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UH Botany Home
Contact Information
Phone:(808) 956-8369
Email:botany@hawaii.edu
Fax:(808) 956-3923
Botany Department
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
3190 Maile Way, Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96822
Dept. Chair:
Dr. Tom Ranker
Graduate Program Chair:
Dr. Kim Bridges
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Graduate Program
Graduate Program
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The Botany Graduate Program offers MS and PhD degrees in Botany.
The Botany Department offers graduate education in a wide range of botanical specialties,
with emphasis placed on tropical botany and conservation. Major research areas include
terrestrial and marine plant ecology, evolution, systematics, conservation and ethnobotany.
Hawai`i provides an outstanding location for many types of botanical studies. The rich
endemic flora and the insular isolation, for example, provides unique opportunities for
studies of evolution, conservation biology, and alien plant invasions. Similarly, the host
culture and access to the other Pacific island nations allows studies of plants in a human
context, such as assessments biodiversity and its maintenance. Research studies are not
limited to the Hawaiian Islands. Faculty and students have research projects in many areas
of the tropics throughout the world.
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A wide range of taxa are studied by faculty and students in the Botany Graduate Program,
including marine and terrestrial angiosperms, algae, fungi and ferns. Steep environmental
gradients are common throughout the Hawaiian Islands and provide excellent opportunities to
study physiological ecology, adaptation, and genetic differentiation. Research often involves
applying modern genetic technology to address questions relating to plant ecology, population
genetics, evolution, species hybridization, molecular systematics and evolution.
The Botany Graduate Program has developed collaborations with leading international conservation
agencies and greatly benefits from productive interactions with local communities. For example,
ethnobotanical studies include conservation analyses, historical aspects of plants in human
migrations, and the sustainability of human-plant systems. Many research programs make use of
the strong ties to Hawai`i's National Parks, terrestrial and marine conservation areas, and
living botanical collections.
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On beginning the UH Botany Graduate Program, students enter
one of seven Tracks, including Conservation, Ecology,
Ethnobotany, Marine Botany, Plant Structure/Function, Systematics/Evolution,
or General Botany. Each Track includes several faculty organized
around the central theme. For current research conducted
in each track, please see our Research
pages.
Separate Graduate Programs having to do with Plant Molecular Biology
and Plant Pathology reside in the College of Tropical Agriculture,
and students interested in these programs should request application
materials directly from these programs.
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Entrance Requirements
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Bachelor degree from an accredited U.S.
college or university, or equivalent from a recognized foreign
institution of higher learning.
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See the University of Hawai‘i General
and Graduate Information Catalog for specific details. This
catalog is available online at http://www.hawaii.edu/catalog/
- For more information on applying, please see our Graduate
Application pages.
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Program Requirements - General
Prior to advancement to candidacy for the MS or PhD degree,
the student must submit a written document (usually a paper written
for a course) that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the student's
interim committee that he/she has the ability to collect, analyze,
integrate, and communicate scientific information effectively in
the English language. A further requirement for all graduate degrees
is proficiency in presenting seminars. Ordinarily, a student must
enroll in at least two BOT 610 seminars in order to demonstrate
this proficiency. In addition, MS Plan A and PhD students must present
two public seminars. The first required seminar outlines the background
of a research problem and the student's proposed research program.
The second required seminar, at the conclusion of the program, describes
the research results and conclusions, at which time the student
is examined by the thesis or dissertation committee. The final examination
for MS Plan B students includes the presentation of a public seminar
summarizing the results of one of their directed research studies.
All students in the Graduate Program are required to take courses
to meet proficiency for their selected Track, if they have not taken
such courses earlier in their career (see list of required
proficiencies for each Track). In addition, all students
take a full-year course, Foundations
in Current Botany (BOT 612), which introduces students
to content and analytical skills to bear on the breadth of topics
within modern Botany. |
MASTER'S DEGREE
Plan A (thesis) and Plan B (non-thesis) are separate Master's
of Science programs with distinct purposes. Before admission to
candidacy, the plan that a candidate intends to follow must be declared
and approved. Plan A is the usual program to be taken by candidates.
Plan B is offered for students who do not intend to make research
in botanical sciences their profession. The Plan B program emphasizes
teaching and technological aspects of the botanical sciences. Graduates
with an MS degree have found employment in the areas of private
and public research, land management, conservation, education, and
business. Many students opt to continue their studies in the Doctoral
program at UHM or elsewhere.
