Spectators watch skiers and snowboarders compete during the 11th annual Rail Jam, hosted by the Hoofers Ski and Snowboard Club, at the Memorial Union Terrace at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during winter on Feb. 8, 2020. The event was part of the weeklong Wisconsin Union Winter Carnival. (Photo by Brian Huynh / UW-Madison)

Program Information and Resources

FMS Graduate Handbook

Program Information and Resources

|

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 Research credits. 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 research credits they should enroll in for any given semester. UW expects students to put in an average of 45 hours (3hrs/week) to receive one research credit. For example, if you work 9 hours per week you should enroll for 3 credits. All students in the CFL must be given permission to enroll in Zoology 990. If your advisor is in a different department (i.e. CEE or Bacteriology) you must get research credits through that department.

To request permission to enroll in Zoology 990, email zoo@ibio.wisc.edu, and provide the following information:

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

The Graduate Program Manager will send you a confirmation email so you can enroll through your Student Center in MyUW.

Note: If your advisor is not Biology faculty or a zero-time affiliate of Biology, you will need to request permission for research through the department your advisor is affiliated with.

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 Program Manager 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 Program Manager of your intent to request a warrant:

Zoology/FMS Warrant Request

Once received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Manager will notify you the warrant has been processed and will explain the next steps.

Upon successful completion of the preliminary exam, master’s thesis defense, or doctoral dissertation defense, the student’s advisory committee must complete and sign the warrant.

Note: Students who have successfully defended their doctoral dissertation must upload their signed warrant to ProQuest.

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:

Here is a list of Graduate Program Assistantship Rates 

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

zoo@ibio.wisc.edu

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

Jessica Hua, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, jhua23@wisc.edu