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Pest Management
Pest problems offer opportunities for research on the biological processes involving organisms that cause damage to crops and structures or threaten human health. The master of pest management (MPM) program at SFU allows students to access these opportunities in the management and research of pests and furthermore, directly apply this knowledge. This research-based master of pest management (MPM) program is distinct from an MSc program because of its strongly applied context and its interaction with practitioners and producers.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must satisfy the University admission requirements as stated in Graduate General Regulations 1.3 in the SFU Calendar.
Program Requirements
This program consists of required courses, elective courses, and a thesis for a minimum of 34 units.
Students must complete all of
A broad range of agricultural pests and their management, with emphasis on insects, crop diseases, and weeds in greenhouses, orchards and field crops. Pest problems in urban environments, including stored products in and near buildings.
| Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| G100 | TBD |
Management of insect, microbial, vertebrate and plant pests of forests and forest products, including seed orchards, nurseries, dryland sorting areas. Emphasis is placed on diagnosis, decision-making, interactions and techniques for forest pest management.
| Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| G100 | TBD |
Principles, theory, and practice of the use of living organisms in the natural regulation and the control of organisms.
Status and special problems of research development and implementation of pest management programs in different kinds of ecosystems; consideration of factors such as management systems, economics, communication, legal and social constraints, and ethics in the practice of pest management.
and two of*
Theory and practice of population modeling and demographic analysis.
An examination of the major factors that lead to development of plant diseases, control practices and the applications of plant biotechnology to disease management.
Interactions between parasites and their arthropod vectors. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in our understanding of the interactions, including aspects that can be exploited to reduce parasite transmission.
A course that provides graduate students with an in-depth analysis of a topic in pest ecology and management. The course content will change from year to year to reflect student interests and topical research, and can be taught by any faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences.
and a thesis
An independent research thesis based on laboratory or field-based research and focused on some aspect of pest management. The research may be supervised by any faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
| Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| G100 | TBD |
The thesis is based on original research with relevance to pest management. See Graduate General Regulation 1.10 for more information on the examination of the thesis.
*One of these courses can be substituted by
The use of statistical techniques and mathematical models in field research with special emphasis on experimentation, survey techniques, and statistical model construction. This course may not be used for the satisfaction of degree requirements in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. Prerequisite: A course in statistics. Students may not obtain credit for STAT 603 if they already have credit for STAT 403. Students with credit for STAT 650 may not take this course for further credit.
Alternatively, an 800-level elective course (three units) may be substituted, subject to approval by the MPM Director.
Program Length
Students are expected to complete the program requirements in nine terms.
Other Information
Supervisory Committee
A supervisor is appointed prior to admission. The supervisory committee consists of, at minimum, the supervisor and one additional regular biology faculty member. In exceptional cases, a faculty member from another Simon Fraser University department may be substituted for the Department of Biological Sciences faculty member. Additional supervisory committee members from other institutions may be appointed upon submission of research credentials and approval by the departmental graduate studies committee.
Annual Progress Report
Students submit a report of their progress every year, and will maintain satisfactory progress toward degree completion to remain in the program. Students receive an annual report form from the graduate secretary every year in the term in which they started, and are expected to complete and return it within six weeks. They will have a committee meeting each year, and a brief summary of this meeting will be included in the report. Also included should be a description of the work/courses completed since the last report (or since starting their program if this is the first time), student progress evaluation forms by each of the supervisory committee members, and a copy of the student's unofficial transcript.
Academic Requirements within the Graduate General Regulations
All graduate students must satisfy the academic requirements that are specified in the Graduate General Regulations, as well as the specific requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.