The Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology provides educational and research experience in molecular, cell, and evolutionary biology; biochemistry; biophysics; genetics and functional genomics; physiology; and root biology to help students prepare for teaching and research positions. The program was ranked among the top-four programs of its kind by the latest National Research Council Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs.

The Plant Biology program includes faculty members from nine departments in three colleges. Their research interests range from the cellular, molecular, and biochemical levels to whole-plant physiology and ecophysiology. Advised by these faculty members, students complete a thesis based on their own original research, and take a comprehensive set of courses that reflect the breadth of fields in the biological sciences