The Bacteriology M.S. program is designed to give you an advanced education focused on bacteriology. This is done through curricular and other requirements.
All requirements can be found on the Bacteriology M.S. page in the UW – Madison Guide.
Coursework Track
Year 1
Advising and Orientation: Week before classes begin.
Orientation Advising Meeting and Form: September 15 for fall admits; January 31 for spring admits. Form must be completed by the student to include the first semester’s courses.
Register for Classes: By the first day of class. All classes not on the pre-approved list must be approved by the program director in writing. Requests for approvals must be made at the time of class registration.
Ethics Workshop: Complete during Microbio 875 course (offered Fall only)
Advisor Check in Email: Prior to each semester’s enrollment, IF any non-pre-approved courses are selected.
Advisor Check in Meeting: March 1 for fall admits; October 1 for spring admits.
Seminar Assessment/Research Poster: May 1 for fall admits; December 1 for spring admits
Complete IDP (optional)

Year 2
Register for Classes: By the first day of class. All classes not on the pre-approved list must be approved by the program director in writing. Requests for approvals must be made at the time of class registration.
Complete Coursework Certification Form: September 15 for fall graduates; January 31 for spring graduates
Check in with Program Coordinator on Graduation (either by email or meeting): September 15 for fall graduates; January 31 for spring graduates
Complete Exit Interview with Program Coordinator: December 1 for fall graduates; May 1 for spring graduates
Research Track
Year 1
Advising and Orientation: Week before classes begin.
Orientation Advising Meeting and Form: September 15 for fall admits; January 31 for spring admits. Form must be completed by the student to include the first semester’s courses.
Register for Classes: By the first day of class. All classes not on the pre-approved list must be approved by the thesis advisor in writing. Requests for approvals must be made at the time of class registration.
Ethics Workshop: Complete during Microbio 875 course (offered Fall only).
Establish a Research Advisory Committee: December 1 for fall admits; May 1 for spring admits
Email Research Advisory Committee to Set Up Your Committee Meeting Date: February 1 for fall admits; September 15 for spring admits
Research and Coursework Proposal and Committee Meeting: May 1 for fall admits; December 1 for spring admits
Complete Coursework Certification Form: May 1 for fall admits; December 1 for spring admits
Complete IDP (optional)

Year 2
Register for Classes: By the first day of class. All classes not on the pre-approved list must be approved by the thesis advisor in writing. Requests for approvals must be made at the time of class registration.
Complete Coursework Certification Form: September 15 for fall graduates; January 31 for spring graduates
Work with your Research Advisory Committee to schedule the date of the Thesis Defense: beginning of the semester in which you plan to graduate
Send an email notification with the scheduled date of the Thesis Defense to the Bacteriology Program Manager: at least three weeks prior to defense date
Research Thesis and Defense: Before the degree deadline: https://grad.wisc.edu/deadlines/
Complete Exit Interview with Program Coordinator: December 1 for fall graduates; May 1 for spring graduates
Required Courses
The following courses (or equivalent) are required for completion of the M.S. degree for both the coursework and research tracks, and may be fulfilled by courses taken prior to entrance to the M.S. program or as part of the M.S. program.
