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Diverse opportunities exist in a challenging, intellectually stimulating, environment with a Doctor of Philosophy in Plant and Soil Sciences with a concentration in Horticulture.

The Horticulture doctoral program provides education and research opportunities with global impact on the fruit and vegetables, floral, and ornamentals industries. Horticulture is the cultivation and marketing of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. This program is designed to meet the individual needs of the student and may include courses in mathematics and statistics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, remote sensing as well as agronomic, horticultural, and weed sciences. The department’s extensive research program provides students a diversity of problems for dissertation research under the direction of experienced, highly trained scientists. The doctoral program is based on a research generated dissertation.  Applicants should ensure that appropriate research facilities are available to their location.

The Horticulture doctoral graduate program in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences leads to the Doctor of Philosophy in Plant and Soil Sciences with a concentration in Horticulture.

Program Structure

Doctor of Philosophy in Plant and Soil Sciences with Horticulture Concentration

Prerequisites - as stipulated by the major professor, the departmental graduate coordinator, and the dean. In addition, graduate students accepted into the Horticulture concentration are expected to have completed a General Plant Physiology course or be required to include it in their graduate program of study.

Course Code Course Name Credit Hours
BCH 6013 Principles of Biochemisty 3
PSS 8821 Seminar 1
PSS 8831 Seminar 1
ST 8214 Design and Analysis of Experiments (or other graduate-level statistics course) 4
  Additional graduate-level coursework 15
PSS 9000 Dissertation Research /Dissertation in Plant and Soil Sciences 20
  Total Hours 44

Admissions Requirements

Applications for the degree programs are reviewed three times a year. The application deadlines for those semesters are as follows:

  • Fall Semester – August 1
  • Spring Semester – December 1
  • Summer Semester – May 15

Students seeking full admission into the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Plant and Soil Sciences with a concentration in Horticulture program should apply as a classified student. Non-degree seeking students wishing to take classes offered through the program should apply as an Unclassified student.

An applicant for admission to graduate study must hold a bachelor's degree from a fully recognized four-year educational institution with unconditional accreditation with appropriate regional accrediting agencies. They must meet the Graduate School's admission requirements and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Plant and Soil Sciences with a concentration in Horticulture.

Regular admission to graduate study in the program requires a minimum grade point average (last four semesters of undergraduate work) of 3.00/4.00. When a student is deficient in one of the criteria cited, the student's application may be considered for admission based on the strength of other materials contained in the student's application.


Attention International Students

International students are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score greater than 550. Detailed information regarding international applications can be found in the Graduate Catalog. Questions regarding international applications can be addressed to the Office of the Graduate School at gradapps@grad.msstate.edu.

  • ETS is providing home testing for the TOEFL iBT test, and MSU is encouraging students to take advantage of this testing option. For those students applying who have taken the TOEFL within five years of the semester they plan to enroll and are unable to access the TOEFL iBT test from home, we will accept your previous test scores.

Admission Options

Domestic/International Classified Admissions

  1. Submit online application. You will choose Doctor of Philosophy degree in Plant and Soil Sciences with a concentration in Horticulture as your Program of Study and Online Education as your campus.
  2. Statement of Purpose
  3. TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for international students.TOEFL exemptions can be found here.
  4. Three letters of recommendation
    • You will be asked to submit three names and three email addresses of individuals you are using as references. Once you click submit, these individuals will be sent an email from MSU, which will provide a link to an online form for completing their recommendations.
  5. One official transcript showing bachelor’s degree or progress toward degree. (For international students, please submit a copy in native language along with translated copies, if appropriate.)
  6. One official transcript showing ALL work after bachelor’s degree. (For international students, please submit a copy in native language along with translated copies, if appropriate.)
    • Electronic transcripts should be sent to: gradapps@grad.msstate.edu Mississippi State University, Graduate School. Only one copy of an electronic transcript is required.
    • Paper Transcripts Address (USPS):
      Mississippi State University
      The Office of the Graduate School
      P.O. Box G
      Mississippi State, MS 39762
    • Physical Street Address (for DHL, Fed Ex, UPS, DHS, etc.):
      Mississippi State University
      The Office of the Graduate School
      175 President Circle
      116 Allen Hall
      Mississippi State, MS 39762
  7. Payment of $60 non-refundable application processing fee for domestic students.
    Payment of $80 non-refundable application processing fee for international students.
  8. Once you are admitted, you will receive an email with complete instructions on registering for classes and contacting your advisor

Academic Advising

After gaining admission to the university, you must contact your assigned advisor to determine the courses most appropriate to take. Approximately two months prior to the upcoming semester, your advisor will send an email to your MSU email account, making course recommendations based on your program of study.

Mississippi State University uses email as its official means of communication with all MSU students. Please check your MSU email account (NetID@msstate.edu) daily. Information on setting up your MSU email can be found at the link for student services.

Headshot of Michael Cox

Michael Cox

Agronomy - Environmental Soil Management

  • Graduate Coordinator

Contact Information

Headshot of Mindy Wolfe

Mindy Wolfe

Online Education

  • Coordinator
Headshot of Michael Cox

Michael Cox

Agronomy - Environmental Soil Management

  • Graduate Coordinator