Department of Integrative Biology
College of Letters & Science

Degree Information

MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.S.)

Students must meet minimum Graduate School requirements. The Integrative Biology Graduate Program has a flexible curriculum, and students are required to develop a plan of courses with their advisor. A minimum of 30 credits is required to complete the M.S. degree. Students must earn a B or above in all courses counting toward degree requirements.

Students must write and defend a master’s thesis. Students’ thesis committees are composed of three faculty members including the major professor. The committee guides the student in developing study plans, research, and career goals.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PH.D.)

Students must meet minimum Graduate School requirements. The Integrative Biology Graduate Program has a flexible curriculum, and students are required to develop a plan of courses with their advisor. A minimum of 51 credits is required to complete the Ph.D. degree. Students must earn a B or above in all courses counting toward degree requirements.

Students are required to pass a preliminary examination prior to writing the dissertation. Students must complete a minor which may be used to obtain tools of research, focus in greater depth on a single discipline, or open additional areas related to the field. The Ph.D. committee is composed of five faculty members including the major professor. The committee guides the student in developing study plans, research, and career goals.

Program Information

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Forms & Links

Integrative_Biology_Graduate_Handbook

iBio Timeline for Satisfactory Progress

Minimum Credit Requirements

Fillable-Progress-Report

Masters-Certification-Form

Ph.D. Certification Form

Qualifying Exam Form

Thesis/Dissertation Proposal and Defense Evaluation Rubric

Ph.D. Minor requirement

Graduate-Learning-Goals

iBio-Grad-Student-Grievance-Procedures

Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures (GAPP)

How to Create an Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Professional Development Opportunities in Graduate School

Graduate School Requirements and Completing Your Degree Guide

Enrollment Rules

Students should consult the following document when determining the correct number of credits to enroll in each semester:

Minimum Credit Requirements

The Graduate School considers full-time enrollment to be 8-15 graded credits taken at 300 or above, excluding pass/fail and audit, during the fall and spring semesters, and 4-12 credits during the summer term, but it is not possible or advisable for graduate students to take that many actual course credits. To help with this, students have the ability to enroll for Zoology 990: Research. The credits for this course are variable and can be used to help fill the gap between actual course enrollment and full-time status. Students are strongly encouraged to talk to their advisor about the number of 990 credits they should enroll in for any given semester.

All students in the Department of Integrative Biology must be given permission each semester to enroll in Zoology 990. Please note that the course will appear closed, but because of the permission the “closed course” will be overridden.

To request permission to enroll in Zoology 990, email Kelin Boldiis (boldiis@wisc.edu), and provide the following information:

  • your name
  • campus ID
  • name of your advisor
  • term in which you want to enroll

Kelin will send you a confirmation email so you can enroll through your Student Center in MyUW.

Warrants

A warrant is a program’s recommendation that a student be admitted to doctoral candidacy (a preliminary examination warrant) or be granted a degree (master’s or doctoral), and is the Graduate School’s notification that a student has met both the Graduate School and the program requirements. Warrants are requested electronically by the Graduate Student Coordinator and must be returned to the Graduate School with faculty signatures upon completion of the degree requirements.

Please complete and submit the following form at least 3 weeks before your preliminary exam, master’s thesis defense, or doctoral dissertation defense to notify the Graduate Student Coordinator of your intent to request a warrant:

iBio/FMS Warrant Request

Once received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Student Coordinator will notify the student to pick up the warrant in B154 Birge Hall.

Upon successful completion of the preliminary exam, master’s thesis defense, or doctoral dissertation defense, the student’s advisory committee must complete and sign both the warrant and the Thesis/Dissertation Proposal and Defense Evaluation Rubric. Both signed forms must be turned in to the Graduate Student Coordinator in B154 Birge Hall.

Note: Students who have successfully defended their doctoral dissertation must upload their signed warrant to ProQuest before turning in the hard copy to the Graduate Student Coordinator.

Scholarships & Awards

Departmental scholarships and awards applications are due on March 1 at 11:59 PM.

Graduate Scholarships and Awards

National Associations

There are many national associations that students in our department are members of or attend their annual conferences. The Scholarships page has department and university wide scholarships to support travel to present your research at a conference. Below are a few common associations:

 

Mental Health Resources

Resources on Campus

Need Help?

If you have questions or concerns related to credit hours, annual reports, forms, degree and graduation requirements, contact:

Kelin Boldiis, Graduate Coordinator, B154 Birge Hall, boldiis@wisc.edu; 608-262-2742

If you have questions or concerns about degree progress, mentor-mentee interactions, program requirements and expectations, contact:

Monica Turner, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, turnermg@wisc.edu; 608-262-2592