GRADUATE PROFILE
A PhD graduate in Plant Ecology will be able to:
- Teach botany and Plant Ecology courses in universities and other institutions.
- Provide advisory/consultancy services to policy makers, investors and other relevant stakeholders in biodiversity management
- Devise management plans to meet national needs of using plant/forest resources in a sustainable manner
- Adapt the contemporary scientific knowledge on the role of forest management in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
- Facilitate the link between higher institutions, communities, and other stakeholders towards the common goals of fighting community problems and for sustainable utilization of the plant resources particularly the non-timber forest products (medicinal plants, spices, honey, etc.)
- Produce researchers and leaders that can solve societal problems
PROGRAM PROFILE
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
For admission to the program, the applicant needs to:
- have Master Degree in Botanical Sciences or Dry land Management or Natural Resources or Forestry or Environmental Sciences or other related fields which will be determined by the Department Graduate Committee (DGC) of the Department of Biology. Priority will be given for those applicants from Botanical Sciences background.
- A minimum Master’s thesis grade of “B” or “Good”. If the master degree is without thesis, the applicant has to produce at least one article as first author or two articles as co-author.
- Submit a preliminary synopsis of planned PhD research for review and approval, and admission depends on availability and consent of advisor
- Having publication(s) in (a) reputable journal(s) is an added advantage
- Based on the DGC assessment, candidates whose MSc background are not directly related to Botanical sciences will be required to take the bridge courses from the MSc program in Botanical Sciences before becoming eligible to register for the PhD courses proper.
DURATION OF THE STUDY PROGRAM
Duration of the study for those candidates directly joining the PhD program is 4 years, while there is additional one semester for the candidates taking the bridge courses to be illegible for the PhD program. A candidate who fails to complete within the set schedule must present an acceptable justification in consultation with his/her research supervisor(s) for possible extension as per the existing JU regulation pertaining to the case.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
For graduation, a candidate must fulfill the following requirements of the School of Graduate studies (SGS) of Jimma University:
- A candidate should have a minimum course work of 18 credit hours and dissertation work of 12 credit hours
- A Cumulative Grade Point Average (cGPA) of 3.00 must be obtained in the course works
- “B” grade(s) in any course(s) taken is the minimum.
- If there is a chance to link a candidate’s project to foreign universities a candidate in the sandwich scheme is required to spend at least 1½ years at the Department, Jimma University. Nine credit hours of the 18 required graduate courses may be completed by residence courses taken at an accredited University or institute other than Jimma University. However, the equivalence of the courses taken abroad will be evaluated against the course list of the launched program.
- The Doctoral Dissertation shall constitute individual effort in academic pursuits to identify and analyze problems by applying sound methodology. A Doctoral Dissertation shall constitute the partial fulfillment of the requirement to the PhD Degree program. To be eligible for graduation, a candidate should:
- have one article published or accepted in reputable peer reviewed journals.
- Submit at least one manuscript to a publisher and produce evidence of submission from editorial board
- Make oral or poster paper presentations to a national or International conferences as indicated in the University’s guideline for Doctoral Training
program
- Present a compiled monograph for final open public defense of his/her Doctoral Dissertation.
- A candidate must successfully defend his/her Dissertation. If the student’s dissertation is rated “Fail”, he/she may be allowed to re-correct his/her work in a maximum duration of 6 months grace period.
The result of the Dissertation evaluation will be an average of one external examiner (hereafter defined as a relevant professional outside Jimma University, either from Ethiopia or abroad) and one internal examiner (hereafter defined as a relevant professional from within Jimma University). A student must first submit the thesis, in an acceptable form, to the Advisor, who will return it, with comments, within six weeks. The revised Doctoral thesis may then be passed to the Advisory Committee which will then determine whether the Thesis is ready for submission. The student’s advisor(s) in consultation with the Advisory Committee recommend potential external and internal examiners. The public oral defense of the thesis is arranged by the Department and conducted according to rules and regulations of Jimma University.
DEGREE NOMENCLATURE
Upon successful completion of the program, the candidate will be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Biology (Plant Ecology); In Amharic: የፍልስፍና ዶክትሬት ዲግሪ በስነ-ሕይወት (እፅዋት ኢኮሎጂ).
