UW MADISON DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY

ACADEMIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Date of Initial Meeting:

RECORD OF GRADUATE STUDENT DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Date of Entry as Graduate Student

Bachelor's Degree from Major: Date:

Master's Degree from

Major Professor: Vice-Major Professor:

I. PRIOR COURSE WORK (expected preparation). List courses and grades

Mathematics (up to and including one semester of calculus):

Statistics (one semester at the college level):

Chemistry (General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry):

Physics (College level course including electricity and light):

Foreign Language (two years at High School or two semesters at college):

Biology (Strong background in the biological sciences typically including cell biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, and molecular biology.





Courses assigned by the academic advisory committee to fill important deficiencies in student preparation:





II. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Each course must be taken at a level that would carry graduate credit and will usually carry at least three credits. List title, number of credits, institution (if not UW), and grade. Seminar courses may not be counted. Appendix 1 lists courses that may be counted as fulfilling these requirements. Courses not listed in the Appendix may be counted towards completion of the requirements at the discretion of the academic advisory committee. A single course may be used to fulfill only one requirement, even if it can satisfies several.

General Botany Track

Required coursework for Ph.D.: at least one course from each area. Required coursework for Master’s: at least one course from at least six of the seven areas

2. Biochemistry, Cell or Molecular Biology

Ecology Track

Required coursework: three courses (at least nine credits) from area A and one course from each of areas B and C

1. Ecology

Area C

5. Biochemistry, Cell or Molecular Biology


Evolution Track

Required coursework: one course in each of the following five areas

Area D

5. Ecology

Area E

6. Biochemistry, Cell or Molecular Biology


Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Track

Required coursework: five courses, at least one each from the following five areas

2. Biochemistry, Cell or Molecular Biology

Area D

Area E

5. Ecology

IIIa. Additional requirements for a Master’s degree

a. A minimum of 8-credits of graduate-level botany courses (300 or above) as a graduate student while in residence, not counting seminar or research credits. This may include courses used to fulfill the track requirements. List courses below.




b. Two semesters of a seminar course while in residence at UW as a degree candidate


c. Fifty credits in natural science (undergraduate and graduate), i.e. courses that satisfy biological or physical science breadth requirements as indicated in UW Timetable (may use separate page).







d. Master's as terminal degree. The student completes one of the following:

(1) Thesis

(The thesis must be deposited in the library before degree completion)

(2) Research report (Botany 990-998)

e. Master's degree, to be followed by Ph.D. The student completes one of the following:

(1) Thesis

(2) Research report (Botany 990-998)


IIIb. Additional requirements for a Doctoral degree

a. A minimum of 8-credits of graduate-level botany courses (300 or above) as a graduate student while in residence, not counting seminar or research credits. This may include courses used to fulfill the track requirements. List courses below.





b. Minimum of two seminar courses while enrolled in Botany at UW, are required before taking the preliminary examination. An additional two semesters of seminar, to be taken before the student, are strongly recommended. At least one semester of seminar must be outside the section in which a student is majoring and/or outside the department.



c. One semester of classroom teaching experience, at least 33% FTE, is required of all Ph.D. students while a student at UW-Madison. Prior teaching experience or grading positions do not count. Additional teaching experience is strongly recommended.

d. Preliminary Examination - An oral prelim based on a written thesis proposal, is to be taken as soon as possible after all course work is completed, by the end of the fifth semester. Students are not eligible to take the oral preliminary examination until they have satisfied the requirements for their track, complete the minimal teaching requirement, and have cleared their records of all incomplete grades. The research proposal should be submitted to the student's Ph.D. Committee at least one week prior to the exam.

e Once per year after achieving dissertator status a research seminar of at least 30 minutes must be presented on campus, preferably in the Botany Colloquium.

f. During the final semester in residence, a candidate for the Ph.D. degree will present a departmental seminar on his/her research. This seminar is to be treated as a Botany colloquium with a public announcement prepared by office staff from information supplied by the student. The announcement should be distributed to Botany faculty & graduate students & any other interested parties at least one week prior to the seminar.

g. Following completion of the dissertation, the candidate is required to pass an oral examination given by five or more members of the graduate faculty, with least one member from outside the Department of Botany.


IV. RECORD OF STUDENT PROGRESS

Students should be aware that the various degree requirements must be completed according to a time schedule. Students who fail to maintain satisfactory progress may be dropped from the Department of Botany graduate program.

As requirements are completed, each student is responsible for immediately updating the information on this form, which will be kept on file in the Department of Botany office.

Normally a Master's degree should be completed within 2 ½ calendar years of residency. Upon petition, the Academic Advisory Committee may approve an additional one or two semesters to complete the degree. If the degree is not completed within four years, ordinarily the student will be dropped from the graduate program.

Normally all requirements for the Ph.D. degree should be fulfilled within five years (four years if the candidate enters with a Master's degree). The Academic Advisory Committee may approve an additional one or two semesters to complete the degree.

