Undergraduate Studies

---

The field of plant biology, which encompasses botany and plant pathology, involves the study of plants at levels of organization ranging from the molecular to the global ecosystem. Plant scientists in the 21st Century will be called upon to provide information useful for producing food, fiber, and medicine for an increasing population, and for increasing our understanding of the diversity of plant and ecological systems and their interactions with humans. Students studying botany and plant pathology at OSU receive the basic science background necessary for such contributions, and may choose to focus in a particular area within plant science.

Sampling sweet corn field
Courtesy of Cynthia Ocamb

The undergraduate program in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology is designed for students who wish to emphasize studies in plant biology and receive a B.S. degree in botany. Students may also have an undergraduate major in biology and emphasize botany courses in their upper division work.

Completion of the undergraduate curriculum can qualify students for graduate work in various areas of plant biology and plant pathology, and for positions in state and federal agencies and industries concerned with plants and their products.

different competitive abilities of maize pollen from a wild-type plant (right) and a rop2 mutant (middle) as revealed by seed color markers
Courtesy of John Fowler

It is desirable that prospective botany majors obtain a strong background in the biological and physical sciences at the high school level. Specifically recommended are a minimum of three years of high school mathematics, including algebra, geometry, and some exposure to trigonometry; one year of chemistry; one year of biology; one year of physics and courses designed to develop computer and writing skills. Students without an adequate background in mathematics and science can make up these deficiencies early in their college career.