PhD in Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences in Honolulu United States | University of Hawaii at Manoa

To address the intricate challenges in agricultural plant production systems, successful integration across multiple disciplines is essential. Students can focus on areas such as tropical fruit, vegetable, or ornamental plant genetics and breeding; physiology, cultivation, and management of these crops; morphogenesis; crop and stress physiology; post-harvest science; growth regulation; plant biochemical genetics; cytogenetics; weed science; computer modeling; or turf and landscape management. Additional specializations include cropping systems, plant-soil interactions, soil chemistry, soil physics, soil management, conservation, fertility, and microbiology.
By combining coursework in botany, biochemistry, plant pathology, food science, genetics, microbiology, and zoology with TPSS offerings, students can tailor their academic path to align with professional goals.
Graduate programs lead to MS (Plan A, B, or C) and PhD degrees, with options in TPSS (horticulture). These degrees focus on cultivating problem-solving abilities that merge molecular, biochemical, physiological, chemical, genetic, and ecological perspectives for collaborative research in plant and soil sciences.

The TPSS degree equips students with practical expertise in applying biotechnology to tropical crop production and understanding soil's critical role in agricultural systems. This option demands knowledge of core biological processes, molecular and organismal biology, genetics, plant physiology, chemistry, physics, and microbiology. Soil is examined both for its inherent characteristics and its function in crop cultivation and environmental sustainability.
The horticulture option delves into tropical food and ornamental crop production, requiring comprehension of agricultural systems, plant cultivation, soil fertility, environmental conservation, and related fields like crop ecology, plant physiology, and molecular biology.
Both MS and PhD programs in TPSS are designated Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) regional graduate programs. Eligible students from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming may enroll at Hawaii resident tuition rates upon admission.