1. Candidate for M.S.______________________; Ph.D.

2. Deadline for M.S. completion

Date M.S. completed

3. Deadline for Ph.D. completion





Requirements Deadline Date Completion Date

(Master's requirements

indicated by *; PhD by §)

*§Major Professor Selectiona

*§Vice-Major Professor Selectiona

§Minor Field Selectiond

§Certification Meetinge


§Preliminary Examinationi

§Teaching Requirementj

*§Annual Committee Meeting(s)m (notify Grad Coordinator of date):

_________________________ _________________________ __________________________

_________________________ _________________________ __________________________

§Annual Seminar Presentationsn (notify Grad Coordinator of date and the seminar series):

_________________________ _________________________ __________________________

_________________________ _________________________ __________________________

Academic Advisory Committee Comments and Actions










a A major professor should be selected as early as convenient; at least during the first year of graduate studies. A vice major professor should be identified at the same time as the major professor.

b An track should be selected as soon as possible and certainly by the certification meeting (see e, below).

c All students must form a committee and meet with that committee by the end of the first year of graduate study for a certification meeting. In most cases this committee should be selected earlier. The committee can change in composition, in consultation with the major professor and depending on the student's needs. The M.S. committee consists of at least 3 Botany faculty; the Ph.D. committee consists eventually of 5 members (3 of which must be from the major department; 1 must be from outside the dept.), but only 3 are required for the guidance meetings following the preliminary examination. The minor professor, if Minor Option A is selected, becomes a member of the Ph.D. committee.

d Minor Field - A Ph.D. candidate selects a minor field of study prior to the certification meeting, but no later than halfway through the minor course sequence. You can choose from Option A or Option B. With Option A, you must take at least 10 credits, all in only one department. With Option B, you must take a minimum of 10 credits, in one or more departments (may include a Botany course, outside the student’s area of emphasis; one seminar course may be included). The candidate must file a Minor Agreement Form with the Botany Graduate Coordinator (form available from the graduate program coordinator) at the time of the certification meeting.

e Certification Meeting - The incoming student must meet with his/her Ph.D. committee by the end of the first year of study, to determine what additional courses will be required and recommended. These courses are to be listed on the departmental Certification Form (page eight). A plan for the minor should be discussed at this meeting. The completed Certification Form is to be kept with the student's records in the Department Office. A minimum of 4 committee members should be present at this meeting.

f Courses required by the Academic Advisory Committee - All candidates are required to fulfill these courses by the end of their second year.

g Course Requirements - All candidates are required to fulfill the course requirements listed earlier in this document as appropriate for their track. For the Ph.D. degree, the additional course work for the major and minor must be completed before the Preliminary Examination. Exceptions will be subject to approval of the student's Ph.D. Committee.

h Minimum credit requirement - a master’s degree student must complete 16 graduate level credits, a Ph.D. student must complete 32 graduate level credits in order to receive a UW degree. Courses taken at other institutions do not count toward fulfillment of this requirement; must be completed before prelim.

i Preliminary Examination - An oral prelim based on a written thesis proposal, is to be taken as soon as possible after all course work is completed, by the end of the fourth semester (must be taken by the end of the fifth semester). Students are not eligible to take the oral preliminary examination until they have satisfied the departmental foreign language requirement (if applicable) and have cleared their records of all incomplete grades. The research proposal should be submitted to the student's Ph.D. Committee at least three weeks prior to the exam.

j At least one semester of teaching experience, 50% FTE, is required of all Ph.D. candidates while a student at UW-Madison. Prior teaching experience does not count.

k During the final semester in residence, a candidate for the Ph.D. degree will present a departmental seminar on his/her research. This seminar is to be treated as a Botany colloquium with a public announcement prepared by office staff from information supplied by the student. The announcement should be distributed to Botany faculty & graduate students & any other interested parties at least one week prior to the seminar.

l Following completion of the thesis, each M.S. candidate is required to pass an oral examination administered by three members of the Botany Department, including the major professor; each Ph.D. candidate is required to pass an oral examination given by five or more members of the graduate faculty. At least one member is from outside the Department.

m Beginning immediately with the formation of the student's Ph.D. Committee, each Ph.D. student must meet at least once per year with at least three members of his/her committee to report progress, receive guidance, discuss possible new directions or approaches, and be certified as making adequate progress toward the Ph.D. degree.

n After the completion of the preliminary examination, each Ph.D. student must give an annual public presentation of research progress in the departmental colloquium.


Appendix 1: UW courses satisfying graduate requirements in Botany

Courses not listed here may be counted for credit at the discretion of the academic advisory committee. A single course (e.g., Genetics 629) may be used to fulfill only one requirement.

Genetics

Bot 466; Genetics 875

Biochemistry

Biochem. 501, 601, 602, 621, 845, 860; Biocore 303

Plant Physiology

Bot 500; Biocore 323

Developmental Biology

Bot 840

Cryptogamic Botany

Botany 330, 332, 360; Bact. 303

Plant Anatomy or Morphology

Bot 300, 305

Ecology (for General Botany, Evolution, and MCDB tracks)

Bot 455, 460, 670, 801; Biocore 301 and 302

Ecology (for Ecology track)

Botn 455, 459, 460, 461, 463, 473, 505, 651, 670, 725, 801, 802, 825, 828, 879

Evolution

Bot 410; Genetics 629

Systematics

Bot 400, 401, 563; Genetics 629

Population genetics

Genetics 629; Zoology 645

Quantitative genetics

Genetics 610, 629




Certification for the Ph.D. Degree by the Student's Research Committee

Date of meeting: ___________________________________

UW Major Professor ____________________________

UW Minor Professor ____________________________

(if Option A)

Committee Members: ____________________________Signature: _________________________

____________________________ ___________________________

____________________________ ___________________________

____________________________ ___________________________

____________________________ ___________________________


List of courses required for the MAJOR in addition to the minimal Botany course requirements:

Course Course Description Credits Grade Semester Taken

Number

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

MINOR AGREEMENT FORM COMPLETED? _________________________________