Freshwater and Marine Sciences Graduate Program Handbook-Degree Requirements
- Master's Degree
- Doctoral Degree
Master's Degree
All students in the FMS master’s program are responsible for staying informed of the following requirements to earn the degree. Some students enter the program and stop after earning a master’s (MS) degree. Others will first earn an MS degree and then enter the PhD program. In each case the steps to earning the MS are identical.
Committee
During the first year, students need to identify two faculty members who will form the student’s advisory committee along with their advisor. In some cases, there may be a compelling reason to include a fourth committee member. Identification of committee members is a joint decision with the major advisor, and following Graduate School guidelines, at least two of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement. For FMS, committee members should be from at least two distinct disciplines. It is the student’s responsibility to ask these faculty members if they are willing to serve on the student’s committee, and once the committee is formed, to schedule an initial committee meeting. Students are expected to hold this initial committee meeting by early in the second semester to discuss and make recommendations regarding class choices, research plans, professional development, and career goals. Master’s committees advise and evaluate satisfactory progress, evaluate a thesis, and/or sign a degree warrant. For general guidance from the Graduate School on the role and composition of committees as well as an online tool to determine if your committee meets minimum requirements, see the Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) policy.
Coursework Requirements
In addition to completing a research project, MS students must take courses and seminars to fulfill required credits established by the Graduate School. To earn an MS, students must complete 30 credits. Of those 30 credits, 16 must come from courses designed for graduate students. Graduate level coursework is identified with an attribute of “G50%” in the University’s Guide and Course Search & Enroll. The FMS program does not require specific classes, but instead courses are approved by the student’s advisor or advisory committee and depend on the student’s research area, interests, and professional goals. Graduate work may include any courses numbered 700 and above, as well as some courses numbered 300-600 that have the G50% designation. Most students take a mix of formal courses (i.e. lectures and seminars) and research credits (i.e. 990 course in their advisor’s home department). Many FMS students take ATM OCN/ BOTANY/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 Limnology and Marine Science Seminar and ATM OCN/ ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 750 Problems in Oceanography. In keeping with the diverse areas of research and training for students in FMS, we expect that students will consult with advisors and committee in developing a curriculum that provides both breadth and depth, preferably across multiple departments.
Thesis
MS students must prepare a research proposal in the first year, and later, a thesis presenting the results of this research. The format and length of the proposal should be established in discussion with the faculty advisor. In some cases, the proposal may correspond to a relevant external fellowship or grant application. The student must present and defend the thesis research to the advisory committee. The defense is a pass/fail activity. If the defense is unsuccessful, the student may make one additional attempt at the defense. If the defense is successful, it is nonetheless common for the committee to request revisions and editorial changes to the thesis prior to final approval of the thesis. MS students are also strongly encouraged to present their thesis research at an oral departmental seminar or the Limnology and Marine Sciences seminar prior to their defense. The specific details of the research project and thesis are critiqued and approved by the student’s committee and thesis research must be presented to the advisory committee and defended. As part of proposal and defense meetings the advisory committee completes the rubric available on the FMS web page.
Form and Content
Thesis and project guidelines and requirements are provided by the advisory committee, and samples can be requested from the committee or found in the UW-Madison Library Catalog.
Requesting a Warrant
A warrant is a program’s recommendation that a student be granted a master’s degree and is the Graduate School’s notification that a student has met both the Graduate School and the program requirements. Students must complete the Warrant Request Form at least 3 weeks prior to MS defense meetings. Once received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Manager will notify the student and collect signatures from the committee. The warrant must be signed by all committee members before submitting it to the Graduate School upon completion of the degree requirements.
Time to Completion
We encourage MS students to complete and defend their thesis in two years, and the thesis must be completed within three years. Exceptions to this three-year limit are possible only in unusual cases and must be approved by all committee members and the FMS chair. No student may exceed five years in the MS program.
Process for Continuing to PhD
Should a student wish to pursue a PhD after earning an MS, they should discuss this option with the advisor. Admission to the PhD program is contingent upon being accepted by an individual faculty advisor.
