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How do I apply?
Students can apply to their desired home PhD program(s) through the single UW-Madison graduate application page listed on our Application Page. Note that students can apply to up to three PhD programs with one application fee. Some programs have additional application requirements – students may also wish to check the application pages of the specific home PhD program(s) they’re interested in.
How do I choose the best host graduate program to join?
Students can choose from a range of PhD programs on campus. We encourage students to choose the program that best meets their interests and backgrounds, and includes Synbio faculty trainers that students are interested in conducting their research with. Please note that students can apply to up to three PhD programs with one application fee.
Find participating faculty by PhD program.
Which faculty or what types of research can I get involved with?
Students will do their thesis research with faculty approved as trainers in their home PhD degree program. Thus, it is important that students consider this information when deciding which PhD program to apply to. Some programs do lab rotations during the first year, while other programs utilize other mechanisms to match students to research PIs.
How are students in the program funded?
Most students are supported by grants from their lab or PhD programs. Additionally, there are several NIH or NLM training grants on campus that are appropriate for students in the SynBio community, including the Genomics Sciences Training Program (GSTP), Computational Informatics in Biology and Medicine (CIBM), and BioData Science (BDS). Finally, many of our students are awarded nationally competitive fellowships, including the NSF GRFP, NIH NRSA F31, and NDSEG. Assistance for preparing these applications is available through the Delta Program and the UW Writing Center.