Graduate Studies

Graduate Program in Tropical Plant Biology 
at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

2008-2009 Academic Year

     


Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has graduate programs leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees awarded by local universities. Dr. J.B. Fisher (jfisher@fairchildgarden.org) is the Administrator of Graduate Studies. Graduate students may carry out thesis research with an FTBG researcher in various areas of tropical botany. The following groupings indicate the interests of staff at FTBG matched with faculty at two local universities that award graduate degrees:

 

FTBG FIU UM
Plant Systematics and Plant Biogeography
Lewis Bennett Fleming
Maunder Francisco-Ortega Sullivan
Francisco-Ortega Lee Whitlock
Zona  
Plant Conservation Biology
Maschinski Francisco-Ortega Horvitz
Maunder Koptur Potts
Francisco-Ortega    
Liu  Richards  
  Liu  
  Jayachandran  
  Ross  
Plant Ecology and Population Biology
Maschinski Bennett  
Lewis Koptur Goldstein
Liu Lee Horvitz
Francisco-Ortega Oberbauer Janos
  Richards Potts
  Francisco-Ortega Waddington
  Liu  
  Gaiser  
   Fourqurean  
  Ross  
  Jayachandran  
Economic Botany (including tropical fruit crops)
Campbell  Bennett Goldstein
  Lee Janos
    Potts
     Whitlock

Conservation Policy
 Maunder Bhat Potts
 Maschinski

Bray

  
  Heinen  
  Mozumder  
  Onsted

 

 

 

How to apply for graduate studies at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

  1. First, contact one or more FTBG staff who work in areas of tropical botany that interest you.
  2. The FTBG researcher will advise and help to select a UM or FIU (Biological Sciences) or FIU (Environmental Studies) faculty member counterpart whose interests compliments, supplements, or is related to those of the student (see table above).
  3. Refer to the following pages for links to more information on admissions requirements and costs at Florida International University (FIU ) and University of Miami (UM).


Outline for applying to graduate programs at FIU and UM

FTBG staff with Ph.D. degrees are appointed as adjunct professors and can serve on M.S. and Ph.D. thesis committees at FIU and UM by formal agreements.

At these universities, a full-time faculty member must serve as the official thesis committee chairman, but the FTBG adjunct may function as the primary research advisor for the student with the agreement of the committee. Typically, such a student has a desk at the FTBG Center for Tropical Plant Conservation and use Fairchild as a base for research.

Students should e-mail FTBG staff who work in areas of interest to the student (see FTBG staff links in table above). We will help in selecting the faculty sponsors. The prospective FTBG adjunct will need to support the student's application when the university department decides to accept applications and assign financial support to students.


Present Fairchild graduate students and their thesis topics

FIU:

Chad Husby - Physiology of Equisetum giganteum under saline conditions.
Brett Jestrow - Phylogenetics and biogeography of the Antillean genera Leucocroton and Lasiocroton.
Karen Laubengayer - Systematics of the palm Aiphanes in the Lesser Antilles.
Jeremy Moynihan - Molecular phylogenetics and conservation genetics of the Mesoamerican cycad Dioon edule.

UM:

Guangyou Hao - Ecophysiology of Asian Ficus species
Eric Manzané - Ecophysiological changes in liana habit modification
Hugo Romero - Rainforest nutrient dynamics
Randol Villalobos - Tropical forest eco-physiology
Yongjiany Zhang - Evergreen and deciduous tropical forest dynamics

Recent Graduates (FIU)

John Geiger - Conservation implications of the reproductive biology of the endangered vine Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb.
     (Convolvulaceae).
Susan Carrara, MS (2004) Genetic variation among cultivated selections of mamey sapote (Pouteria spp. [Sapotaceae]).
Elena Pinto-Torres, MS (2004) The breeding systems and pollination biology of Jacquemontia reclinata (Convolvulaceae).
Julissa Roncal, PhD (2005) Molecular phylogenetics of the palm tribe Geonomeae and differentiation of Geonoma macrostachys  western Amazonian varieties.
Brian Sidoti, MS (2007) Systematic study of Tillandsia fasciculata (Bromeliaceae) complex.
Hannah Thornton, MS (2003) Genetic structure and conservation of Jacquemontia reclinata, an endangered coastal species of southern Florida.
Jen Trusty, PhD (2005) Plant biogeography and conservation on a tropical island: Isla del Coco, Costa Rica.

Graduate Student Support

Students accepted into the graduate programs can apply for Teaching Assistantships offered by the university department (stipend + tuition waiver) or Research Assistantships from individual faculty grants. Each graduate student will normally receive a teaching or research assistantship that covers tuition (full or in-part) and a modest stipend.

At UM there is a new Lisa D. Anness Graduate Fellowship offered in several research areas of tropical plant biology.

Details of Agreements

Click here for details of agreements between FTBG and both FIU and UM.