PhD in Plant Pathology

Entry Requirements

The candidate applying for PhD in Plant Pathology should fulfill the following criteria: 

• need to have completed academic requirements for Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Plant Pathology, Microbiology, Agricultural Entomology, Weed Science, Crop Protection, Horticultural Sciences, Plant/Crop Sciences, Forestry, Biology or other related fields from accredited higher learning institutions.
• should have at least one year of work experience in teaching, research, development, and extension institutions,
• must be supported by at least three letters of recommendation preferably from the applicant’s employers and earlier supervisors/ advisors or instructors,
• should produce letter indicating sponsorship for his/her research work, and
• must successfully pass both oral and written entrance examinations.
• A PhD candidate with MSC other than Plant Pathology and be deficient in certain courses may be requested to take additional postgraduate courses in the field of specialization.    

Graduate profile

Up on completion of the program the graduates are expected to acquire in-depth academic knowledge and detailed practical skills required to: 

• engage in teaching, research and community outreach activities in the field of Plant Pathology at various levels (universities, colleges, government and non-government organizations, public and private sectors, etc),
• work as professionals in large-scale farms, research institutes and other governmental and non-governmental organizations,
• advise decision/policy makers in formulating agricultural policies related to plant protection of the country, and able to work with plant protection companies.
• generate basic and applied technologies in epidemiology, disease forecast with the expert and system analyses and models that would help to monitor and manage plant disease outbreaks on sensitive/ important crops (flowers, fruits and vegetables) at pre- and postharvest stages through research, extension and services,
• analyze the existing and indigenous knowledge of farmers on disease management practices, and integrate with the principles and practices of integrated disease management (IDM) in particular and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in general.
• able to develop communication and team work through group work and presentations
• capable to develop and secure, coordinate and undertake funded projects
• write and publish scientific articles
• able to develop appropriate plant disease management technologies.   

Graduation Requirement 

The PhD degree in Plant Pathology will be awarded to the successful candidates, who have satisfied the general graduation requirements of JU, passing all examinations in the program and defending the doctoral dissertation successfully. The candidates must take total credit hours of 48 for the course work and dissertation and must accumulate minimum CGPA of 3.00 (three points) set by the university.   

Degree Nomenclature: Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Pathology    Course BreakdownYear I-Semester I 

Course Code	Course Title	Cr.Hrs
PLPA 711	Advances in Plant Disease Ecology and Epidemiology	2
PLPA 721	Molecular and Physiological Plant Pathology	3
PLPA 731	Research Proposal and Scientific Writings	2
PLPA 741	Doctoral Seminar on Current Topics in Plant Pathology	1
PLPA 751	Phytobacteriology  (E)	2 (1+1)
PLPA 761	Seed Pathology and Seed Health Technology (E)	2 (1+1)
Total                                                                                                                  10/12

 Year I-Semester II

Course Code	Course Title	Cr.Hrs
PLPA 712	Molecular Methods in Plant Disease Diagnosis & Pathogen Identification (Biosystematics)	2 (1+1)
PLPA 722	Advanced Agricultural Mycology	2 (1+1)
PLPA 732	Plant Disease Management	2
PLPA 742	Advanced Plant Nematology (E)	2 (1+1)
PLPA 752	Plant Virology (E)	2 (1+1)
Total                                                                                                                  8/10
	Total course works	18

E = Elective courses; students have to take at least one of the elective courses per semester especially in line with their dissertation.

Year II (semester I & II), Year III (semester I & II) and Year IV (semester I & II)

Course Code	Course Title	Cr.Hrs
PLPA 762	Doctoral Dissertation Research	30*
Total (including course work)                                                                       48