Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Chemistry and Biochemistry

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Chemistry, and the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology.

Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

Initial academic advising is handled by the Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB) graduate program faculty adviser. Students continue to consult with the BMSB graduate program faculty adviser each quarter until completion of their course requirements. During this period, students also choose a research adviser to supervise their thesis research. The BMSB Graduate Studies Committee, consisting of the BMSB graduate program faculty adviser, and other key faculty, reviews each student’s progress quarterly. Notification in writing is given to students who are performing at a very high level and to those who are not making adequate progress. The BMSB graduate program faculty adviser, staff in the graduate office and the Director of Graduate Student Affairs are available for personal consultation.

Areas of Study

Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

38 units of course work are required. At least 20 of the 38 units (5 courses) must be taken for a letter grade at the graduate level (courses numbered 200 and above). Required courses include Chemistry and Biochemistry 269A-269B-269C-269D-269E (10 units, LG); Chemistry and Biochemistry 258 (LG) during the first quarter of the second year; Chemistry and Biochemistry 268 (LG) during the first three quarters; additional lecture courses (minimum of 8 units, LG) chosen from a list of approved graduate courses available from the schedule of classes; and three laboratory rotations (Chemistry and Biochemistry 596, S/U) during the first year. Up to 24 units of Chemistry and Biochemistry 596 or 598 (S/U) may be applied toward the total 38 unit course requirement; up to eight units may be applied toward the graduate course requirement. Up to four units of graduate-level seminar courses may be applied to the 20-unit graduate course requirement. Substitutions may be made with the consent of the BMSB graduate program faculty adviser.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

The Capstone Plan is a written examination that is administered in Chem 258, typically taken in the second year. The exam is  graded by three faculty members: the Chem 258 instructor, student’s mentor, and the BMSB graduate adviser. The written examination consists of a written research proposal and a presentation in the Chem 258 course. This research proposal should reflect the student’s current research. For students who fail, recommendation for (or against) a second examination is made by the BMSB Graduate Committee.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

The thesis plan is the preferred method of attaining the M.S. degree in Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology. Preference in admissions is given to students who have already identified a research adviser under whose direction the thesis research is conducted. By the sixth week of the first term in residence, a master’s committee is appointed for each student consisting of the student’s faculty research adviser and two additional faculty members chosen by the faculty graduate adviser. This committee has the responsibility for approving or disapproving the master’s thesis. By the end of the first term, the student is required to submit a brief written research proposal for approval by the master’s committee. Students have five academic quarters after the submission of the proposal to complete the thesis and the degree.

Time-to-Degree

From admission to completion of courses: Three academic quarters (one academic year).

From admission to award of degree: Three to six academic quarters (one to two academic years).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	6	6	11

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Initial academic advising is handled by the Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology (BMSB) program faculty adviser. Students continue to consult with this adviser each quarter until completion of their course requirements. During this period, students also choose a dissertation adviser to supervise their dissertation research. The BMSB Graduate Studies Committee, consisting of the faculty and staff graduate advisers, reviews each student’s progress quarterly. Notification in writing is given to students who are performing at a very high level and to those who are not making adequate progress. The BMSB graduate program faculty adviser, and Director of Graduate Student Services are available for personal consultation.

Minimum Progress. At the end of the first and second year, the overall progress of each student is evaluated by the BMSB Graduate Studies Committee. They assess student progress, evaluating student performance in courses, written examinations, teaching, and research. The committee may recommend that students: (1) proceed to the oral examination, (2) be redirected to the M.S. program, or (3) be recommended for academic disqualification.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Required course work must be completed prior to advancement to candidacy. Substitutions may be made with the consent of the BMSB graduate program faculty adviser. Some of the course requirements listed below can be substituted with courses taken prior to entry into the graduate program with consent of the BMSB graduate program faculty adviser and BMSB graduate committee.

(1) Required background material: one year of organic chemistry, one course in physical chemistry or biophysical chemistry, one year of biochemistry, some course work in the life sciences, and some biochemistry laboratory experience.

(2) Chemistry and Biochemistry 269A-269B-269C-269D-269E (10 units, LG) should be taken in the first year.

(3) 16 units of additional graduate-level courses (LG). The courses are to be chosen with the following goals in mind: (a) in addition to the in-depth training in the student’s areas of specialization, the selected courses should provide broad training in the multiple areas of biochemistry, molecular and structural biology; and (b) in addition to a didactic lecture component, there should be a significant discussion component of primary research literature. Two seminar courses should be included in the selected courses to ensure that the student gains training in the critical evaluation of scientific literature.

(4) Chemistry and Biochemistry 258 (LG) during the first quarter of the second year.

(5) Chemistry and Biochemistry 268 (LG) during the first three quarters of the first year.

(6) Three laboratory rotations (Chemistry and Biochemistry 596, S/U) during the first year.

(7) Chemistry and Biochemistry 495 (S/U) during the first year of graduate school.

Teaching Experience

One year of teaching experience (three quarters) is generally required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

The written examination requirement is coupled to the graduate student seminar Chemistry and Biochemistry 258. Chemistry and Biochemistry 258 requires an oral presentation of the student’s proposed dissertation research. After completing this oral presentation, the student prepares a written dissertation research proposal. The proposal includes information about the background and significance of the area of research, the specific aims to be addressed, and the experiments proposed. The doctoral written qualifying examination is fulfilled after the student satisfactorily completes this proposal. A written proposal that is deemed unsatisfactory by the Chem 258 instructor may be revised once.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is based on a substantial revision of the dissertation research proposal from the written examination. The specific topic of the exam is chosen in consultation with the student’s Ph.D. adviser. The revised proposal is prepared by the student without assistance from the research adviser. In the oral qualifying examination, the student presents their final proposal orally to the committee, and the committee questions the student on the proposal, general knowledge of the area, and dissertation research progress. The proposal represents independent work and offers the doctoral committee the opportunity to judge the student’s ability to think creatively and to formulate significant ideas for research.

All students are required to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination by June 30 of their second year. The committee’s decision to advance the student to candidacy, to allow the student to repeat all or part of the oral, or to recommend the student for academic disqualification, is based on the student’s overall record at UCLA as reflected in course work and examinations, and the student’s research ability and productivity.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations. The Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree is awarded for the quarter in which students are advanced to candidacy.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

The following are normal times to complete the requirements of the program:

From admission to completion of written qualifying examinations (see above for definition/description of these for each major): three to five academic quarters (one to one and two-thirds calendar years).

From admission to advancement to candidacy: six quarters + one summer (two calendar years).

From admission to award of degree: 18 quarters (six calendar years).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
PhD	6 + 1 summer	18	31

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A student may be recommended for academic disqualification by the Graduate Study Committee or the Biochemistry Faculty Committee.