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the graduate student to make sure that all requirements, time targets, and time limits are met. Students can expect their advisor and advisory committee to be available for necessary and required meetings and exams. If the student encounters difficulty in assembling all committee members for certification or examinations, other graduate faculty can be substituted by the student and their advisor. Students who experience problems in setting up meetings should seek assistance from the Graduate Program Manager or the Director of Graduate Studies.
Master's Degree Checklist
The Graduate School maintains a list of steps to complete your master’s degree, including deadlines and important things to know as you progress toward graduation. In addition to what is posted on this webpage from the Graduate School, you must meet all required steps of the program (outlined below).
- Form your MS committee
- Complete 30 credits of coursework
- At least 16 credits must have the G50% attribute in Guide and Course Search & Enroll
- Complete your thesis
- Request a warrant
- Pass MS defense
- Submit your thesis to the Graduate School
Doctoral Degree
All students in the FMS doctoral program are responsible for staying informed of the following requirements to earn the degree. Students entering the FMS PhD program arrive with a range of academic backgrounds and experiences and with diverse professional aspirations. This includes students who have and have not previously earned a MS degree. Incoming students have an advisor identified, and office space will be available through the advisor’s home department or research group.
Committee
During the first year, students assemble an advisory committee in consultation with their major advisor. PhD students must have 5 committee members, although 4 members are acceptable for the initial committee meeting held during the first year. Committee members should be from at least two distinct disciplines (i.e., at least two different graduate programs) and all committee members are dissertation “readers.” If appropriate for a student’s research and scholarship interests, a sixth member can be added to the committee. Further requirements for the composition of dissertation committees follow Graduate School policies:
- The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty from the student’s program. The committee must have members from at least two University of Wisconsin—Madison graduate programs.
- Three of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
- Additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program, academic staff (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
- All committee members have voting rights. To receive a doctoral degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.
As with the MS, identification of committee members is a joint decision with the major advisor. It is the student’s responsibility to ask faculty members if they are willing to serve on the student’s committee, and once the committee is formed, to schedule an initial committee meeting. Students are strongly encouraged to hold this initial committee meeting by early in the second semester to discuss and make recommendations regarding class choices, research plans, professional development, and career goals.
Doctoral committees advise and evaluate satisfactory progress, administer preliminary and final oral examinations, evaluate a thesis or dissertation, and/or sign a degree warrant. For general guidance from the Graduate School on the role and composition of committees as well as an online tool to determine if your committee meets minimum requirements, see the Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) policy.
Breadth Requirement
The Graduate School: Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training policy establishes the options and requirements for graduate students pursuing a doctoral degree to meet the breadth requirement. Students earning a PhD must also select one of three doctoral breadth options: external, distributed, or Certificate. The Graduate School’s minimum course requirements for the minor include:
- Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.00 across all doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate courses,
- Enroll in graded (non-audit/pass/fail) courses numbered 300 or above,
- Limit enrollment to 3 credits of independent study (e.g., 699, 799, 899, 999),
- Omit research and thesis courses (e.g., 790, 890, 990) as these do not satisfy doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate requirements,
- Limit credits earned more than five years prior to admission to the doctoral program to 5 credits,
- Omit credits earned 10 or more years ago as these do not satisfy doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate requirements
The Option A, External minor requires 9 or more credits in a doctoral minor program. The Option A minor must be approved by the minor professor or the departmental chair of the minor department. These are part of the total credits required to graduate (not in addition to those credits). The Option B, Distributed minor requires 9 credits taken in one or more departments forming a coherent topic and can include coursework done in the Department of Biology.
The Option B minor requires approval of the FMS Director of Graduate Studies. These are part of the total credits required to graduate (not in addition to those credits).
The Option C, Graduate/Professional Certificate requires successful completion of a graduate/professional certificate in a program outside of the student's doctoral major program.
Students must declare the type of minor or certificate they plan to complete in the Graduate Student Portal. Students are encouraged to declare at the end of their first year and are required to declare before their preliminary exam.
Proposal and Preliminary Exam
By the end of the third year at the latest, PhD students must prepare a dissertation research proposal and successfully pass their preliminary exam (the “Prelim”). The proposal is prepared in consultation with their advisor and must be distributed to the advisory committee 2 weeks in advance of the start of the Prelim exam. Normally the proposal will contain preliminary data indicating feasibility of the project; however, the Prelim should be taken prior to completion of the bulk of the work so that the committee is able to critique, suggest modification to, and agree upon the proposed work. Specific guidelines and requirements are specified by the advisory committee.
