SIPS Plant Biology Section
Without plants, life on earth would cease to exist. Plants shape our environment and provide us with food, medicine, clothing and shelter. Today we are faced with an unprecedented series of challenges — global climate change, food shortages, rapid loss of biodiversity and new and evolving diseases are threatening both the health of the planet as well as human health and well-being.
Through its broad-based and innovative studies of basic plant biology, the Plant Biology section at Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science is positioned to contribute real and impactful solutions to these problems at local, state, national and global scales. Learn more about the history of our section and the vision of our school.
Plant Biology
Center of research on fundamental biology of plant development, signaling, genetics, environmental interactions and systematics.
Graduate and undergraduate training
Plant Biology offers degrees and training opportunities at all stages of the educational pipeline.
Graduate field of plant biology
Students interested in obtaining an MS or PhD degree in the graduate field of plant Biology can select from a variety of research areas and concentrations, reflecting the broad diversity of faculty research in the Plant Biology Section.
Undergraduate — Plant sciences major
Undergraduates in the plant sciences major can select from a diverse set of concentrations including plant molecular, cellular and developmental biology, plant evolution and diversity, plant computational biology, and plants and human health.
Undergraduate — Plant Biology Concentration
Undergraduates majoring in biology can choose the plant biology concentration.
Undergraduate research — Plant Genome Internship
The NSF sponsored Plant Genome Internship introduces high school and undergraduate students to state-of-the-art techniques in plant biology and trains students in scientific ethics, laboratory safety, and data presentation.
Undergrad Research - other
The Office of Undergraduate Research provides information about exploring the wealth of research opportunities at Cornell.
The Honors Program in Biological Sciences is designed to offer advanced training in laboratory and field research through the performance of an original research project under the direct guidance of a member of the Cornell faculty.
Bailey Hortorium
News from the SIPS Plant Biology Section
Learn more about our recent developments and discoveries.
News
The new species, named Ampelorhiza heteroxylon, belongs to a diverse group of tropical lianas called Paullinieae, within the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). More than 475 species of Paullinieae live in the tropics today. Researchers identified...
News
Alejandra Gandolfo, associate professor in the Plant Biology Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science, is profiled in Daring to Dig: Women in American Paleontology, an exhibit from the Museum of the Earth and the Paleontological...
News
Anurag Agrawal, the James A. Perkins Professor of Environmental Studies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (CALS, Arts and...
News
Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Bernice Grafstein, the Vincent and Brooke Astor...