Doctor of Philosophy in Cellular and Molecular Biology - Virology

Viruses remain one of the greatest public health challenges, causing an amazing variety of diseases and increasingly threatening deadly, globe-spreading pandemics like Ebola. Viruses also cause at least 15% of human cancers, are suspected to contribute to neurological other chronic diseases, and are rising as bioterrorism threats. New pathogenic viruses like HIV, MERS, Zika, etc. are emerging at an accelerating pace, driven by increasing human population density, wild habitat encroachment, phenomenal viral mutation rates and other trends. In parallel, viruses are a major source of insights into normal cell biology, and provide expanding tools for biomedicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology.Drawing on widely recognized UW-Madison strengths in virology and associated fields, the CMB Virology Focus Group comprises a large set of interactive laboratories including leaders engaged in pioneering studies of the mechanisms of viral evolution, replication, gene expression, host interactions, pathogenesis, control and other issues. Students in the Virology Program join a diverse, supportive and collaborative research community using and developing cutting-edge approaches in genomics, genome-wide molecular genetics, computational biology and bioinformatics, live cell and cryo-electron microscopy, structural biology, and other fields.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school. A minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 credit hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. The Graduate School will take into consideration different grade scales from institutions that do not have 4.00 scales (e.g., institutions outside the United States of America).