Apply to the Plant Pathology Graduate Program

We are very pleased that you are interested in graduate study in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. Our department is committed to providing excellent graduate education and MSU provides an outstanding environment for research in the plant sciences.

Admission Requirements:

To submit a complete file for review by the Department Graduate Committee, you will need to submit the required documents to: https://grad.msu.edu/apply. Choose either “Domestic Applicants” (U.S. citizens) or “International Applicants” and complete the following program requirements:

Complete the MSU university application, Please include the following required documents:

'Statement of Purpose'
Three (3) letters of recommendation from individuals qualified to assess your potential in a graduate program.
Official copies of all transcripts from institutions of higher education (Official, sealed hard copies are required)
TOEFL Scores. International students are required to take the TOEFL. A minimum TOEFL score of 550 paper-based. Minimum score of 80 for internet-based test (iBT) with no subscore below 19 for reading, listening and speaking; no writing subscore below 22).

Application Submission:

For full consideration for all available funding opportunities, please submit your complete application including all required documents no later than 90 days prior to the start of the semester you would like to be admitted.

Official transcript hard copies copies can be sent to the address below:
Grad Admission, 426 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI 48824.

To submit an application for graduate study at MSU, please visit: https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/graduate-students.

Graduate applicants | Admissions | Michigan State University

Other Information:

When deciding whether to apply to our department, keep in mind that the most successful applications have grade point averages of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 point scale. Students with previous experience in the area of study may be given special consideration.

You will be notified by our department whether you qualify for admission to our graduate program. Financial support for graduate students is arranged through a variety of sources, including research assistantships, individual faculty member grants, and special university fellowships. You will be kept informed by our department on these developments.

If you have any questions regarding processing of your application, please contact the graduate secretary, Lauren Colby at colbylau@msu.edu. For other information about the department, we invite you to browse our website.

We wish you luck as you plan your educational program.

Meet our Faculty

Gregory Bonito, Ph.D.

Mycology, plant-fungal interactions, truffle ecology, evolution of bacterial endosymbiosis in fungi, mycology and plant microbiomes, symbioses, ecology and evolution.
bonito@msu.edu
517-884-6958
Jan Byrne, Ph.D.

Plant disease diagnosis, disease management, evaluation of abiotic factors that affect plant health, phytophthora ramorum detection.
byrnejm@msu.edu
517-355-3504
Martin Chilvers, Ph.D.

Fungal and oomycete biology, epidemiology, fungal genetics, host-pathogen interactions; diseases of field and vegetable crops, nucleic methods of pathogen detection and molecular diagnostics.
chilvers@msu.edu
517-353-9967
Pratima Devkota, Ph.D.

devkotap@msu.edu
517-482-3331
Linda Hanson, Ph.D.

linda.hanson@usda.gov
517-353-0208
Mary Hausbeck, Ph.D.

Vegetable & Greenhouse Ornamental Pathology Management, Etiology, Epidemiology. Disease management, disease predictors.
hausbec1@msu.edu
517-355-4534
Michelle Hulin, Ph.D.

Plant-bacteria interactions, molecular plant pathology, population genomics and evolution, bacterial secretion systems and effector biology.
hulinmic@msu.edu
Sarah Lebeis, Ph.D.

Plant Microbiomes
lebeissa@msu.edu
517-353-0165
Laura Miles, M.S.

Plant pathology, molecular diagnostics and rapid detection, agricultural education and new extension approaches.
lmiles@msu.edu
517-353-2675
Timothy Miles, Ph.D.

Small Fruit and Hop Pathology , Post-Harvest, Fungicide Resistance, Molecular Detection
milesti2@msu.edu
Rachel Naegele, Ph.D.

Sugarbeet genetics and pre- breeding for abiotic and biotic stress resistance with an emphasis on marker development, genomic/genetic resources and identification of new traits.
rachel.naegele@usda.gov
517-353-0207
Alejandro Rojas, Ph.D.

Research focuses on the ecology and biology of soil microbes, in understanding the management of plant pathogens.
rojasfle@msu.edu
517-353-0116
George Sundin, Ph.D.

Plant bacteriology; host pathogen interactions; fruit tree disease management; bacterial plasmid biology; microbial evolution.
sundin@msu.edu
517-355-4573
Frances Trail, Ph.D.

Mycology; host-pathogen interactions
Metabolite Discovery, Evolution, Microbiomes

trail@msu.edu
Jaime Willbur, Ph.D.

Integrated disease management in potato and sugar beet production, integrated pest management, predictive modeling and disease epidemiology.
willbur1@msu.edu
517-355-4754