UW-Madison Dept of Bacteriology

About Us

• Department Overview
• Message from Chair
• Values and Vision Statement
• History
• Mission
• Teaching
• Research
• Outreach

Education

Undergraduate program

Thousands of students have received their bachelor's degree in Bacteriology over the years and are highly sought after by employers and graduate programs. Currently, approximately 120 students are bacteriology majors. The department is highly respected for its teaching excellence and graduates from the undergraduate program are in high demand by employers within the State and nationally. Bacteriology also offers a breadth of courses in microbiology for many different majors and teaches microbiology to all students who need a general course.

The Undergraduate Major in Microbiology

The Microbiology major provides training in fundamental and applied aspects of microbiology, relating to the study of bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. The core courses focus on the basic biology, biochemistry and genetics of microorganisms. A variety of elective courses provides students with additional training in specific areas of interest. Such areas include environmental microbiology and the use of microorganisms for bioremediation of pollutants in soils and water; microbial ecology; biotechnology and the use of microorganisms to produce enzymes, hormones, antibodies and other molecules; industrial microbiology and the use of microbes in the manufacture of foods, fuels, drugs, antibiotics, vaccines and other useful substances; microbial interactions with other organisms, which includes infectious disease; and fundamental aspects of microbial physiology, gene expression, enzymology, and metabolic regulation.

Microbiology is an excellent major for students planning to enroll in graduate programs, medical school, veterinary medicine and other professional degree programs. Graduates also enjoy a wide variety of career opportunities in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical, food safety, healthcare, foods and bioprocessing industries, as well as in universities and government agencies. Approximately 60 percent of graduates enter directly into the job market, with the remainder pursuing advanced degrees.

Bacteriology majors possess the following attributes upon graduation:

• A broad background of knowledge of microbial diversity, physiology, biochemistry and genetics, with appropriate knowledge of the basic principles of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics.
• An understanding of the nature of experimental design and the use of controls.
• An ability to perform contemporary experimental procedures in microbial sciences.
• The ability to think critically and analyze scientific data.
• The confidence and knowledge base to read, interpret and apply the primary scientific literature.
• The ability to communicate the results of one's own experiments through laboratory notebooks as well as by formal oral or written presentations.
• The skills to interact productively with a multidisciplinary research team, both in experimental performance and data analysis.

The department is committed to excellence in undergraduate research experience and has administered the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates since 1988 and the International Research Experience for Students since 2004.

Department faculty and staff are recognized locally and nationally for their undergraduate teaching excellence, as well as for their outstanding advising and service to undergraduates. These awards include:

• 1991 - Marsha Betley - CALS Outstanding Advisor Award
• 1992 - Jerald Ensign - ASM Carski Distinguished Teaching Award
• 1993 - Kenneth Todar - Wisconsin Power & Light Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award
• 1995 - Robin Kurtz - CALS Jung Distinguished Teaching Award
• 1998 - Stephen Barclay - CALS Jung Teaching Award
• 1998 - Diana Downs - WALSAA Outstanding Advisor Award
• 1998 - Kenneth Todar - American Society for Microbiology Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award
• 1999 - Jorge Escalante-Semerena - CALS Spitzer Teaching Award
• 2000 - Jerald Ensign -Waksman Outstanding Educator Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology
• 2000 - Bacteriology staff - UW Student Personnel Association Team Award
• 2002 - Diana Downs - CALS Jung Distinguished Teaching Award
• 2008 - Jo Handelsman - American Society for Microbiology Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award

Masters Degree Program

The department offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree program in Bacteriology. This degree is designed to give students a solid understanding of the scientific process and to provide the opportunity to obtain advanced training in microbiology. The program provides the opportunity to tailor a curriculum of advanced coursework and research to fit the needs of each student. Students may acquire a general overview of microbiology or may focus on a specialized subject area in microbiology such as food or environmental microbiology, biotechnology, bacterial physiology, medical microbiology or molecular/cell biology. The M.S. degree program exists in two forms, one involves primarily formal coursework and has no research requirement; the other requires significant laboratory research, including formal written documentation (thesis or manuscript). The coursework option serves students who want to acquire knowledge about current topics in microbiology primarily in a classwork setting. The research option serves students who seek to develop scientific research skills.

Doctoral Program

Since 1914, over 400 students have received their Ph.D. degrees in Bacteriology and have made important contributions in academic, industrial and government laboratories throughout the world. Tatum (Ph.D. Biochemistry and Bacteriology in 1934 under Peterson and Fred) received the Nobel prize in medicine and physiology in 1958 with Lederberg and Beadle. The graduate program is highly regarded and its graduates populate the world's leading microbiology departments.

In 1997 the department, along with the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, created the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program to serve as an interdepartmental graduate training program. The department currently co-administers the Microbial Doctoral Training Program, which In 1999, ranked the graduate program in Microbiology at UW- Madison third in the nation and first among public universities by U.S. News and World Report. In 2007, the program was given a similar ranking.

Department faculty and staff are recognized nationally for their graduate teaching excellence. These awards include:

• 2004 - Jorge Escalante-Semerena - American Society for Microbiology Graduate Teaching Award
• 2007 - Diana Downs - American Society for Microbiology Graduate Teaching Award

Teaching Program

Department faculty and staff have long been committed to teaching scholarship. Recent participation includes:

• 1997 - Kenneth Todar - Fellow in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy
• 1998 - Robin Kurtz - Fellow in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy
• 1999 - Stephen Barclay - Fellow in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy

The department is also host to the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, which combines research and teaching to transform biology education at research universities by improving classroom education and attracting more diverse students to research. WPST trains a new generation of faculty by introducing them to a scientific approach to teaching that reflects the way we function as researchers. WPST runs the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Institute for Undergraduate Education in Biology, which disseminates these ideas nationally. WPST is the initiative of Chair of the Department Jo Handelsman, who received one of just twenty nationwide Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professorships in 2002 (renewed in 2006).