when trying to find a home for their graduate work. It is possible to pursue graduate studies in plant biology in more than 10 departments or programs on campus. Navigating through this application process can be challenging.

In addition, potential students have expressed their interest in rotating through laboratories or programs during their first semester. Rotations provide them with a better understanding of the breadth of work on campus and enable them to be better informed about their choice of department and program. Rotations are not typical in all plant science departments, but they offer campus-wide opportunities to some of our very best applicants that they currently do not receive. Rotations also allow faculty to work with and evaluate these students prior to accepting them into their programs.   

For these reasons, a COORDINATED RECRUITMENT PROGRAM IN PLANT BIOLOGY has been established through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Graduate School, and the College of Letters and Science. This program will:

(1) Provide funds to departments and programs for bringing top graduate applicants in plant biology to campus for recruitment visits; and
(2) Provide Graduate Research Assistantships for one semester to graduate students who wish to rotate through plant biology laboratories or programs on campus

In order to participate in this program, departments and programs that contain plant biology faculty may nominate up to three candidates for graduate study to the Steering Committee of the Coordinated Recruitment Program in Plant Biology. These students should possess a desire to study some aspect of plant biology and meet the criteria for acceptance into the graduate program in their respective department or program. Nominations must be made by 1 February, 2003, and include the student’s graduate application, letters of reference, and GRE scores. Approximately 15 of these candidates will be chosen for recruitment visits in the spring, paid for by the Coordinated Program.

Selected students may then be accepted by departments and programs and participate in rotations through the Coordinated Program. One semester of a Graduate Research Assistantship will be awarded to approximately eight students who participate in the rotation program. Decisions regarding the awarding of assistantships and placement for rotations will be made by the Steering Committee in consultation with departments.

This program may be an excellent opportunity for departments to recruit talented graduate students and showcase their programs. It may also provide an opportunity for rotations to those students who wish to sample a broad array of programs prior to choosing a home for graduate study.

Please send applications to:
   Steering Committee for the Coordinated Recruitment Program in Plant Biology
   C/O Department of Horticulture
   1575 Linden Drive
   Madison, WI 53706

Q: Is this a degree-granting program?
A: No.  This is primarily a recruitment tool.  There has been discussion of making the program into something that, like other training grants on campus, gives the students a longer-term association with their peers in the program.  This could arise through a student seminar course or some similar mechanism, but the students will remain graduate students in the home department or program of their faculty mentor.

Q: What is the "bottom line" here?
A:  The risk is that a faculty member or even a department might "lose" a talented graduate applicant.  This is strongly offset by the potential to gain more access to talented grad students in the application phase, in the "yield" phase after acceptance, and in the rotation phase.  Note also that one semester of RA support is provided by the Coordinated Recruitment Program in Plant Biology, not the home department or graduate program.

Q:  What if the student decides to join a lab that is outside of the department or program that they originally joined?
A:  That will require a transfer to the home department or program of their faculty mentor.  We expect to avoid potential problems with such transfer requests by keeping the quality of the students supported by this program well above the admissions standards of most or all participating departments.

Q:  Who will provide administrative support for this program?
A:  For at least the first three years, the admissions apparatus of the Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics graduate program will take on this role.

Q:  Have publicity items and web pages been prepared?
A:  This is in progress!  For the first year, this program may operate more by faculty and departmental initiative in nominating strong students than through student-initiated contacts with the Coordinated Recruitment Program in Plant Biology.   In future years, we expect this to work in both directions (i.e., students may often contact us first, and then be given information about the associated departments and programs).

Q:  Who are the present members of the Steering Committee?
A:  Tom Osborn (Agronomy), Ken Albrecht (Agronomy), Tony Bleecker (Botany), Rick Amasino (Biochemistry), Patrick Masson (Genetics), Sara Paterson (Horticulture), Irwin Goldman (Horticulture and Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics), Evelyn Howell (Landscape Architecture), Eric Kruger (Forest Ecology and Management), Rick Lindroth (Entomology), Andrew Bent (Plant Pathology). Feel free to contact any of these people with questions.