The primary goals of the Master of Science degree in Bacteriology are to develop students’ understanding of the scientific process and to provide advanced training in bacteriology. Students tailor a curriculum of advanced coursework and/or research, following either a coursework track or a research track. Students acquire a general overview of bacteriology and may focus on a specialized subject area such as bacterial physiology, molecular microbiology, food microbiology, environmental microbiology, biotechnology or medical microbiology.
News and Events
Congratulations 2022 Bacteriology Master of Science Graduate Student Award Winners!
Congratulations 2022 Bacteriology Master of Science Graduate Student Award Winners! Masters High Achievement Award was awarded to Erik Myers, Kaspar lab The purpose of this award is to honor and advance the career of one …
Welcome Spring 2022 Students!
Introducing our Spring 2022 cohort. We welcomed an incoming class of four new students. We are excited to see all they accomplish during their time in the program.
Welcome New Students!
Introducing our Fall 2021 cohort. This fall, we welcomed an incoming class of nine new students. The students hail from around the world. With varied interests and career paths, we look forward to their time …
Student Highlights

Mollie Comella
Mollie is a first year master's student in the coursework track. She hopes to participate in a research lab before graduating in 2023, but until then enjoys being a teaching assistant in the Biocore department. She also holds down a part time job to support herself and her adorable golden retriever, Nittany. She hopes to at some point combine her interests of Forensic Science (having gotten her BS in Forensic Science-Biology from Penn State) and Microbiology. In her free time, Mollie is probably spending time with Nittany, friends, or watching The Office for the umpteenth time.

Chavin Buasakdi
Chavin is a master's in bacteriology research track student. He is part of the Daniel Amador-Noguez lab, and his work focuses on multi-omic studies of Bacillus subtilis biofilm metabolisms and bacteriophages.
Apart from being part of the research community, Chavin also participates in the Thai Student Association of UW-Madison. This organization often collaborates with other Asian organizations to hold events that involve Asian food, culture, and other fun networking activities.
In his free time, Chavin enjoys playing games since he loves real time strategy and sandbox space games. He also reads fiction books regularly.

Nat Zeng
Nat is a second year master's research track student in the Department of Bacteriology. Part of Dr. Cameron Currie's laboratory, her current research focuses on microbial communities of terrestrial arthropods. She is interested in the chemical competition between these communities and is looking for new sources of antifungals from this unique source. In her free time, Nat enjoys knitting and hanging out with her maltipoo dog Tank, and Scottish fold cat Ava.
Diversity
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background — people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.