Purpose of the Botany Student Handbook

The Botany Department Student Handbook was assembled so that students majoring or minoring in Botany could easily access the primary sources they need in order to complete their programs of study. To meet this end, you will find links to important campus offices, WSU documents, and Botany Department specific information.   The Welcome from Dr. Bozniak, the former chair of the Botany Department, greets you and invites you to join the department in exploring a very exciting area of the life sciences.  The list of Botany courses takes you to links to the WSU catalog descriptions and a department list of instructors.  This Handbook also lets you check the specific course requirements, in both Botany and support departments, for a major or minor/BIS emphasis in Botany.  When you need to plan when you will be taking certain courses, visit the Advisement section of the Handbook to see how to find a faculty advisor.  This section also has links for obtaining a transcript, a graduation evaluation, declaring a major or minor, and filing for graduation.

All students who major in Botany need to keep a portfolio, starting as early in their program of study as possible.  The Handbook has a full description of the portfolio requirements.  Majors are also required to have a capstone experience in their senior year.  This requirement can be met by taking Seminar in Botany (Botany 4990) or by doing a thesis in Botany (Botany 4970).  The details of the thesis requirements are available at the Botany Thesis link.

A number of scholarships are available from the university, the College of Science, and the Botany Department.  The Scholarships link takes you to links to access scholarship descriptions and application forms.

The department encourages students to participate in extracurricular and volunteer activities.  These opportunities are available through various student organizations.  We also encourage students to explore professional societies and the avenues for professional development that these groups provide to their members.  The Handbook also provides links to information about careers in or related to Botany.  Finally, the Handbook provides links to miscellaneous sites of use to students, such as the WSU Student Code and the WSU Writing Center.

Some of the documents available from the various web pages of the Handbook are in PDF format.  In order to access them, you will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download.