· Background to the program and subject area:
The program was established in the Department of Plant Protection in 1973 under the name of the Department of Plant Production and Protection, which was later separated in 1980 into two sections, one of which is the Plant Protection Department. In the beginning of the academic year 1997/1998, the department was joint with horticulture under the name of the Department of Horticulture and Plant Protection until the end of the year 2001/2002. The department started its work again after its separation from the Department of Horticulture at the beginning of the academic year 2002/2003 under the name of the Department of Plant Protection again. The program includes 11 faculty members and 8 academic-administrative staff. The program offers a MSc. in Plant Protection.
· Vision statements of the program:
The Plant Protection Department aspires to become a center of excellence that achieves its mission of improving the quality of life of the population in Jordan and the world, taking into consideration the recent scientific developments that serve pest management in order to improve agriculture. The department is interested in developing its expertise by attracting distinguished scientists to join it within the available means. Accordingly, the department will be one of the centers of the university that:
1. Develop quality standards in education in all educational programs
2. Support all employees to obtain training in various fields
3. Develop scientific programs that serve pest management in different human societies
· Mission statements of the program:
The mission of the Department of Plant Protection at the University of Jordan aims to provide its students with high quality education and to conduct research on various pests (insects, plant diseases and herbs), develop appropriate methods for managing them and provide accurate scientific advice to the agricultural sector in Jordan and the world.
The field of plant protection includes overlapping scientific fields. Therefore, the department includes a number of scientists in the fields of insects, spidermites, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, viruses and weeds.
Faculty members are concerned with the protection of crops from pests, taking into account the preservation of the environment. A number of them are conducting research on medical, domestic and veterinary insects. The department is also interested in strengthening cooperation with other departments in the college and inside and outside the university in different scientific fields. The international reputation of the department is one of the most important sources of attractiveness.
Teaching at the Plant Protection Department at the postgraduate level is one of the basic activities of the department. In this way, the department personnel are interested in developing the means of teaching with the latest methods available in the world and enriching his various abilities in order to provide their students with the necessary skills to succeed in their scientific endeavors and rehabilitate their graduates to work in governmental and private agricultural institutions in the field of pest control, work in universities and scientific institutes and research centers to develop technology for agriculture in the future, and enable them to set up their own projects.
In addition, the MSc. program in plant protection aimed to provide both theoretical and practical approach to study and apply environmentally sound and sustainable integrated pest management strategies. It also applies classical and modern biotechnology and molecular techniques to diagnose, study, and manage plant pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses, and phytoplasmas, insect pests, nematodes, weeds, and their host interactions.
· Program Aims:
1. Meet the needs of the community and the local market of specialists in the field of plant protection, as well as in the field of medical and veterinary insects and the rearing of honey bees.
2. Provide the regional and international market with highly qualified graduates with a MSc. in the field of plant protection, as well as in the field of medical and veterinary insects and the rearing of honey bees.
3. Preparing graduates capable of pursuing PhD studies in local, regional and international universities.