Within the School of Food and Agriculture multidisciplinary research and  graduate  training programs emphasize the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Areas of emphasis for graduate work include agroecology, soil chemistry and plant nutrition, nutrient dynamics in agricultural ecosystems, horticulture, soil microbiology, crop physiology, diversified cropping systems, weed ecology and management, crop genetic resource conservation and management, and plant pathology. Thesis problems may be developed in a wide range of subject areas within the broad disciplines listed above. Facilities are available for laboratory, greenhouse, and farm field research.
 
Graduate students working in the areas of plant, soil, and environmental sciences can earn the Master of Science degree through programs in  Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences; Horticulture; and Ecology and Environmental
Sciences. The Doctor of Philosophy degree can be pursued through programs in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Forest Resources. Several of our faculty have cooperating appointments in other departments, providing some of our students with additional degree options. Graduate training programs in these areas are built from foundations in soil science, agronomy, agroecology, plant physiology, ecology, microbiology, plant pathology, and statistics.
 
Prospective graduate students are urged to contact faculty who might serve as supervisors for their graduate degree work to determine program opportunities and the availability of assistanship support. Additional information concerning graduate studies in Plant, Soil, and Enviornmental Sciences may be obtained from the Graduate Coordinator.
 

um.pse.grad@maine.edu or from the School of Food and Agriculture website http://umaine.edu/foodandagriculture/.
 
 

Graduate Faculty

 
Mario Andrade, Ph.D. (Universidade Federal de Lavrus (Brazil), 2019), Assistant Professor of Potato Breeding and Genetics.

Stephanie Burnett, Ph.D. (University of Georgia, 2004), Associate Professor of Horticulture.

Lily Calderwood, Ph.D. (University of Vermont, 2015), Extension Wild Blueberry Specialist and Assistant Professor of Horticulture.
 
Eric R. Gallandt, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison,1994), Professor of Weed Ecology and Management.

David Handley, Ph.D. (University of New Hampshire, 1993), Cooperating Professor of Horticulture.
 
Jianjun (Jay) Hao, Ph.D. (University of California, Davis, 2000), Associate Professor of Plant Pathology.

Mark Hutton, Ph.D. (University of New Hampshire, 1988), Associate Professor of Vegetable Crops and Vegetable Extension Specialist.
 
Ellen Mallory, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2007), Professor of Sustainable Agriculture. 

Renae E. Moran, Ph.D. (University of Arkansas, May 1996), Professor of Pomology and Extension Tree Fruit Specialist.

Bryan J. Peterson, Ph.D. (Iowa State University, 2013), Associate Professor of Environmental Horticulture.
 
Rachel Schattman, Ph.D. (University of Vermont, 2016), Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agriculture.