Program Information

Coordinator: A.C. Hodges

Campus Program

The Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) program is an intensive doctorate-level graduate level training program for students interested in plant health diagnosis and management. Requirements for the degree can be found in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

DPM students complete rigorous coursework and intensive internships. Only DPM students jointly enrolled in one of our discipline department M.S. programs complete a thesis. DPM students often participate in applied research within laboratory programs, and may participate in the publication of peer-reviewed scientific and extension papers. More information regarding the latest policies for the DPM program is available in the DPM graduate handbook.

The DPM program is a partnership among faculty mentors and teaching faculty within the following primary departments:

• Entomology and Nematology Department
• Department of Plant Pathology
• Agronomy Department
• Horticulture Sciences Department
• Environmental Horticulture Department
• Soil and Water Sciences Department
• Food Science and Human Nutrition Department

Distance Program

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences offers a distance education program leading to the D.P.M. degree for highly qualified students. The D.P.M. degree is awarded after a 3- to 4-year program of graduate student. Foreign languages are not required. The distance education program leading to a D.P.M. degree is administered by the Entomology and Nematology Department, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and the Graduate School.

Admission: Students must meet the following minimum requirements:

Entrance requirements:

• A graduate degree (Master’s or Doctoral) with a concentration in plant health science, plant pathology, agronomy, horticulture, environmental horticulture, forestry, entomology, nematology, soil science or a similar field.
• A passing score for the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) exam administered by the Agronomy Society of America (ASA).
• Completion of at least two years of full-time work in a professional job associated with the Plant Doctor (DPM/H) profession. Examples of professional jobs associated with the Plant Doctor profession include: crop consultant, industry scientist, extension specialist, diagnostician, identifier, survey specialist, plant pest risk analyst, plant health technician, or instructor.
• A minimum score of a 300 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE should be approximately 150 each. Exceptions to the minimum may be considered by the DPM admissions committee.
• International applicants must also have a TOEFL score above 80.
• A graduate (Master’s or Doctoral) grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
• A passing score (80% or higher) on the Plant Pathology Written Comprehensive Exam. The exam must be completed in Gainesville, Florida.

Course requirements: Students enter the program with a Master’s or Doctoral degree and must earn 60 credits. Transfer of graduate credits from another graduate degree are not allowed for the distance education program. All D.P.M. students must complete two substantial 3-credit internships. Signed approval by a student’s Committee and the D.P.M. Director is required prior to registering for substantial internship credits.

Comprehensive examination: Both written and oral comprehensive examinations are required of all D.P.M. students. The written examination has three sections:

• entomology/nematology,
• plant pathology, and
• plant/soil science.

Faculty from the appropriate disciplines are appointed by the D.P.M. Program Director and D.P.M. Competency Exam Coordinators to develop and grade the final written examination. Students enrolled in the distance education program must pass the plant pathology written competency area exam prior to admission. The two remaining sections of the written exam may be taken independently throughout the program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and the D.P.M. Director. Students are encouraged to complete the exam prior to the last full year of the D.P.M. program and their anticipated semester of graduation. Students should also complete the D.P.M. Competency Area Exams before the completion of a substantial internship. After a student passes all three sections of the final written examination (80% or higher is considered a passing grade), the supervisory committee administers an oral examination that tests the student’s ability to diagnose and manage plant health problems. A student who fails to pass a comprehensive examination may retake an exam once with the recommendation of their supervisory committee.

For more information, please see the DPM website: http://dpm.ifas.ufl.edu.

Degrees Offered with a Major in Plant Medicine

• Doctor of Plant Medicine
  • without a concentration
  • concentration in Tropical Conservation and Development

Requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

Agronomy Departmental Courses

Botany Courses

Entomology and Nematology Departmental Courses

School of Forest Resources and Conservation Courses

Geomatics Concentration Courses

Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program Courses

Forest Resources and Conservation Program Courses

Horticultural Sciences Departmental Courses

Plant Pathology Departmental Courses

Soil and Water Sciences Departmental Courses

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Courses