MICROBIO 303 | Biology of Microorganisms | 3 |
MICROBIO 526 | Physiology of Microorganisms | 3 |
MICROBIO 470 | Microbial Genetics & Molecular Machines | 3 |
BIOCHEM 501 | Introduction to Biochemistry | 3 |
MICROBIO 875 | Masters Degree Seminar | 1 |
Elective Courses
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Pre-approved Courses
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MICROBIO 520 | Planetary Microbiology: What Life Here Tells Us About Life Out There | 3 |
MICROBIO/SOIL SCI 523 | Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry | 3 |
MICROBIO 525 | Field Studies of Planetary Microbiology and Life in the Universe | 3 |
MICROBIO/ONCOLOGY 545 (Not Grad 50%) | Topics in Biotechnology | 1 |
MICROBIO/BIOCHEM/GENETICS 612 | Prokaryotic Molecular Biology | 3 |
MICROBIO 626 | Microbial and Cellular Metabolomics | 3 |
MICROBIO 657 | Bioinformatics for Microbiologists | 3 |
MICROBIO/BMOLCHEM 668 | Microbiology at Atomic Resolution | 3 |
MICROBIO 710 | Microbial Symbiosis | 3 |
M M & I/PATH-BIO 528 (Not Grad 50%) | Immunology | 3 |
M M & I 554 | Emerging Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism | 2 |
M M & I/BIOCHEM 575 | Biology of Viruses | 2 |
M M & I 704 | Infectious Diseases of Human Beings | 3 |
M M & I 740 | Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis | 3 |
M M & I/PATH-BIO 750 | Host-Parasite Relationships in Vertebrate Viral Disease | 3 |
GENETICS/MD GENET 565 | Human Genetics | 3 |
GENETICS/AGRONOMY/AN SCI/HORT 615 | Genetic Mapping | 3 |
GENETICS/ENTOM/ZOOLOGY 624 | Molecular Ecology | 3 |
GENETICS/CHEM 626 | Genomic Science | 2 |
GENETICS/BIOCHEM 631 | Plant Genetics and Development | 3 |
GENETICS 633 | Population Genetics | 3 |
GENETICS/MD GENET/POP HLTH 636 | Public Health Genomics | 1 |
GENETICS/BOTANY/M M & I/PL PATH 655 | Biology and Genetics of Fungi | 3 |
GENETICS/BOTANY/ENTOM/ZOOLOGY 820 | Foundations of Evolution | 2 |
GENETICS 885 | Advanced Genomic and Proteomic Analysis | 3 |
GENETICS/B M E/B M I/BIOCHEM/CBE/COMP SCI 915 | Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine | 1 |
BIOCHEM/NUTR SCI 510 | Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism | 3 |
BIOCHEM 601 | Protein and Enzyme Structure and Function | 2 |
BIOCHEM/B M I/BMOLCHEM/MATH 609 | Mathematical Methods for Systems Biology | 3 |
BIOCHEM/NUTR SCI 619 | Advanced Nutrition: Intermediary Metabolism of Macronutrients | 3 |
BIOCHEM/GENETICS/MD GENET 620 | Eukaryotic Molecular Biology | 3 |
BIOCHEM/BOTANY 621 | Plant Biochemistry | 3 |
BIOCHEM 919 | Synthetic Biology Seminar | 1 |
BIOCHEM 924 | Membrane Protein Structure and Function | 1 |
CHEM 665 | Biophysical Chemistry | 4 |
PUBLHLTH 710 | Introduction to Global Health: History, Current Issues, and Health Statistics | 2 |
PUBLHLTH 711 | Global Public Health and Healthcare Systems: Organizations, Governance, Financing, and Workforce | 2 |
BOTANY/ANTHRO/ZOOLOGY 410 | Evolutionary Biology | 3 |
PL PATH/BOTANY/ENTOM 505 | Plant-Microbe Interactions: Molecular and Ecological Aspects | 3 |
PL PATH/ONCOLOGY/MM&I 640 | General Virology-Multiplication of Viruses | 3 |
ONCOLOGY 675 | Advanced or Special Topics in Cancer Research | 1-3 |
LSC 560 | Scientific Writing | 3 |
LSC 561 | Writing Science for the Public | 3 |
STAT/ B M I 541 | Introduction to Biostatistics | 3 |
STAT/F&W ECOL/HORT 571 | Statistical Methods for Bioscience I | 4 |
Advanced Lab Courses (Not Grad 50%)
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MICROBIO 304 | Biology of Microorganisms Laboratory | 2 |
MICROBIO 527 | Advanced Laboratory Techniques in Microbiology | 2 |
MICROBIO 551 | Capstone Research Project in Microbiology | 2 |
Archived Pre-approved Courses
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MICROBIO 607 | Advanced Microbial Genetics | 3 |
MICROBIO 632 | Industrial Microbiology/Biotechnology | 2 |
M M & I/POP HLTH 603 | Clinical and Public Health Microbiology | 5 |
M M & I/PATH-BIO 790 | Immunology of Infectious Disease | 3 |
GENETICS 525 | Epigenetics | 3 |
BIOCHEM 570 | Computational Modeling of Biological Systems | 3 |
Exceptions
Courses from the departments of Genetics, Biochemistry, Bacteriology, and MM&I are generally accepted for electives. If the course you wish to take is not on the pre-approved list, be sure to request approval from your advisor (coursework track) or research advisory committee (research track).