MD Anderson

World-class science deserves a world-class digital experience. GSBS draws its faculty, classrooms, and laboratories from 2 of the most respected names in medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center and UTHealth Houston, and competes globally for the most promising graduate students in biomedical research. Its website had to serve very different audiences at once, from prospective applicants weighing their options to current students, faculty, and alumni looking for resources. The school asked WWC to create the visual design and user experience of a new GSBS website that would attract high-caliber applicants and present its programs, information, and resources with clarity.

WWC designed an information architecture and user experience that brings order to a complex institution. Distinct pathways guide each audience, so a prospective applicant exploring 9 PhD programs and a current student searching for resources both find what they need in a few clicks. The visual design presents GSBS with the clarity and confidence of a leading research institution while staying consistent with the MD Anderson and UTHealth Houston brands it represents. Built on dotCMS, the site gives school staff direct control of content across every section, while Salesforce captures inbound leads and drives automated engagement through Pardot, keeping prospective applicants connected from first inquiry through the student portal.

The clearest measure of a recruiting site is who it recruits. After launch, GSBS saw an increase in quality inbound leads, candidates who actually met the requirements of its rigorous programs, exactly the applicants the school built the site to attract. Years on, the design and dotCMS platform WWC delivered still power the school's site. More importantly, the work gives a world-class institution a digital front door that qualifies as it attracts, so faculty spend their time on candidates who belong in the pool.