The Graduate School: Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training policy can be found here. This option to opt out in no way diminishes the Graduate School’s commitment to breadth as an important component of doctoral training.  Rather, this option acknowledges that there are multiple paths to breadth, and the Graduate School feels the individual program is best positioned to choose the correct paths for its students.

As doctoral programs become more responsive to calls for interdisciplinary education, pedagogical training, ethical training, and professional training, we anticipate that individual programs will adopt strategies to meet the breadth requirement that fit both their intellectual landscapes and the needs of their students. Those may include:

      •     Interdisciplinary requirements within the program that encourage cross-disciplinary coursework

      •     Cross-disciplinary research opportunities

      •     Service learning opportunities

      •     Workshops—both internal and external—that provide professional and other types of skills (for example, the Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp offered annually by the School of Business)

      •     Lecture series such as forums focusing on the ethics of animal research or the Graduate School Seminar & Workshop Series, which highlights responsible conduct of research issues. 

Regardless of whether a program requires a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate or not, any doctoral student who wishes to complete either will have the option to do so.  

For information on how to opt out, see below.

Graduate Program Opting Out of Requiring a Doctoral Minor or Graduate/Professional Certificate for Breadth Requirement (Graduate School KB)