A COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE
Approach to Graduate Education

A Graduate education is a very different experience from that of an undergraduate experience. Merely meeting or satisfying degree requirements should not be the aim of a quality graduate program. Graduate education is an opportunity to increase the student's knowledge, to broaden understanding, and to develop independent thinking and to expand proficiencies in research capabilities. Consequently, an academic program of study and achievement should reflect a commitment to the discipline and to scholarly standards.

While members of the faculty and staff will serve as counselors and assistants, accomplishments by the graduate student will be primarily a result of personal ambition and dedication. Success in graduate education depends on the ability to define goals, and to organize and execute a program of study and research to meet individual goals.

Recognizing that science is a cooperative enterprise, the Department of Plant Sciences works to create a sense of community, cooperation, and caring among students and between students, faculty and staff. This is facilitated through participation in seminars, colloquia, field days, and special social functions. It is to the student's advantage to participate fully in all of these activities.

THE ROLE OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
The Graduate Program Oversight Committee (GPOC), a group of faculty appointed by the Department Head, acts in an oversight role for the Graduate Program. The committee helps develop policy to govern the program and works to improve the program to the benefit of both faculty and students. One faculty member, who acts as the Graduate Program Coordinator, chairs the GPOC.

This committee is responsible for student admissions, recommending candidates to the Department Head for Assistantships, overseeing student progress, ratifying the results of the Preliminary Exams, moderating conflicts between Advisors and students when requested, and administering other general University and Departmental policies regarding graduate student activities.