Integrative Plant Science

Field Description

The MPS degree program at Cornell CALS is ideal for career-focused students interested in the thorough study of issues and advancements in the fields of life, social, and environmental sciences and agriculture.

Though similar to a Master of Science (MS) degree in its academic rigor, the MPS degree differs from a traditional MS degree in its structure and focus. An MS is research-based, with students building a thesis over the course of two or three years. In contrast, the MPS degree is a one-year, course-based program where students study the intricacies and in-depth questions of their field of study. Instead of a thesis or research project, MPS students complete a capstone project during their final semester. To understand this difference in greater detail, please visit our FAQ page.

At Cornell CALS, our MPS program spans multiple fields of study within the realm of agriculture and life sciences, including animal science, food science, global development, horticulture, plant and soil science, biological and environmental engineering, and more.

The Master of Professional Studies program has two main components:

• Coursework: Students work with a faculty advisor to map out their individualized course of study based on their areas of interest. The majority of courses (20 credits) will be within CALS; however, students have the opportunity to take courses across Cornell.
• Capstone project: With the guidance of a faculty advisor, students work on solving a real-world problem.

 While students have the opportunity to customize their own course of study with their faculty advisor, the field offers several areas of specialization for MPS degree candidates. Each of these areas includes a suggested curriculum of core and elective courses that fulfill the requirements of the MPS in Agriculture and Life Sciences degree while placing a particular emphasis on an area of specialization. See below for the list of specializations.

 

Contact Information

Website: https://cals.cornell.edu/school-integrative-plant-science/degrees-programs/mps-degree
Email: sips-mps@cornell.edu
Phone: 607 255-2131

124 Plant Science Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853

Subject and Degrees

Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science)

• Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science) (M.P.S.) (Ithaca)

Concentrations by Subject

Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science)

• agronomy
• climate change and agriculture (minor)
• controlled environment agriculture (minor)
• field crop sciences
• geospatial applications (minor)
• hemp science (minor)
• plant biotechnology (minor)
• plant breeding
• plant protection (minor)
• plant systems (minor)
• public garden leadership (minor)
• soil science
• viticulture (minor)

Faculty

Taryn L. Bauerle

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): climate change and agriculture
• Research Interests: Root dynamics and environmental stress physiology, soil science

Mark P Bridgen

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology
• Research Interests: floriculture breeding; plant tissue culture; plant propagation; herbaceous ornamental plants; cut flowers; breeding plants

Carlyn S. Buckler

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): hemp science; plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Hemp Science

Daniel H Buckley

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): soil science
• Research Interests: Soil microbiology

Clare L Casteel

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Plant-microbe interactions, plant protection, plant pathology

Jerome Henry Cherney

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences
• Research Interests: Forages, perennial grasses, biofuels

Kerik D. Cox

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection
• Research Interests: orchard fungal ecology; extension pathology; pesticide management; fruit pathology

William L Crepet

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology
• Research Interests: paleobotany; systematics and evolution of angiosperms; evolutionary history of floral structure and angiosperm pollination mechanisms

Antonio Ditommaso

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences; plant protection
• Research Interests: weed ecology; biological control; integrated weed management

Susheng Gan

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology; plant breeding
• Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of senescence; postharvest physiology

Maria Alejandra Gandolfo Nixon

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant breeding; plant systems
• Research Interests: Plant Evolution, Plant Structure and Anatomy, Paleobotany

Michael Allen Gore

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): climate change and agriculture; plant breeding
• Research Interests: Breeding for nutritional quality

Heather Lee Grab

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): hemp science; plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Hemp Science

Deb Grantham

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): soil science
• Research Interests: Natural resources and the environment, Soil hyperspectral reflectance, Watershed education

Michelle L Heck

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection

Peter R. Hobbs

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences
• Research Interests: Soil and Crop Science

Kathie Hodge

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Mycology

Jian Hua

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology; plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Molecular biology of plant stress

Yu Jiang

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications

Elizabeth M. Lamb

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Integrated pest management in landscapes and greenhouses

Christopher Johannes Lehmann

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications; soil science
• Research Interests: soil fertility management; soil biogeochemistry

Jason P. Londo

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): viticulture
• Research Interests: Research on the genetics and physiology of abiotic stress resistance in cultivated and wild grapevine with special emphasis on cold hardiness and drought resistance. Specific areas of study include genomics, population genetics, and plant physiology.

