The goal of this training program is to provide the best students with an in-depth research experience at the cutting edge of science. Students will study in an interdisciplinary environment to develop skills necessary to communicate and to work in teams. Professional development will be enriched through job shadowing in industrial laboratories, outreach experiences and international rotations.

To meet this need a training group was assembled that bridges most traditional departmental and disciplinary boundaries. Trainees will work with at least two members of the training faculty in formulating and conducting a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project. Participating faculty have strong individual research and extension programs and share interests in manipulating disease resistance and improving seed quality. Students will have at their disposal genomic, proteomic, molecular and genetic mapping tools to solve complex and emerging problems in agriculture.

In addition to normal coursework and dissertation research, trainees will work with extension faculty to develop a cooperative project in education or outreach, and will participate in a new distance education course for cooperative extension agents. Additional components of the core training experience will include: an industrial job shadowing experience; training in ethical conduct of research; a course in professional development; a new course focused on public policy, extension, agricultural economics and emerging issues; and an optional international internship with scientists at leading universities in Europe, Japan or Peru.

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