The preliminary exam may be composed of written and oral phases, or only the oral phase. Students advised by faculty in the Center for Limnology (CFL) go through the 2-phase version of the Prelim, while it is up to discretion of advisory committees chaired by non-CFL faculty whether to pursue the oral or combined prelim. As part of proposal and defense meetings the advisory committee completes the rubric available on the FMS web page.
Two-Phase Preliminary Exam
This approach to the Prelim involves a written exam, and following its successful completion, an oral defense of the research proposal. The written exam emphasizes broad knowledge in freshwater and marine sciences relevant to the student’s research and scholarship interests, as well as general abilities in synthesizing knowledge, logic, and writing. Questions may also include opportunities to demonstrate expertise in other areas such as coding, statistics, or teaching. Each member of the student’s committee composes questions specifically designed for the student, and the student dedicates one day to answer questions from each of the five committee members. Students have access to standard scholarly resources (e.g., books, internet resources) with the notable exception of consulting with other scholars. Specific time limits or other guidelines may be put forth by individual committee members, but writing must be completed by 5:00pm on the final day of the written exam. Students are encouraged to seek advice from each committee member about how best to prepare for the written exam.
Once completed, the advisor will distribute written answers to the advisory committee. Each member will read and evaluate student answers specific to their question (at a minimum) and communicate their assessment to the major professor. Possible outcomes for the written exam include: fail, partial pass, or pass. In the case of a failed exam, students have one opportunity to reschedule and re-take the exam sometime within the next two semesters. A second failure results in dismissal from the program. A partial pass indicates some insufficiencies in one or more of the written responses to questions. In these situations, a student may be asked to meet with the relevant committee member for further discussion, revise an answer, or conduct additional work prior to the oral phase.
Following satisfactory completion of the written exam, the student proceeds to the oral phase of the Prelim. For the two-phase exam, this meeting explicitly focuses on the proposed dissertation research. Students are asked to give a presentation that provides an overview of the written proposal. This is a pass/fail examination. Students who do not pass may re-schedule this exam once only within two semesters of the initial oral exam.
One-Phase Preliminary Exam
This version of the Prelim includes an oral exam only. Students must demonstrate sufficient background and understanding needed to complete the proposed research during this meeting, and thus may be asked general scientific questions as well as questions specific to the proposed research. Should a student perform poorly on this exam, the committee may fail the student. If a student fails they may retake the exam one more time within 2 semesters. A second failure results in dismissal from the program.
Dissertator Status
Dissertator Status is achieved in the semester following the Preliminary Exam. Once students have achieved dissertator status, they must enroll continuously (every fall and spring semester) for exactly 3 credits (no more, no less). Dissertator is a unique fee status for students who have completed all requirements for a doctoral degree except for the dissertation. To be eligible for dissertator fee status, a student must:
- Pass the Preliminary Exam;
- Satisfy the 32 credit minimum doctoral graduate residence requirement;
- Complete all minor requirements;
- Complete all program requirements except the dissertation and teaching requirement;
- Clear all Incomplete grades or Progress grades in non-research courses (progress grades in 990 research may remain);
- Earn at least a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA;
- Return the signed and dated Preliminary Exam warrant to the Graduate School.
Note: Once a student achieves dissertator status there is a substantial reduction in university segregated fees (also known as “seg fees”) that students are required to pay (see Tuition Remission and Payment of Segregated Fees in Funding Information and Resources).
Requesting a Warrant
A warrant is a program’s recommendation that a student be granted dissertator status at the time of the preliminary exam and is the Graduate School’s notification that a student has met both the Graduate School and the program requirements. Students must complete the Warrant Request Form at least 3 weeks prior to prelim exams. Once received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Manager will notify the student and collect signatures from the committee. The warrant must be signed by all committee members before submitting it to the Graduate School upon completion of the degree requirements.
