UC Davis’ legendary viticulture and enology’s graduate program has gained its renown for educating some of the most acclaimed winemakers in the world. 

Started by an act of the California state Legislature in 1880, the Department of Viticulture and Enology has a long history of excellence in teaching, research, and extension, including more than 75 years on the UC Davis campus. 

Faculty have included many of the most significant wine scientists of the past century, including Maynard Amerine, who introduced sensory evaluation to the science of winemaking, and passed these techniques along to generations of UC Davis students who would become winemakers around the globe.

The interdisciplinary graduate group’s mission is to provide an understanding of the disciplines underlying viticulture and enology and an appreciation for linkages between the vineyard and winery that influence grape and wine quality.

Students earning their master’s degree receive an education in the scientific research process and the ability to become leaders in a changing industry that responds to societal issues in a sustainable and responsible manner.  As of 2012, the graduate group now offers a Professional Science Masters degree, along with the traditional Masters option.

Our students learn from top faculty in the most advanced and sustainable research winery in the world (and the first winery in the world to be certified LEED Platinum) and leave well prepared for jobs in industry, research or teaching.

Thanks to the university’s more than 90 graduate degree programs, students in all fields at UC Davis have opportunities to grow, learn and achieve in their chosen careers.