The program is distinguished by small classes, individual attention from the faculty, and the opportunity to participate in on-going research in faculty laboratories. Faculty members do cutting edge research in diverse areas of plant science and have received national and international recognition for their work, including grants such as the Fulbright Commissions Grant for Outstanding Research. Faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Horticultural Science, member of the National Academy of Science, and recipients of both Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Research awards. Undergraduates are able to to use any of the department's facilities in conjunction with a faculty member's research. All students are required to complete at least two units of laboratory research with a faculty member.
Many students work for two years or more on a research project with a faculty member.
In addition, many students are hired as research technicians in a research project. The University Honors Program offers lower-division courses taught by distinguished faculty and introduces undergraduates to the challenges and rewards of scholarship and research from the beginning of their undergraduate careers. In the upper division, the program invites outstanding students to design and produce honors theses and projects under individual faculty supervision. Through the departmental Honors Program, highly qualified students are invited to conduct a research thesis of their own initiative and design in collaboration with a faculty member. Participation in the Honors Program is the capstone of an excellent education.