Freshwater and Marine Sciences Graduate Program Handbook-Program Overview

• Intention/Role of Handbook 
• Key Individuals and Roles 
• Program Vision/Mission statements
• Learning Outcomes (aka “Learning Goals” or “Training Goals”)
• Goals for student learning -- Doctoral program
• Program statistics/prospects
• Program Structure

Intention/Role of Handbook 

This handbook is intended for graduate students pursuing M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the Freshwater and Marine Sciences (FMS) program. The UW-Madison Graduate School is the ultimate authority for granting graduate degrees at the University. The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures provide essential information regarding general University requirements. Program authority to set degree requirements beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with FMS faculty. The policies described in this handbook have been approved by the program faculty as a whole. Degrees and course requirements may change over time; however, students must meet the degree and course requirements that are in effect when they entered the program. In addition, administrative procedures and processes can change over time. Students are required to follow the procedures and processes listed in the current handbook. The information in this handbook should also be supplemented by individual consultation with your advisor and advisory committee so that individual needs/interests and all degree requirements are met. Additional information is available via the FMS web page (fms.wisc.edu). Students may also wish to consult the Graduate School’s Web page.

Key Individuals and Roles 

Graduate Program Coordinator – Kelin Boldiis boldiis@wisc.edu Program chair – Olaf Jensen- ojensen@wisc.edu 

Program Vision/Mission statements

Mission: The mission of the Freshwater and Marine Sciences program is to educate graduate scholars to develop a capacity for scientific inquiry and an understanding of and appreciation for the complex dynamics of freshwater and/or marine environments. This includes promoting interdisciplinarity, flexibility, and a focus on promoting excellence in research and scholarship in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea. Each student’s course of study is tailored to his or her individual interests, career goals, and needs, and we admit students with diverse academic backgrounds. The path taken by a student results from a deliberative process that involves discussions between the student and the student’s advisor and advisory committee. A goal for our graduate program is to provide students in FMS with diverse training that will prepare them for a range of flexible and sustainable careers (e.g., academia, industry, government, science policy and administration, science-driven non-governmental organizations, or science education and outreach at all levels, etc.).

Learning Outcomes (aka “Learning Goals” or “Training Goals”)

Goals for student learning -- Master’s program

1. Knowledge: We expect students to be able to:
   • Articulate, critique, or elaborate the theories, research methods, and approaches to inquiry or practice in the relevant area of freshwater and/or marine sciences. 
   • Identify sources and assembles evidence pertaining to questions or challenges in the relevant research field(s). 
   • Understands the historical or global context of freshwater and/or marine sciences.
2. Research: Students will complete an original research project that generates new information relevant to freshwater and marine sciences. The quality and rigor of the research should ultimately be publishable in the peer-review scientific literature. This includes the following skills and abilities:
   • Retrieve, evaluate, and synthesize information pertaining to questions or challenges in the students’ area of specialization within the freshwater and marine sciences. 
   • Conduct research, analyze, and interpret resulting data 
   • Prepare a thesis describing the research project 
3. Communication: Developing the capacity to communicate in writing and orally, to scientific and general audiences are essential skills to develop during the Master’s program. Development of written skills culminates with a clear, scientifically and logically sound thesis. Further,
   • Students will present research activities and results articulately and informatively 
   • Students will have opportunities and are strongly encouraged to engage in public outreach and formal and/or informal teaching activities.
4. Ethical Conduct Students will understand professional and ethical responsibilities and are expected to interact with their colleagues in a respectful and professional manner.
   • Students will be trained to use scientific rigor when designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting and reporting results 
   • Students will be trained in the ethics of publishing 
   • Students will know and adhere to laws, regulations, needed permits and licenses, occupational health and safety standards
5. Career Preparation Students will be provided with diverse training that will prepare them for a range of flexible and sustainable careers (e.g., academia, industry, government, science policy and administration, science-driven non-governmental organizations, or science education and outreach at all levels science, etc.).
   •  Students will develop broadly applicable skills in critical thinking and problem solving
   • Students will have opportunities for teamwork, communication skills, and collaboration

Goals for student learning -- Doctoral program

Goals for doctoral students include, and extend upon those listed for the Master’s program.