Louis Longchamps

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences; geospatial applications; plant protection

John E Losey

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection
• Research Interests: Insect ecology and plant interactions

Carmen Enid Martinez

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): soil science
• Research Interests: Environmental and soil chemistry

Neil S. Mattson

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): controlled environment agriculture
• Research Interests: floriculture; plant physiology; mineral nutrition; crop modeling

Andrew James McDonald

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences; geospatial applications
• Research Interests: international cropping systems, sustainability

William B Miller

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): controlled environment agriculture
• Research Interests: Physiology and management of greenhouse crops

Ashley Louise Miller Helmholdt

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant systems; public garden leadership
• Research Interests: Relationships between people and plants

Gaurav Dilip Moghe

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology; plant systems
• Research Interests: Molecular biology and gene function

Virginia Moore

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; plant breeding; plant systems
• Research Interests: Plant breeding, cover crops, sustainable agriculture

Rebecca Judith Nelson

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection
• Research Interests: genetics of quantitative disease resistance; international agriculture; current focus on two diseases of maize that are important both in the United States and in Africa: northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot

Teresa Pawlowska

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Mycology and microbiomes of fungi

Gregory Michael Peck

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant systems
• Research Interests: Orchard management, soil science

Jeffrey Allen Perry

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy

Marvin P Pritts

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy
• Research Interests: cultural practices and physiology of berry crops

Donald A Rakow

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): public garden leadership
• Research Interests: public-garden management

Anusuya Rangarajan

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy
• Research Interests: Adaptive research and extension program focuses on advancing reduced, minimum and no-till strategies in vegetable crops grown in the upper Northeast. Research has included developing new equipment and strategies to optimize these systems in both conventional and organic agriculture systems.

Stephen Reiners

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy
• Research Interests: vegetable crop production

Bruce Irving Reisch

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): viticulture
• Research Interests: grapevine breeding and genetics

Jocelyn K. C. Rose

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant biotechnology; plant systems
• Research Interests: Plant Biotechnology, Plant Physiology

Frank S Rossi

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant systems
• Research Interests: Turfgrass management, plant protection

David G Rossiter

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications
• Research Interests: Spatial modelling and analysis of soil resources.

Jonathan Matthew Russell-Anelli

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): soil science
• Research Interests: soil and crop sciences

Matthew Ryan

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences
• Research Interests: sustainable cropping systems; cover crops; integrated pest management; weed science

Timothy Lloyd Setter

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences
• Research Interests: crop physiology; environmental stress responses; drought; elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide; hormonal signaling systems

Diana S Sinton

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications
• Research Interests: geospatial sciences with focus on geographic information science (GIScience) and cartographic communication.

Sonja M. Skelly

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): public garden leadership
• Research Interests: urban horticulture

Lawrence B. Smart

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant breeding
• Research Interests: breeding, genomics and physiology of shrub willow as a bioenergy crop; yield trials and variety selection; characterization of gene expression important to biomass production

Christine Durbahn Smart

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection
• Research Interests: biology and management of vegetable diseases; host-pathogen interactions

Karen Lynn Snover-Clift

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): plant protection; plant systems
• Research Interests: Plant disease diagnosis

Ying Sun

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications
• Research Interests: geospatial sciences

Janice E Thies

• Campus: Ithaca - (Divisional Member)
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): soil science
• Research Interests: Soil microbiology

Harold Mathijs Van Es

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications; soil science
• Research Interests: soil and water management; precision agriculture; soil quality; nitrogen dynamics

Justine E. Vanden Heuvel

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications; viticulture
• Research Interests: viticulture; culture and physiology of optimizing fruit aroma and flavor composition

Peter Benson Woodbury

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): agronomy; field crop sciences; geospatial applications

Dominic Woolf

• Campus: Ithaca
• Concentrations: Agriculture and Life Sciences (Integrative Plant Science): geospatial applications; soil science
• Research Interests: soil carbon modeling, soil carbon sequestration, microbial dynamics of soil carbon, climate-change mitigation, biochar and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.