A student prepares for a professional career in research, teaching, extension, or industry through advanced studies of the principles of plant infection, the physiology of disease in plants, the ecology of root diseases, the nature and inheritance of disease resistance in plants, epidemiology, ecology and physiology of air pollution injury to plants, or plant disease control by biological or chemical means. A student also may specialize in the nature and control of the diseases of forest trees, agronomic or horticultural crops, and commercial mushrooms. Advanced studies in molecular systematics of fungi and applied mycology, related to the production of the commercial mushroom, also may be taken. Modern, well-equipped laboratories, controlled environment facilities and greenhouses, and well-developed field research areas are available for graduate study.