Graduate Students

Graduate Student In The Field

Master of Science in Agriculture

Specializations

MS Agriculture, Specialization in Crop Science. For students with undergraduate preparation in plant agriculture and/or plant science. Current research is focused primarily in applied fruit crop physiology, vegetable breeding and physiology, sustainable fruit and vegetable production, viticulture, plant pathology, integrated pest management, and post harvest technology, including sustainable packaging and packaging safety. Thesis required.
Coordinator: Dr. Benjamin Hoover (bkhoover@calpoly.edu)

MS Agriculture, Specialization in Environmental Horticultural Science. For students with undergraduate preparation in horticulture and/or plant science. Current research is focused primarily in applied plant physiology, nursery and potted plant production, sustainable landscape development and maintenance, and integrated pest management. Thesis required.
Coordinator: Dr. Benjamin Hoover (bkhoover@calpoly.edu)

MS Agriculture, Specialization in Plant Protection Science. For students with undergraduate preparation in plant agriculture, plant science, biological sciences, and/or ecology. Current research is focused on pest biology, tritrophic interactions, invasive species, biological control and plant disease management. Projects provide the opportunity to conduct field and/or laboratory experiments with corporate stakeholders for career enhancement. Curriculum and research allows students to develop more diverse or specialized skill sets for post-graduate employment and/or opportunity to obtain required coursework for state licensing. Thesis required.
Coordinator: Dr. Benjamin Hoover (bkhoover@calpoly.edu)

Note: Applicants from outside Cal Poly are now required to submit GRE scores when applying for these specializations.

PLSC Graduate Faculty

Name Specialization(s) Research Topics/Affiliation Role Contact
Mohammad Aghaee, Ph.D. PPSC Entomology/Strawberry Center de facto Advisor maghaee@calpoly.edu
Federico Casassa, Ph.D. EHS, CRSC Enology/Wine & Viticulture Advisor lcasassa@calpoly.edu
Charlotte Decock, Ph.D. CRSC Soil science, Organic soil fertility/NRES Advisor cdecock@calpoly.edu
Shunping Ding, Ph.D. CRSC, PPSC Plant pathology, grape diseases/Wine & Viticulture  Advisor sding01@calpoly.edu
Lauren Garner, Ph.D. CRSC, EHS Fruit science Advisor lgarner@calpoly.edu
Matthew Grieshop, Ph.D. CRSC Organic production/Organic Center de facto Advisor mgriesho@calpoly.edu
Shashika Hewavitharana, Ph.D. PPSC Strawberry pathology/Strawberry Center Advisor shewavit@calpoly.edu
Gerald Holmes, Ph.D. PPSC Strawberry pathology/Strawberry Center Advisor gjholmes@calpoly.edu
Benjamin Hoover, Ph.D. EHS, PPSC Nursery production, plant propagation Advisor bkhoover@calpoly.edu
Suraj Kar, Ph.D. CRSC Viticulture/Wine & Viticulture Advisor surajkar@calpoly.edu
Miguel Pedroza, Ph.D EHS, CRSC Enology/Wine & Viticulture Advisor miguelp@calpoly.edu
Ryan Perry, Ph.D. PPSC Entomology Advisor rkperry@calpoly.edu
Scott Steinmaus, Ph.D. CRSC, PPSC Weed ecology Advisor ssteinma@calpoly.edu
Ashraf Tubeileh, Ph.D. CRSC Organic crop production Advisor atubeile@calpoly.edu
Nicole Waterland, Ph.D. EHS, CRSC Controlled environment plant production Advisor nwaterla@calpoly.edu
Jeffrey Wong, Ph.D. CRSC Plant breeding Advisor jcwong@calpoly.edu

 

Graduate Student Photos

Picture Of A Student With Plants

Picture Of A Student With Plants Picture Of A Student With Plants Picture Of Plants

Picture Of Students In The Lab

Picture Of A Student With Plants Picture Of A Tractor Picture Of Barrels

Picture Of A Student With Barrels

Picture Of A Student With Plants Picture Of Crops Picture Of Crops

Picture Of Blackberries

Picture Of Blackberries Picture Of Vines Picture Of A Student With Tomatoes

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Department Facilities

Crops Unit, Poly Plant Shop, Organic Farm and more!

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