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Botany

Overview

Botany, or plant science, is the study of plants.

Botany programs include topics such as:

Schools

Community colleges and other two-year schools offer associate degree programs in botany. An associate degree usually takes two years to complete. After earning an associate degree students can transfer to a college or university for further study.

Many colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in botany. A bachelor's degree usually takes about four years of full-time study.

Many universities offer graduate degrees in botany. A master's degree typically requires two years of study beyond a bachelor's degree. Doctoral (PhD) degree programs usually require two or more years of study beyond the master's degree.

See schools that offer this program.

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Program Admission

You can prepare for this program by taking courses in high school that prepare you for college. This typically includes four years of English, three years of math, three years of social studies, and two years of science. Some colleges also require two years of a second language.

Below is a list of high school courses that will help prepare you for this program of study:

Graduate Admissions

Admission to graduate programs is competitive. You need a bachelor's degree (usually in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry), good grades, and good test scores.

Additional requirements at some schools include:

Typical Course Work

Program Courses

A bachelor's degree program in botany typically requires that you study courses such as the following:

Graduate Program Courses

A graduate program in botany typically includes courses such as the following:

In addition, graduate programs typically require the following:

You may be required to teach biology to undergraduates.

You may be required to give presentations to the departmental journal club. Club meetings are held on a regular basis, often twice weekly. When it is your turn, you present a review of an article that has appeared in a professional journal. The experience improves your presentation skills and gives you the chance to research a topic of interest to you.

Things to Know

In graduate school you do much of your class work in labs, to learn research skills. You also study statistics so you learn how to draw conclusions from the data that you gather from experiments.

Schools

East Side Area

Washington State University - Pullman

King-Snohomish Area

Bellevue College

South Seattle College

University of Washington - Seattle

Tacoma Area

Tacoma Community College

West Side Area

Evergreen State College, The

Grays Harbor College