The Biophysics Program admits students to the PhD program only; it does not offer admission to a terminal master's degree. A master's degree may be earned under certain circumstances by students enrolled in the PhD program. For more information, see the Biophysics Handbook.
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary PhD program in the biosciences. It brings together students from diverse backgrounds (including biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, bioengineering, computational biology, neuroscience, cell biology, and so on) who are interested in research at the intersection of these disciplines.
Our broad inter-departmental program includes about 60 faculty trainers from departments across five schools and colleges at UW–Madison: the College of Letters & Science, the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, the School of Medicine and Public Health, and the School of Pharmacy. This highly collaborative environment provides a wide range of opportunities, including protein structure/function, and engineering; nucleic acid and membrane biophysics; neuroscience; virology; and synthetic and systems biology applied to both bacterial and eukaryotic organisms. These research areas share the goal of understanding biological systems in physical and mechanistic terms, utilizing advanced quantitative instrumental methods, and often integrating computation and machine learning. An overview of our research areas is available on our website.
UW–Madison is a hub of excellence in structural biology, equipped with major facilities, including the National Magnetic Resonance Facility, the CryoEM Research Center, and the Midwest Center for Cryo-Electron Tomography. Trainers at these centers provide outstanding research opportunities for students aiming to become experts in the application and/or development of structural biology.
Furthermore, many other accessible facilities and equipment in our trainers’ laboratories offer advanced training in spectroscopy, microscopy, single-molecule imaging, high-throughput methods, Artificial Intelligence, and the integration of experimental and computational techniques used for analyzing and modeling macromolecules and biological systems.
The Biophysics Program houses the Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP), an NIH National Research Service Award (T32) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The MBTP offers fellowships to twelve graduate students each year, funding interdisciplinary training at the intersection of the biological and physical sciences.
Biophysics is a collaborative and inclusive community whose goal is to prepare students from diverse academic backgrounds with rigorous interdisciplinary and quantitative training for careers in research and teaching across academia, industry, and other fields. Additionally, the program is flexible in its course requirements, emphasizing excellence in research and allowing coursework selection to be customized to meet a student's specific research interests and needs.
For more information, please visit the Biophysics Graduate Program website.
Admissions
This master’s program is offered for work leading to the PhD. Students may not apply directly for the master’s, and should instead see the admissions information for the PhD.
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursar’s Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
Mode of Instruction
| Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
Curricular Requirements
| Minimum Credit Requirement | 30 credits |
| Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 16 credits |
| Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 15 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244. |
| Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 GPA required. Refer to the Graduate School: Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203. |
| Other Grade Requirements | Credits are not counted from courses in which a grade of BC or below is obtained for the Biophysics core courses. In the event of an unsatisfactory grade, the student must repeat the course and obtain a grade of B or better if they want to count the class towards their Biophysics GPA and course requirements. |
| Assessments and Examinations | Students take two rounds of exams in order to achieve dissertator status. At the end of students' second year, they are required to take their written preliminary exam. Once this exam is passed, students must take their preliminary exam by the end of their third year. |
| Language Requirements | No language requirements. |
Required Courses
The following coursework is completed on the way to earning the Biophysics PhD and is the minimum required for the master's:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CHEM 665 | Biophysical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 668 | Biophysical Spectroscopy | 3 |
| Biophysics Advanced Electives | ||
| Students must take at least 6 credits of advanced electives from at least two different categories using the following list of classes (alternative classes may be substituted with approval from the Biophysics Program Curriculum Committee): | 6 | |
| Structure | ||
| Protein and Enzyme Structure and Function | ||
| Mechanisms of Action of Vitamins and Minerals | ||
| Organic Analysis | ||
| Introductory Quantum Chemistry | ||
| Microbiology at Atomic Resolution | ||
| Purification and Characterization of Protein and Protein Complexes | ||
| Modeling & Theory | ||
| Chemical and Statistical Thermodynamics | ||
| Mathematical Methods for Systems Biology | ||
| Molecular Biology | ||
| Prokaryotic Molecular Biology | ||
| Eukaryotic Molecular Biology | ||
| Neuroscience | ||
| Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience | ||
| Spectroscopy/Microscopy | ||
| Microscopy of Life | ||
| Biomedical Optics and Biophotonics | ||
| Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry (Topic: Spectroscopy of Individual Molecules and Particles) | ||
| Advanced Topics (Topic: Advanced Topics in NMR) | ||
| Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | ||
| Advanced Bioinformatics | ||
| Bioinformatics for Biologists | ||
| Speciality Courses | ||
| To fulfill the remainder of required credits, students can take specialty courses. It is recommended to take courses in areas such as biotechnology, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, molecular biology, or physics. Students should consult with their thesis advisor and thesis committee members about appropriate specialty courses to take pertaining to individual training goals. | 18 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
Biophysics Advanced Electives
To meet the 6-credit minimum, all elective courses must be at least 2 credits. That means that students can, for example, take two 3-credit courses, three 2-credit courses, or one 2-credit and one 4-credit course to satisfy this requirement. The above list of courses were approved as elective course options by the Biophysics Steering Committee. If you are interested in a different course to count as an elective course towards your Biophysics graduate degree, the course needs to be approved by the Curriculum Committee. To request a course approval, please use this form (you will need a syllabus from the course and a short paragraph detailing why the class is relevant to your research).
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW-Madison Policy Library. Programs may set more stringent policies than the Graduate School. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW–Madison
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Probation
Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.
Advisor / Committee
All students are required to have an advisor by the end of their first semester in the program. Thesis committees must be formed prior to their preliminary exam. The committee consists of at least four other faculty members and the student's advisor. After gaining dissertator status, students are required to hold yearly progress report meetings with their committee until graduation.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.
Time Limits
Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.
Grievances and Appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances.
Other
Fall semester enrollment only. First semester, program-sponsored lab rotations lead to thesis lab selection and research assistantship through the thesis advisor.
Professional Development
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Learning Outcomes
- Articulates, critiques, or elaborates the theories, research methods, and approaches to inquiry or schools of practice in the field of study.
- Identifies sources and assembles evidence pertaining to questions or challenges in the field of study.
- Understands the primary field of study in a historical, social or global context.
- Selects and/or utilizes the most appropriate methodologies and practices.
- Evaluates or synthesizes information pertaining to questions or challenges in the field of study.
- Communicates clearly in ways appropriate to the field of study.
- Recognizes and applies principles of ethical conduct.