Dissertation and Final Oral Exam/Defense
Ph.D. students are expected to meet with their committees to defend a written dissertation during year four or five. Students are also required to present their dissertation research to the committee and are strongly encouraged to make a similar presentation as a formal seminar (e.g., the Wednesday noon Limnology seminar- ATM OCN/BOTANY/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911). Students must defend the dissertation within 10 years (see Time to completion below). This is a pass/fail exam; students who do not successfully defend their dissertation research may be able to attempt a second defense, pending approval of the advisory committee. If the defense is successful, it is nonetheless normal for the committee to request revisions and editorial changes to the dissertation prior to its final approval. As part of proposal and defense meetings the advisory committee completes the rubric available on the FMS web page. Dissertation guidelines and requirements are provided by the advisory committee, and samples can be requested from the committee or found in the UW-Madison Library Catalog. Students must follow formatting guidelines for accessibility as determined by the Graduate School. After completion the Dissertation must be deposited with the Graduate School.
Requesting a Warrant
A warrant is a program’s recommendation that a student be granted a doctoral degree and is the Graduate School’s notification that a student has met both the Graduate School and the program requirements. Students must complete the Warrant Request Form at least 3 weeks prior to PhD defense meetings. Once received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Manager will notify the student and collect signatures from the committee. The warrant must be signed by all committee members before submitting it to the Graduate School upon completion of the degree requirements.
Teaching Requirement
There are no formal teaching requirements for PhD students in the FMS program. Students should discuss teaching expectations with their advisors, as advisors may have their own expectations for teaching activities as part of graduate training.
Course Requirement
PhD students must take courses and seminars to fulfill required credits established by the Graduate School. To earn a PhD, students must complete 51 credits. Of those 51 credits, 26 must come from courses designed for graduate students. Graduate level coursework is identified with an attribute of “G50%” in the University’s Guide and Course Search & Enroll. The FMS program does not require specific classes, but instead courses are approved by the student’s advisor or advisory committee and depend on the student’s research area, interests, and professional goals. Many FMS students take ATM OCN/BOTANY/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 Limnology and Marine Science Seminar and ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 750 Problems in Oceanography. In keeping with the diverse areas of research and training for students in FMS, we expect that students will take classes from different departments, and not just the advisor’s home department. Graduate work may include any courses numbered 700 and above, as well as some courses numbered 300-600 that have the G50% designation. Most students take a mix of formal courses (i.e. lectures and seminars) and research credits (i.e. 990 course in their advisor’s home department).
Time to Completion
It is expected that a PhD student will defend the dissertation by the end of the 5th academic year. If the dissertation is not successfully defended by the end of the summer following the 6th academic year, the student’s mentor must present a written statement to the Director of Graduate Studies that explains why the PhD has not been completed and describes plans that the student and the student’s advisory committee have agreed upon to ensure completion, including specific expectations, dates for completion, and consequences should expectations not be met. Continuation in the program beyond 8 years will be at the discretion of the mentor and advisory committee. Ten years is the outside limit by which a student must complete the PhD degree.
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the graduate student to make sure that all requirements, time targets, and time limits are met. Scheduling committee meetings can be challenging, and we strongly encourage students to schedule these meetings well in advance of their occurrence. Students are expected to meet at least once a year with his or her Advisory Committee to review student progress and performance and provide guidance. In some cases, it may not be possible to identify a meeting time that includes all committee members. This situation is to be avoided if at all possible for the Preliminary exam and dissertation defense. If it is unavoidable, a committee member can participate by video, or the student can meet separately with the committee member who will then report back to the major professor. The advisor must approve this latter arrangement. Students who experience persistent problems in setting up meetings should seek assistance from the departmental Graduate Student Coordinator or the Director of Graduate Studies.
Doctoral Degree Checklist: Timeline and Deadlines
The Graduate School maintains a list of steps to complete your doctoral degree, including deadlines and important things to know as you progress toward graduation. In addition to what is posted on this webpage from the Graduate School, you must meet all required steps of the program (outlined below).
- Form your advisory committee in your first year
- Complete doctoral breadth requirement (external minor, distributed minor, or certificate)
- Pass preliminary exam
- Complete 51 credits of coursework
- At least 26 credits must have the G50% attribute in Guide and Course Search & Enroll
- Complete your dissertation
- Request a warrant
- Pass oral defense
- Deposit your dissertation to the Graduate School