The 11th I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium was held 9 August 2011 during the joint meeting of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) and the International Plant Protection Conference (IPPC) in Honolulu, HI. The I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium has been held annually since 1999 and remains one of the most prestigious APS Annual Meeting events. This symposium features graduate students who are chosen on a competitive basis to present their thesis research results. The 11th I. E. Melhus Symposium was organized and co-sponsored by the APS Epidemiology Committee. Selection criteria for the 11th I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium included: (i) submission of a 5-page synopsis of the student’s graduate research project (excluding tables and figures); (ii) an expert panel evaluation of the originality and significance of each applicant’s research contribution toward improving our understanding of plant disease epidemiology and disease management; (iii) an evaluation of each applicant’s written communication skills; (iv) two letters of nomination from each applicant’s institution, (v) active membership in APS; and (vi) the requirement that the participant’s graduate degree was completed no longer than 12 months before the 2011 APS Annual Meeting. The co-sponsors and organizers of the 11th I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium wish to extend a special thanks to the four APS members who served as judges to select the 2011 symposium participants. The judges were Kira Bowen, David Gent, Peter Ojiambo, and Stephen Wegulo.