National Needs Fellowships in Plant Breeding Available

The Plant Breeding Center has been awarded another round of National Needs Fellowships (NNF) in Plant Breeding. To meet the goals of the NNF in Plant Breeding, we are actively recruiting potential graduate students from underrepresented minority groups, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, and other people of color.

Students interested in the NNF in Plant Breeding should submit a graduate application to the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group. There is also an application fee waiver for students who participated in one of the Graduate Preparation programs listed on this page.

The Hort and Agronomy program will train graduate students in plant breeding to meet challenges in crop production in coming decades. The program builds on long-term strengths at UC Davis in plant breeding and plant breeding education, complementing field-based experiential learning with lab-based science. Fellows will take the standard plant breeding curriculum and have the opportunity to join the hands-on SCOPE project of student-led breeding programs in diverse crops—both as breeding team members and leaders, and as mentors to undergraduate students. Because of UC Davis’ industry network, students recruited into the NNF will be mentored by local industry breeders and will actively participate in other plant breeding professional and agricultural business events including Seed Central, a networking program bringing industry, faculty, and students together on a monthly basis. By the end of their graduate study, Fellows will be ideally suited to enter the workforce to enhance the production and nutritional quality of the nation’s food and feed supply.

Faculty included in this Fellowship program are: Patrick J. Brown, Charlie Brummer, Christine Diepenbrock, Jorge Dubcovsky, Paul Gepts, Steven Knapp, and Allen Van Deynze. Students who are interested in working with other faculty are of course welcomed to apply for a graduate program at UC Davis, but they will not be eligible for NNF funding. 

If you or someone you know would be a great fit for the NNF in Plant Breeding, please review this informational document, then get in touch with Amanda Saichaie for more details.