MS Plan A (Thesis)
Course requirements:
At least 30 credit hours total,
including 12 credit hours towards thesis research, and 18 credit
hours of courses (minimum 12 credits in courses numbered 600-level
or above) approved by the candidate's committee.
MS Plan B (Non-thesis)
Course requirements:
At least 30 credit hours total, including 18 credit
hours in Botany, or an approved related field, in courses numbered
600-level or above. At least 6 (but not more than 9) of the Botany
credits must be for directed research in aspects of botanical sciences
chosen by the candidate in consultation with his or her committee.
PHD DEGREE
The PhD is offered for students who intend to make research and/or
university teaching their profession. Students in the PhD program
acquire the skills and knowledge needed to propose, conduct, present
and publish independent, innovative research in the botanical sciences.
Recipients of the PhD degree often gain employment with government
agencies, with private consulting firms, or with conservation organizations.
Many PhD recipients accept university post-doctoral research positions.
Others obtain teaching positions at colleges and universities.
PhD Requirements
Working knowledge of an approved foreign language or other skill
that will be useful in the student's research (e.g., computer programming).
Suitability of the language or tool is determined by the graduate
faculty according to the student's area of specialization, and proficiency
is usually determined by examination or satisfacory completion of
a specific course of study. The student must pass a comprehensive
examination that is solely oral or both oral and written, administered
by the candidate's committee, plus any members of the graduate faculty
who wish to attend. The candidate is examined in general botany
as well as in-depth areas of the botanical sciences that have been
previously agreed upon by the student and the committee. The student
must complete and defend a dissertation consisting of an original
contribution based on independent research. It is initiated by the
preparation of a critical review of the literature that becomes
the basis for a dissertation proposal. Dissertation research for
the PhD degree is carried out in an aspect of botanical sciences
for which a member of the graduate faculty will accept responsibility
as committee chair.See also Program Requirements - General for additional
requirements.
Advising
Graduate advising is handled by an appointed interim committee of
three faculty who advise the student until he or she is ready to
propose a permanent advisory committee. |
Financial Support
Teaching assistantships are open to students accepted
in either the MS or the PhD program. Teaching assistantship appointments
include nine month stipends, and include a tuition waver. Applications
for teaching assistantships (download forms as Word documents:
regular,
form-fillable)
are due February 1 for fall semester and September 1 for spring
semester (January 15 and August 1, respectively for foreign applicants).
Research assistantships are available in association
with particular fields of study, and usually include a tuition waver.
Research assistantship positions are usually made for 11 months.
Application deadlines are the same as for teaching assistants.
Students with interests in ecology, evolution and
conservation biology are encouraged inquire about possible support
an program opportunities through the Ecology,
Evolution and Conservation Biology Graduate (EECB)
Specialization Program. Information concerning this program may
be found at: www.hawaii.edu/eecb
The East-West Center offers scholarships to Asian,
Pacific, and American students for affiliation in one of their programs.
Of particular interest to some students in botany are the Resources
Institute and the Environment and Policy Institute. Inquiries should
be directed to the Office of Admissions, East-West Center, Honolulu,
HI 96822
Tuition wavers may be available for students who
do not receive teaching or research assistantships. Applicants will
be asked if they wish to be considered for these at the time of
admission.
Affiliations
The National Parks Service, Cooperative Park Studies
Unit studies conservation problems in Hawaii's National Parks.
Harold L. Lyon Arboretum - studies on tropical
plants, propagation of rare Hawaiian plants.
The Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
Graduate Specialization Program (EECB) fosters interaction between
students and faculty in Botany, Zoology and other departments who
have common interests; promotes research and training.
The Kewalo Marine Laboratory is an urban marine
laboratory with flowing seawater, tanks and collaborating research
laboratories.
The Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology studies
on marine algae and other marine plants.
Arrangements may also be made for research at the
following sites:
Bernice P. Bishop Museum
National Tropical Botanical Gardens
Volcanoes and Haleakala National Parks
Honolulu Botanical Gardens
Hawai‘i Agriculture Research Center
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Photo: Mauna
Kea silversword, Argyroxiphium sandwicense ssp. sandwicense
(D. Drake)
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