Overview
The University of Wisconsin¿Madison Offers Top-Notch Research in the High-Quality City of Madison
Graduate students¿especially medical residents¿end up spending many years in the city where they go to school, so the choice of graduate program location is a non-trivial one. Madison, Wisconsin, is a city of roughly 300,000 people. It has lots of small-city advantages, such as its low cost of living, low volume of traffic, and low crime rate. However, due in part to the University of Wisconsin's presence, Madison houses a highly educated professional population, creating a cosmopolitan atmosphere and making Madison one of the best places to live or work in America. From the natural lakes and parks to the good food and music available downtown, the city of Madison has a lot to offer graduate students.
Of course, the most important thing about University of Wisconsin¿Madison (UW¿Madison) is the quality of the programs. With 157 majors offering master's degrees and 110 majors offering doctorate degrees, graduate students at UW¿Madison have plenty of choices for their continuing education. It's no wonder that more than 30,000 doctorates have been awarded by UW¿M.
There is a strong community of international students at UW¿Madison, including nearly half of the graduate students. Over 100 countries are represented on campus, making UW¿Madison one of America's Top 20 institutions in hosting international students.
Top students from all nations flock to the university because it is one of the most prolific research universities in the entire world. It has the second-highest research expenditures of any American public university. The commitment to top-quality research, along with the wide breadth of academic programs and interdisciplinary opportunities make UW¿Madison a choice destination for graduate students.
UW¿Madison's Pathology Major Covers Ethics, Pathogenesis, Molecular Studies, and Professional Development
The graduate major in pathology at UW¿Madison requires a core of courses that covers the most important things a student needs to know: Pathogenesis of Major Human Disease, Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease. In addition, students are expected to take a series of student seminars and a series of departmental seminars in order to further their learning. The pathology major is career-focused; the program requires at least one course in professional development. To enable that, all students must also take at least one ethics course during their studies at UW¿Madison.
Thirty-five faculty members, all M.D.s and Ph.D.s, serve as the training faculty for the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Pathology faculty trainer specialties include immunology, immunopathology, cancer biology, neuroscience, neuropathology, and signal transduction. Many of these faculty members are doing cutting-edge research in their fields, ranging from the molecular genetics of type 2 diabetes to the development of vaccines for HIV.
UW¿Madison's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Offers Ph.D.s, Residencies, and M.D. Fellowships
The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine offers students the chance to join the Ph.D. Graduate Program in Pathology, where they will serve in three laboratory rotations and choose a thesis lab in their first year. Second-year students continue their studies and take preliminary exams, while third-year students meet with an advisory committee and take a second preliminary exam. In their fourth year and beyond, students prepare their thesis defense.
Pathology graduate students may also avail themselves of the Pathology Residency Program, which provides a solid foundation for the understanding of human disease processes, the knowledge to practice clinical and anatomic pathology in a private or academic setting, and the problem-solving and critical analysis skills required to practice pathology in a setting of graduated responsibilities. Students will study anatomic pathology and clinical pathology in a small program with only 16 residents, generally four per class.
The department has made a strong financial commitment to resident research, providing small "grants" to residents so projects can get up and running even if the supervising faculty members do not allocate sufficient funding. In a busy residency situation, this kind of financial backing can be crucial to accomplishing important research. Resident wishing to become involved in clinical research may do so with any faculty member, regardless of department. Students may also pursue M.D. fellowships in pathology.
M.D. Pathology Fellowships Offer Students Valuable Hands-On Experience While Helping Them Earn Money for Tuition
Pathology students may opt to pursue an M.D. fellowship in pathology in order to gain valuable experience as well as a stipend. Stipends vary from $2,400 for the ten-week summer Angevine Fellowship during which students rotate through seven labs after their first year of medical school, to $15,500 per annum for a twelve-month fellowship following the second year of medical school. Other fellowships are available, including those in cytopathology, hematopathology, surgical pathology, and transfusion medicine.
UW¿Madison's Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Residency Program Prepares Students for Success in Private Practice
The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Residency Program provides excellent training in all aspects of anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. It provides its residents with the knowledge, skills, and background they need to attain high-caliber fellowship and private practice positions, as well as a path toward academic careers in pathology.
