Graduate Program

General

       The horticulture program at West Virginia University is an unit in the Division of Plant  and Soil Sciences. Plant and Soil Sciences is one of five divisions in the College of   Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences. Both Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees can be earned through a number of Graduate Programs while working on a horticulture research project. Graduate students can earn M.S. degrees in Plant and Soil Sciences with an emphasis in Horticulture or in Genetics and Developmental Biology, depending on the focus of the research project. Ph.D. degrees are earned in Agricultural Sciences or Genetics and Developmental Biology.

Research Emphasis

     The major research emphasis in the Horticulture Program falls into three categories.   These areas of research include organic vegetable, fruit, and flower production, environmental stress tolerance especially cold hardiness, and postharvest physiology of horticulture crops with an emphasis on flower senescence. For more information on specific and currently ongoing research please visit the Research page on this web site.

General Admission Requirements and Information

     Students can be admitted on a regular, provisional or non-degree basis. A graduate student will be admitted on a regular basis if he/she meets the following criteria. The student must possess a baccalaureate degree from a college or university and earned at least a grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (supported by an official transcript). In addition the student has to have adequate  academic aptitude at the graduate level as measured by the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or other tests/evidence, provide three letters of reference from persons acquainted with the applicant's professional work, experience, or academic background, and submit a written statement of approximately 500 words indicating the applicant's goals and objectives relative to receiving a graduate degree. International students also have to provide proof of English proficiency if their native language is not English by submitting a minimum Test Of English as a Foreign Language score (TOEFL) of 550. All of the supporting materials (in bold letters) plus a resume and application form with the appropriate application fee should be sent to Admissions and Records. Please visit the Admissions and Records website for additional information on applying to WVU.

Contacts

     For additional information on the availability of graduate research positions, specific    topics of research, provisional or non-degree admission, or the specific application requirements outlined above feel free to contact:

Dr. Sven Verlinden (e-mail:Sven.Verlinden@mail.wvu.edu; phone (304)293-6023

Dr. Todd West (email:Todd.West@mail.wvu.edu; (304)293-6023