The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a predoctoral training program in biotechnology. The objective of this program is to educate a new cadre of scientists and engineers whose training and experience cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. Trainees receive Ph.D. degrees in their chosen field, such as bacteriology, chemistry, pharmacy, molecular biology or computer science. Students minor in a cross discipline, for instance a chemical engineer would take classes in biology, and vice versa. Each trainee participates in an industrial internship.
Trainees participate in a weekly biotechnology seminar in which they present one seminar annually.
More than 100 faculty serve as trainers from 46 different departments. The National Institutes for Health has awarded thirty-three traineeships to this program, with about eleven per year available to award. Traineeships are generally awarded for a period of three years and pay for the student's tuition and fees as well as provide a monthly stipend for living expenses. Competitions for traineeships are usually held in January and February of each year, for enrolled and incoming students respectively.