Research, teaching, and extension have been the backbone of the Department of Entomology for more than 100 years. Our faculty, students and post-doctoral fellows remain committed to these three areas, in addition to outreach and public service. Although in many ways we maintain our historical focus on insects and their relatives, the Department's interests span a diversity of subdisciplines, including ecology, ecosystem ecology, aquatic biology, molecular and developmental biology, genetics, biological control of insects and weeds, systematics, evolutionary biology, integrated pest management, toxicology, and insect pathology.
- Graduate Programs
- Mission
- At the University of Maryland
- Location
- Research Focus Areas
- Extension/Outreach Program Areas
Graduate Programs
The Entomology Department offers a M.S. and Ph.D. program. Students may also enroll in interdisciplinary graduate programs such as Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics (BEES), Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES), Molecular and Cellular Biology (MOCB), and Toxicology. Ranked 6th nationally, our Entomology program currently enrolls 45-50 graduate students. Approximately half of these students pursue a degree in Entomology, and the other half enter an interdisciplinary program.
Training of students and the teaching, research and extension activities of faculty and staff is enriched and facilitated by interactions with many off-campus public, governmental, and private organizations. These include the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and National Agricultural Library, Smithsonian Institution, National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Park Service, and others.
Mission
For over 100 years we have sought to combine the best in basic and applied biology to meet the public need for research, outreach, and instruction regarding entomology and related subjects, particularly as these bear on pest management and on stewardship of the environment.
At the University of Maryland
The department belongs to the College of Chemical and Life Sciences (CLFS), but with many partial appointments in the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) and/or Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, which are administered through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR). The Entomology Chair reports to both CLFS and AGNR Deans.
Location
- College Park campus, suburban Maryland
- Plant Sciences Building, 3rd and 4th floors, dedicated Sept. 1997; 5 min. walk or less to nearly all other CLFS and AGNR departments
- 10 minutes from Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and National Agricultural Library
- 35 minutes from Smithsonian Institution and downtown Washington, D.C.
- 40 minutes from National Institutes of Health
- 1 hour from Wye Research and Education Center (MAES), Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay
Research Focus Areas
- Agricultural Pest Management
- Ecology/Biological Control
- Evolutionary Biology
- Freshwater and Estuarine Entomology
- Insect Pathology
- Molecular Biology, Physiology, Toxicology, and Molecular Genetics
- Pesticide Education, Assessment, and Policy
- Systematics/Morphology
- Urban, Structural, and Green Industries Pest Management