HOME

SEARCH:

Planning Your Academic Pathway
• Advising Assistance
• Choosing a Bioscience Major
• Introductory Biology Courses
• Honors Options

Pursuing the Wisconsin Biology Experience
• Undergraduate Research
• Public Service
• International Experiences
• Leadership and Involvement
• Internships

Preparing Now for Your Career
• Campus Career Resources
• Helpful Courses and Other Experiences
• Careers in the Biosciences
• Is Graduate School for Me?

Undergraduates

The biosciences at UW–Madison offer an incredible array of possibilities for undergraduates, including over 35 different majors. The Institute for Biology Education can help you find the path that's right for you, so you can explore, engage, and excel.

Explore

The first step in finding your path is exploring the range of possibilities available to you as a young scientist.

• Exploring Biology is a course specifically designed for first-year students interested in the biosciences. It exposes students to the richness of bioscience research at UW–Madison, gives an overview of the "big ideas" of biology, and helps students learn more about career options in the biosciences.

• If you're interested in biology but aren't sure which biology major is right for you, explore the resources on this site and make an appointment with the Institute's Biological Sciences Advisor, who can help you identify your interests and goals, narrow your search, and connect you with the additional information you need.

• We also encourage those students interested in going into the health professions to take advantage of the UW–Madison Center for Pre-Health Advising.

• If you are a new student just starting at UW–Madison, we have a New/Prospective Students section of this website with resources just for you.

Engage and Excel

When you're doing what you love, you can really stand out and shine, so giving your interests and passions some room to grow is a great way to find and pursue your own unique excellence. Your undergraduate career isn't just about what happens in the classroom, and we encourage you to take advantage of opportunities for research, service learning, study abroad, leadership & involvement, and internships. These experiences can round out your program and give you an advantage after you graduate, whether you pursue a  career right away or go on to graduate or professional school.

In addition to offering services that help undergraduates connect with resources across campus, the Institute for Biology Education offers some unique programs and courses to help undergraduates get more involved:

• The Adult Role Models in Science program offers a service learning course, Engage Children in Science, which gives undergraduates experience leading after-school science clubs in the public schools.
• Entering Research, Parts 1 and 2 (Biology 260-261) is a series of two 1-credit seminar courses that support and complement independent research experiences.
• Integrated Biological Sciences Summer Research Program (IBS-SRP) offers ten weeks of hands-on research, primarily to allow rising college juniors and seniors at other colleges and universities to experience the richness of research at UW–Madison.
• Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program (URM)

NEW! Check out our blog for biosciences undergraduates.

photos courtesy of University Communications