PhD Program
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Curriculum/Course Work
Course Work/Certification
The Program in Cellular and Molecular Pathology encourages each student to develop an independent and creative approach to science. The elective course program for a distributed minor is flexible, so that individual requirements can be tailored to the professional objectives of each student. The actual series of courses taken by each student is decided in consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the student, major professor, and four other faculty, two of whom must be trainers in the Pathology Graduate Program. New graduate students should consult with the Chair of the Graduate Education Committee, Dr. Zsuzsa Fabry, when planning their first semester coursework. The Graduate Education Committee has designed a set of guidelines to aid the students and their advisory committees in the task of constructing an appropriate series of formal course requirements. These guidelines are described below. Students should consult the Department Secretary regarding University Regulations when choosing their committee members.
Registration
Auditing: Most courses may be audited and you will register as an auditor, ensuring class materials will be prepared for everyone. If there is limited space in the class, however, auditors must make room for fully registered students. An audited class will appear on your transcript, but will not count for credit.
Credit Load: All students must register for 8-12 credits each semester (4-8 credits during the 8 week General Session during the summer) until dissertator status is reached. During the Fall and Spring Semester, it is advisable to sign up for enough research credits (Pathology 990) to bring the total credit load to 12 credits. This will keep the credit level above the 8 credit minimum should it become necessary to drop a course. Students who have not been assigned a major professor for the first semester should sign up for research credits under Dr. Zsuzsa Fabry. When a student chooses a laboratory and major professor, they should sign up for research credits under them.
To reach dissertator status, all course work must be completed, the Written Comprehensive Qualifying Examination (Prelim A) and the Oral Research Proposal Examination (Prelim B) passed, and the Graduate School residency requirements met. This will typically occur in the third year of study. Dissertators must register for 3 research credits each semester, including the 8 week summer session.
Web(My UW) Registration The university utilized web-based registration through the My UW portal (my.wisc.edu), and the Registrar’s office will send all eligible students registration information. You will need a computer with Internet access, your university netID and password, a current timetable (or access to the online timetable), and your major professor’s section number for research. The major professor for incoming students will be Dr. Zsuzsa Fabry. For Pathology 990 research credits, you will receive an e-mail from the CMP Graduate Program Office with a five digit course number to register under the appropriate major professor. If you are unable to register for a course, you will have to call the department responsible for the course to obtain authorization. The department office will need your Campus ID number and your name to enter you into the system for that course listing. They will provide you with a five digit call number which you should then be able to use to register for the course.
Requirements for the Major
Candidates will be expected to have knowledge of cellular and molecular biology and pathology. Courses are chosen to provide each student with a background in the four focus areas of the program (oncology-cancer biology, cell matrix and growth factor biology, immunopathology and neuropathology) and in basic areas of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and genetics in preparation for in-depth study of the cellular and molecular pathogenesis of disease. The courses taken by the student to satisfy the Ph.D. requirement in the Cellular and Molecular Pathology Track are selected by the student and his/her major professor. All courses must contribute to an organized program of study and research. A Pathology Certification Form should be filed with the Pathology Graduate Education Committee Office and is used as a guide in constructing an appropriate series of formal course requirements from the individual student. These courses are then submitted to the student’s advisory committee for approval. It should be noted that guidelines for the Ph.D. established by the Graduate School must be adhered to. Credits earned in thesis research combined with formal course credits must meet the guidelines of the Graduate School.
Required Core Courses for a Major in Pathology: For the major, a minimum of 12 credits is required, including the following courses or their equivalent:
Students are also required to take a minimum of one of the following topics courses or their equivalent. Students are strongly encouraged to select these courses according to their focus area of research.
Below is a list of courses approved for the Ethics course requirement and the Professional Development course requirement. This list is not exhaustive and your advisory committee may approve a course that is not listed below to count towards either of these requirements:
Approved ethics courses: Med Hist 545, Ethical and Regulatory Issues in Clinical Research I, 1 cr. Oncology 675, Appropriate Conduct and Effective Communication of Science, 1 cr Chem 901, Seminar in Scientific Ethics, 0-1 credits Vet Med Study Group, Good Practices in Science Nursing 802, Ethics and the Responsible Conduct of Research 1cr
Approved statistics courses (not part of the breadth requirement): Statistical Problems in Genetics and Molecular Biology 1 credit; Meets with Genetics 677 and Medical Genetics 677. Biostatistics 541, Introduction to Biostatistics I, 3 cr.
Suggested professional development courses: Life Sci Comm 560, Scientific Writing, 3 cr. Neuroscience 700, Professional Development for Biomedical Graduate Students, 1 cr (crosslisted with Physiology)
Requirements for Minor
Breadth Courses leading to a Distributed Minor in Pathology: In addition to the core courses outlined above, all students for the Ph.D. in the Cellular and Molecular Pathology Track will be expected to complete a minimum of 10 graduate level credits toward a distributed minor. A suggested distributed minor would consist of advanced courses from the following areas: cell and molecular biology, genetics, immunology, biochemistry, oncology, virology and statistics.
To fulfill the advanced course requirements, additional courses are required from each section listed below. These courses should provide the student and his/her committee with the flexibility to complement a broad range of disease-oriented basic research projects. New, experimental, or special topics courses that offer advanced level training in these specialty areas are acceptable. The advanced training received in these areas coupled with thesis research will insure that the Pathology Ph.D. student has proper breadth knowledge and a foundation in core areas of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics and immunology.
Biochemistry
Cell and Molecular Biology
Immunology
Genetics
Types of Classes
Seminars: Students are required to give a minimum of 3 seminars throughout their graduate career. Seminars can be given as part of a the Pathology Seminar Series (PATH 900), a course or a regional, national, or international meeting. Additionally, dissertators are required to give a thesis-based seminar prior to their thesis defense as part of the Pathology Seminar Series, Pathology 900. A list of seminar courses that can be taken for credit is listed below. Additional equivalent seminar courses can be also taken upon approval by the Student’s Advisory Committee.
Additional Courses: The student’s advisory committee may require additional courses. However, there is no general departmental requirement for additional course credits.
Special topics and mini-courses: Several one credit courses are usually offered each semester. Special topic courses of interest to our graduate students are offered by many departments. Mini-courses are intended to be literature oriented seminars emphasizing reading and discussion of assigned material.
Seminar courses: Many departments offer seminar courses in which each student presents a seminar during the semester.
Tutorials: Students can arrange to take tutorials in lieu of course work. Tutorials should be arranged between the interested student and professor(s). Tutorials are not a substitute for a limited background. Careful consideration should be used as to whether formal classroom instruction in a particular area is needed prior to arranging for a tutorial in that area.
Journal Clubs: Several weekly journal clubs in special topics exist. Generally one paper is presented each week. Some are offered as formal courses; others meet informally. Below is a list of some of the journal clubs that CMP trainers currently participate in:
Grades
Ph.D. students must maintain a B average or better in all graduate courses. Grades of BC or lower suggest an inadequate comprehension of course material. The Graduate School requires that a student maintain a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0 in all graduate-level work.
Education
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