Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program

Among the graduate programs offered at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison is molecular and environmental toxicology.

The Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program has two broad areas: health-related toxicology and toxicants in the environment. Graduates of this program have a solid foundation in both areas with a command of skills in one or the other.

Graduate students become familiar with the concepts and basic problems of molecular and environmental toxicology through enrollment in a core curriculum and participation in seminar and special topics courses. Courses are designed to provide a framework for asking appropriate toxicological questions as well as introduce experimental methods and information sources useful in addressing these questions.

Through thesis research projects, students learn to seek the mechanisms relating to the origin and fate of chemicals in the environment and underlying the phenomenological changes induced by toxicants in humans, animals and plants.

Graduates of the program are employed in academic research and teaching, private industry, and government agencies. These are demanding jobs that may determine the fate of a product in development or affect the health of thousands.

The program is flexible and responsive to students. Students work with Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center faculty members on various committees such as steering, admissions, graduate achievement and curriculum committee, and preliminary exam committee.

Principal areas of research includes health-related toxicology and toxicants in the environment.

Approximately 65 faculty throughout campus are affiliated with the Center, providing access to facilities and research in a variety of disciplines. Their focus is on achieving the highest standards in biochemistry, carcinogenesis, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, immunology, neurobiology, proteomics, and xenobiotic fate and metabolism research.

These faculty are eligible to guide graduate students working toward an interdisciplinary MS degree or PhD degree in Molecular and Environmental Toxicology. It is a small program in a dynamic setting. Students typically earn the MS in two to three years and the PhD in five to six years.