Genetics PhD at University of Wisconsin Madison

Graduate training in genetics emphasizes study and research leading to a Ph.D. degree in genetics.

The goal of the genetics graduate training program is to train the next generation of professional geneticists. This includes selecting the most promising university graduates for admission to the program and training those students in the methods and logic of genetic analysis. Such analyses are increasingly important in contemporary biological and biomedical research. The curriculum includes:

1. coursework on the principles of genetics and on the methods of genetic and genomic analyses, and
2. original research in a specialized area, which culminates in the writing and defense of a doctoral thesis.

The genetics graduate program is supported by the oldest and one of the largest NIH-funded genetics training grants in the country.

The strength of genetics research at Wisconsin derives in large part from the Laboratory of Genetics, but state-of-the-art genetics research is conducted in many campus departments and centers. Training faculty of the genetics Ph.D. program includes over 80 trainers selected from 22 campus departments and schools based on the strength of their scholarly genetics research. A key feature of the trainers is that they conduct genetic research, using any number of tools, and can therefore provide students with a solid foundation of genetic knowledge and experiences. The geneticsresearch pursued on campus provides an exceptional community.

Genetics Ph.D. students choose one of the training faculty as the graduate thesis advisor and mentor. Genetics graduate students spend time during the first semester of graduate school rotating in the laboratories of three or four faculty trainers, selected by the student. Following rotations, a graduate thesis advisor is chosen by mutual consent of both student and professor. Students are expected to acquire a broad and fundamental knowledge of genetics during their coursework, after which they conduct independent scholarly research based on individual interests and under the guidance and mentoring of the thesis advisor. Formal coursework requirements are modest, and independent study that includes original research is of paramount importance in the program. Students choose an individualized thesis advisory committee of five faculty members (including the thesis advisor) that approves formal coursework and provides scientific and career development advice throughout a student's graduate career.

Laboratory of Genetics

The Laboratory of Genetics is the oldest and one of the finest centers of genetics in the nation. It is highly regarded for itsresearchcontributionsinthe areas ofdisease genetics,cell biology, neurogenetics,developmental genetics,gene expression,genomics,evolutionary and population genetics,andcomputational biology. The laboratory consists of two departments: Genetics, in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; and Medical Genetics, in the School of Medicine and Public Health. Although administratively distinct, these two departments function as one at both the faculty and student levels.

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding in the principles of genetics and heredity in all organisms. They will develop particular expertise in at least one of the broad subject areas of the doctoral program.
2. Demonstrate a broad understanding of major current and past theories, research findings and methodologies and techniques in genetics, with particular expertise in their area of concentration, both orally and in writing.
3. Develop critical thinking skills. They will retrieve and examine scientific literature, evaluate evidence for and again hypotheses, identify knowledge gaps, strengths and weaknesses in existing literature, synthesize knowledge, develop conclusions, and formulate plans for moving the current state of knowledge forward.
4. Develop and complete original research that advances a specific field of study within one of the broad areas subject areas in genetics.
5. Retrieve, evaluate and interpret professional peer-reviewed literature and use this information to develop theoretical frameworks, testable hypotheses, and predictions for their own research projects.
6. Design research projects that are feasible, based on well-designed and internally controlled experiments, and address important unsolved problems in genetic or biomedical research.
7. Conduct independent research, critically evaluate and interpret the resulting data, and, based on that analysis, design future experiments that advance the state of the field.
8. Write, edit, and assemble manuscripts resulting from their independent research and submit these for publication in peer-reviewed professional journals.
9. Communicate effectively to diverse audiences in writing, through oral presentations, and during formal and informal discussions.
10. Write clear and concise research articles for publication in professional journals.
11. Present at scientific conferences and in both formal and informal seminars.
12. Master methods of communicating and interacting effectively with professional colleagues, and will prepare successful applications for research grant support.
13. Articulate their research and its significance both formally and informally to diverse audiences.
14. Give and receive feedback on communication skills both orally and in writing.
15. Be provided with opportunities to engage in public outreach and education.
16. Effectively teach the principles of genetics and the methods used in contemporary genetic research.
17. Receive in-class educational training by serving as teaching assistants for at least one semester of an undergraduate genetics course.
18. Be provided with opportunities to mentor other students (for example, undergraduate students) in a laboratory research setting. Interested students will have opportunities to perform outreach activities in which they educate school-age students or individuals from other fields on the principles of modern genetics.
19. Be provided with diverse training that will prepare them for a range of flexible and sustainable careers in, for example, academia, industry, government, science policy, administration, commerce, journalism, law, education and community outreach.
20. Develop broadly applicable skills in critical thinking and problem solving.
21. Be provided with opportunities for teamwork, written and oral communication skills and collaborations.
22. Receive training in professional ethics and the responsible conduct of science.
23. Be trained to use scientific rigor when designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting and reporting results.
24. Discuss and formulate opinions on the many situations that working scientists encounter involving professional ethics and conflicts of interest.
25. Receive training in laws, regulation, permits and licenses, occupational health, safety standards and best practices, will demonstrate understanding of such and adhere to compliance.