1. Knowledge: We expect students to be able to demonstrate mastery in a subject area within freshwater and/or marine science. Students will:
   • demonstrate a broad understanding of major current and past theories, research findings, and methodologies and techniques in their area of concentration both orally and in writing 
   • Students will develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills. They will retrieve and examine scientific literature, evaluate evidence for and against ideas and theories, identify knowledge gaps, strengths and weaknesses in existing literature, synthesize knowledge, and develop conclusions
2. Research: Students will complete original research that advances a field in freshwater and marine sciences. This includes the following:
   • Students will retrieve, evaluate, and interpret professional scientific literature and use this information to develop theoretical/conceptual frameworks, testable hypotheses/models, and predictions for their own research projects 
   • Students will design realistic and feasible research projects and present these plans in a written research proposal and oral presentation 
   • Students will conduct independent research and analyze and interpret resulting data 
   • Students will prepare and submit manuscripts resulting from their independent research for publication in professional, peer-reviewed journals
3. Communication: Developing the capacity to communicate in writing and orally, and to scientific and general audiences are essential skills to strengthen as part of the FMS doctoral program.
   • Students will write a dissertation proposal that places their proposed work within the context of the field, describes the rationale and logic for the proposed work, and presents a tractable plan to execute the research. 
   • Students will write clear and concise research articles for publication in professional, peer-reviewed journals 
   • Students will present at scientific conferences and in formal and informal seminars 
   • Students will gain experience in communicating with professional colleagues beyond the University of Wisconsin campus through professional meetings and interacting with visiting scholars Students will engage in public outreach and education to develop skills to communicate with general audiences about their research and about freshwater and marine sciences in general 
4. Teaching: Regardless of professional aspirations, doctoral students will gain experience in formal and/or informal teaching. This includes an expectation that doctoral students will participate in one or more of the following activities:
   • Serve as a teaching assistant for at least one semester 
   • Mentor undergraduate students seeking independent research experience 
   • Participate in teaching and learning training opportunities offered through various UW-Madison programs (e.g., the Delta Program)
5. Ethical Conduct Students will understand professional and ethical responsibilities and conduct themselves according to these ethical standards, including interacting with their colleagues in a respectful and professional manner.
   • Students will be trained to use scientific rigor when designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting and reporting results 
   • Students will be trained in the ethics of publishing 
   • Students will know and adhere to laws, regulations, needed permits and licenses, occupational health and safety standards
6. Career Preparation Students will be provided with diverse training that will prepare them for a range of flexible and sustainable careers (e.g., academia, industry, government, science policy and administration, science-driven non-governmental organizations, or science education and outreach at all levels science, etc.).
   • Students will develop and practice broadly applicable skills in critical thinking and problem solving, leadership, collaborative science, and project management 
   • Students will have frequent opportunities to meet and interact with academic and non-academic professionals 

Program statistics/prospects

The data profile for the Freshwater and Marine Sciences program can be found at https://grad.wisc.edu/academic-programs/?program=G617&type=view

Program Structure

 The Freshwater and Marine Sciences program seeks to educate graduate scholars to develop a capacity for scientific inquiry and an understanding of, and appreciation for the complex dynamics of freshwater and/or marine environments. Hallmarks of the program include its interdisciplinarity, flexibility, and a focus on promoting excellence in research through attentive faculty mentorship. Research done by FMS faculty and graduate students frequently crosses disciplinary boundaries, as demonstrated by faculty expertise in topics such as biogeochemistry or ecohydrology. Similarly, FMS provides a venue for faculty and their graduate students to grow beyond traditional intellectual spheres of home departments and translate their skills and understanding to complex challenges offered by the study of aquatic environments. FMS faculty are active, well-funded researchers, and our voluntary affiliation with the program provides us with an avenue to pursue research and mentor students in new, interdisciplinary, and/or unconventional directions. The FMS program is also involved in several outreach activities that increase the broader significance of the graduate training experience.

Reflective of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, FMS faculty have affiliations with several different departments and colleges on the UW-Madison campus. There is no formal FMS curriculum, but instead, FMS students can enroll in classes relevant to their research interests in any department or college. However, as detailed below in Sections III and IV, we strongly encourage students to participate in the Limnology and Marine Sciences seminar and to participate in the “Problems in Oceanography” class. Faculty affiliated with the FMS program and links to their professional web pages are available at https://fms.wisc.edu/faculty .

The FMS program is administered through the Department of Integrative Biology (College of Letters and Sciences). This is an administrative arrangement only and is not related to the areas of study pursued by graduate students. 3 Reflective of the diverse interests of FMS faculty, graduate research in FMS spans the range of physical, chemical, biological, and social aspects of inland and marine aquatic environments.