tomato field

Academic year

Our goals and how we attain them

tomatoes_KHiggins
Tomato research at UC Davis includes studies of pathogen effects, growth and morphology, production methods, phytochemicals, cultivar development, genetics and genomics, and postharvest processing.

The PABGAP academic year program has two goals:

  • to promote research collaborations between UC Davis and FVSU, Tuskegee University, and FAMU faculty, and
  • to prepare students to join their mentors in summer research at UC Davis.

The academic year program consists of three components: orientation and recruiting sessions by UC Davis faculty for students at Tuskegee, FVSU, and FAMU; monthly videoconference meetings between PABGAP scholars and their UC Davis mentors; and a spring visit to UC Davis by Tuskegee, FVSU, and FAMU faculty and PABGAP scholars.

A fall orientation by UC Davis faculty will enable Tuskegee, FVSU, and FAMU students to gain a feel for the spectrum of research in plant agricultural biology at UC Davis. In addition, informal discussion groups will enable undergraduates to ask specific questions about research opportunities, the graduate school application process, and options for gaining additional experience prior to applying for graduate study.

Black grad students at lunch
Members of the UC Davis Black Graduate and Professional Student Association span graduate programs across the campus and meet regularly for community. Photo: UC Davis

Monthly videoconferences between PABGAP scholars and UC Davis mentors, starting in January and running through May, will help introduce students to the scientific questions that they will investigate and prepare them for summer research.

spring site visit to Davis by admitted scholars and faculty from their home institution will include trips to field sites and participation in mentors’ laboratory meetings and reading groups. Participants also will get a first-hand look at graduate study, the graduate student community, and the Davis campus, including a dinner discussion with members of the UC Davis Black Graduate and Professional Student Association.

About UC Davis

Malaquias Montoya mural at the Student Community Center
A mural by UC Davis faculty member and muralist Malaquias Montoya graces the south entrance of the Student Community Center. Photo: Greg Urquiaga/UC Davis

The UC Davis campus juxtaposes strong support for diversity and inclusion in STEM disciplines and a deep commitment to student-centered undergraduate teaching and mentoring with location in California's agricultural Great Valley and proximity to diverse natural and human-influenced ecosystems. We take pride in our record of fostering social mobility among our studentsresearch that serves societal needs, and public service.

We recognize that all of us -- faculty, students, staff -- are an integral part of UC Davis and we pledge to work together to value our individual differences and common humanity as embodied in the UC Davis Principles of Community