The Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida (UF) is currently recruiting motivated Ph.D. students for Fall 2025. We are seeking students to study basic and applied aspects of plant pathology, including plant virology, and mycology within the context of agriculture and natural resources. UF Plant Pathology offers a dynamic research environment that includes 32 faculty advisors, and 44 graduate students and 28 postdocs statewide. The Department is located at the main campus in Gainesville, Florida but many faculty are distributed across the state at eight of our Research and Education Centers and Kennedy Space Center. Due to Florida’s diverse climate, research in our department addresses a variety of plant pathogenic and beneficial microbes on crops including fruits and vegetables, row crops, and ornamentals. The wide array of crop-pathogen interactions in Florida provides unique opportunities for students in terms of research, Extension, and hands-on education. In addition, diverse opportunities for professional development are available for graduate students in the department.

Starting in Fall 2025, we expect to have up to eight highly competitive graduate assistantships available in many areas of research including Alternative Fungicides, Biological control and Phytobiomes, Data Science (Bioinformatics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence), Disease Resistance, Integrated Disease Management, Population Genetics, and RNA biology. Disease modeling, National and Global Food Security, Comparative Microbial Genomics and Metagenomics, and Disease diagnostics are also major areas of research in our department.  

Graduate student applications are currently being accepted, but need to be submitted by November 1, 2024, for timely consideration. We may consider applications submitted after this deadline. Graduate student assistantships include a competitive stipend and health care coverage. We are seeking students with:

-       A passion for biology and a BS or MS degree in an appropriate biological science

-       Appropriate GPA

-       Strong written and spoken English language skills

-       Field and/or laboratory experience appropriate for research in Plant Pathology

-       Strong organizational skills and the ability to complete projects

To find out more about the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida and our graduate programs, please visit: http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/  or contact our student services coordinator, Jessica Ulloa <[email protected]>