Table 1. List of courses
| S.No. | Course Title | Course No. | Cr. hrs. | Course category |
| 1 | Field course in Plant Ecology and Systematics | Biol721 | 2 | Compulsory |
| 2 | Seminar I | Biol731 | 1 | Compulsory |
| 3 | Independent Study | Biol724 | 2 | Compulsory |
| 4 | Numerical Methods in Plant Ecology | Biol723 | 3 | Compulsory |
| 5 | Biodiversity and Climate change | Biol722 | 3 | Compulsory |
| 6 | Seminar II | Biol732 | 1 | Compulsory |
| 7 | PhD Thesis | Biol831 | 12 | Compulsory |
| Subtotal 1 | 24 | |||
| 8 | Pollination and Dispersal in Seed Plants | Biol701 | 3 | Elective |
| 9 | Biogeography | Biol702 | 3 | Elective |
| 10 | Phylogeny of Angiosperm Families | Biol704 | 3 | Elective |
| 11 | Plant Population Ecology | Biol705 | 3 | Elective |
| 12 | Soil Chemistry | Biol703 | 3 | Elective |
| 13 | Plant–Herbivores Relationships | Biol706 | 3 | Elective |
| 14 | Ecological Modelling | Biol708 | 3 | Elective |
| 15 | GIS and Remote ensing for Ecology | Biol707 | 3 | Elective |
| Required number of elective courses | 2 | 6 | Elective |
COURSE BREAKDOWN
Based on the DGC assessment, candidates whose MSc background are not directly related to Plant Ecology will be required to take the following bridge courses from the MSc program in Botanical Sciences before becoming eligible to register for the PhD courses proper during Year I Semester
I. Consequently, for such students the course work duration before proceeding to the PhD Dissertation will be one and half academic year. These courses are considered part of the student’s PhD training and thus appear on the student’s academic transcript. The course schedule for students taking bridge courses will accordingly extend from Year I Semester I through Year II Semester I i.e. one and half academic year.
Year I Semester I
| Course Title | Course No | Cr.Hr. |
| Field course in Plant Ecology and Systematics | Biol721 | 2 |
| Seminar I (Advanced topics in Plant Ecology) | Biol 731 | 1 |
| Numerical Methods in Plant Ecology | Biol 723 | 3 |
| Elective I | Biol70X | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
Year I Semester II
| Course Title | Course No | Cr.Hr. |
| Independent Study | Biol722 | 2 |
| Seminar II (Advanced topics in Plant Ecology and Biodiversity) | Biol732 | 1 |
| Biodiversity and Climate Change | Biol722 | 3 |
| Elective II | Biol70X | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
Year II Semester I
| Course Title | Course No. | Cr. hrs |
| Doctoral Dissertation* | Biol 821 | 12 (P/F) |
| Total | 12 (P/F) | |
| *Doctoral Dissertation will continue to the end of the program |
Course breakdown for those taking bridge courses
Year I Semester I
| Bridge courses Course Title Course No. Cr. hrs. Advanced Plant Ecology Biol 625 3 Advanced Plant Taxonomy Biol 503 3 Statistics for a Biologist Stat 505 2 Total 8 |
Year I Semester II
| Course Title | Course No | Cr.Hr. |
| Independent Study | Biol722 | 2 |
| Seminar II (Advanced topics in Plant Ecology) | Biol732 | 1 |
| Biodiversity and Climate Change | Biol722 | 3 |
| Elective II | Biol70X | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
Year II Semester I
| Course Title | Course No | Cr.Hr. |
| Independent Study | Biol722 | 2 |
| Seminar II (Advanced topics in Plant Ecology and Biodiversity) | Biol732 | 1 |
| Biodiversity and Climate Change | Biol722 | 3 |
| Elective II | Biol70X | 3 |
| Total | 9 |
Year II Semester II
| Course Title | Course No. | Cr. hrs |
| Doctoral Dissertation* | Biol 821 | 12 (P/F) |
| Total | 12 (P/F) | |
| *Doctoral Dissertation will continue to the end of the program |