We conduct academic, extension and research programs in agricultural and natural resource plant sciences, at facilities in Knoxville and several Research & Education Centers throughout Tennessee.

		Past News & Happenings:  UT Turf Team on Facebook! Using the popular social networking site, Facebook, the UT turf team has created a new online forum for you to stay in touch with turfgrass teaching, research, and extension activities at the University of Tennessee.It is totally free to join.           January 2010 Moon Has Cover in Trends in Biotechnology! Hong S. Moon, Ph.D. student in the lab of Neal Stewart, Racheff Chair in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee is first author on a paper appearing in the January 2010 issue of Trends in Biotechnology and is featured on the journal cover. More           December 2009 Public Horticulture Students Gain Real World Experience at a Special Retreat Public horticulture students Ariel Tester and Katheryne Nix participated in the Koinonia Retreat, a program for adults with multiple disabilities. Over a weekend, Tester and Nix showed the participants how to use horticulture to increase independent decision-making and increase leisure awareness, two primary goals of the retreat.               December 2009 New Racheff Internships Announced! This is internship is designed for the student just completing the bachelors degree at UTK and whose near-to-medium term goals potentially include  going to graduate school for an advanced degree. The intern will perform independent research aimed towards peer-reviewed publication.           December 2009 UT Gardens Partner with Dogwood Arts Festival for Community-wide Dogwood Tree Plantings. The Dogwood Arts Festival, select area garden centers, and local tree enthusiasts are teaming up to inspire the public to “dig in for a Bazillion Blooms,” the Festival’s first-ever, county-wide dogwood tree planting program. November 2009 Protected Agriculture Delivers Premium Fruits and Vegetables.A tomato crop is part of the Protected Agriculture program at UTIA. Dr.Dean Kopsell focuses much of his research in improving the nutritional value of many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. "We’re hoping that we’ll gain either disease-resistant or superior yields or superior fruit quality from this,” says UTIA plant physiologist Dr. Carl Sams.         December 2009 New Book Details the Importance of Grass and Research to Society. A new book co-edited by University of Tennessee professor emeritus Henry Fribourg sheds light on the importance of watching grass grow. The book, Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century, is the story of the rise in popularity of tall fescue as a turf and forage grass and of the scientific efforts to pinpoint the reasons that cattle consuming the popular grass fail to thrive and mares give birth to dead foals.         December 2009

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One of seven departments in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, we offer curricula leading to the:
     Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Plant Sciences
     Masters of Science degree with a major in Plant Sciences
     Doctoral degree with a major in Plants, Soils and Insects.

  Undergraduate concentrations include:
    Landscape Design & Construction
    Public Horticulture
    Turfgrass Science & Management
    Bioenergy
    Biotechnology
    Horticulture Science & Production

Graduate students may specialize in a wide variety of disciplines; see individual faculty pages for current research projects and faculty specialties. Concentrations for PhD students in Plant Sciences include:
    Crop Sciences
    Horticulture
    Plant Improvement
    Plant Biotechnology
    Weed Biology

        Examples of jobs obtained by our graduates
        Current and recent graduate students
        Courses:   Undergraduate   Graduate

Our extension programs cover the areas of weed science, ornamental horticulture, turfgrass management, and the production of vegetables, fruit, cotton, cereals, grains and forage.

Our research programs also embrace these areas, with investigations covering the broad spectrum of molecular, genetic, physiological and field studies. We invite you to visit the homepages of our research and extension faculty to learn more about ongoing programs.