Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the beginning of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their thesis research.

To obtain the M.S. degree, the student must formally request approval by the graduate training committee. If approved, a guidance committee, proposed by the student and approved by the graduate training committee, reviews the thesis. None of the research conducted for the M.S. thesis may be applied to a Ph.D. degree at a later time.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of the required courses as listed under Course Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237, 251 (must be taken every quarter during the first and second year) 291, and 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year. After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations are required of all students in the graduate program. Students may participate as teaching assistants in undergraduate, medical, or graduate courses.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

None.

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 M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of a thesis.

Time-to-Degree

The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be six to nine quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	6	6	9

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Pre-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the start of the fall quarter of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their dissertation research.

Doctoral Committee:  Student will form their Doctoral Committee during Spring quarter of their second year.  The committee must include one Graduate Training Committee (GTC) member.  The Doctoral Committee must have a minimum of four members, including one faculty member who does not have an appointment in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

The GTC member will chair the ATC oral examination administered by the student’s doctoral committee.  The faculty mentor is present only to provide answers to questions asked of him/her by the other committee members, for clarification of student comments when asked by the other committee members, and to address other concerns of the committee members.

Post-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): After ATC and before the final oral examination, students are required to meet at least once annually with their doctoral committee. For this annual progress meeting, students are expected to give a presentation on their dissertation research. Students should be prepared to engage in a discussion with the committee members who will offer guidance on the progress and direction of the research project. The annual committee meeting is chaired by the student’s faculty mentor, who is an active, engaged participant at these meetings.  At the end of the annual meeting, each committee member must complete an evaluation form and return it to the faculty mentor.  The faculty mentor will discuss the evaluation and provide feedback to the student, and submit the evaluations forms and a committee meeting report to the Student Affairs Officer.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Animal models of disease; biochemistry; cardiovascular pharmacology; cell biology; chemical pharmacology; drug discovery; functional genomics; gene and cell-based therapy; immunology; medical pharmacology; molecular imaging; molecular pharmacology; immuno-pharmacology; neuroendocrine pharmacology; neuropharmacology; psychopharmacology; nuclear medicine (positron emission tomography); pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; signal transduction; structural biology; systems biology; theranostics; toxicology; and virology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237, 251 (must be taken every quarter during first and second year), 291, 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year.  After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

Students are required to maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 in all course work and achieve grades of B or better in all Molecular and Medical Pharmacology courses. One grade of less than B in a required Molecular and Medical Pharmacology course results in probationary status; the course must be repeated with a grade of B or better. Students are required to earn a B or better in M Pharm 292. Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

All required course work, excluding M Pharm 596/599,  should be completed by the end of the sixth quarter.

Laboratory Rotations: The department requires students to participate in three laboratory rotations (Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200), one per quarter, during the first year to become familiar with a variety biomedical and of pharmacological research areas and techniques. During the first year in the department, students participate in projects of the laboratories of their and the faculty’s choosing. Students also become familiar with the literature relevant to the various research projects and thus establish a basis for the selection of their own research areas. At the end of the third rotation, students are required to join a laboratory, where they will conduct their dissertation research. If students are unable to secure a position in one of the three rotation laboratories, with written petition to and approval by the Graduate Training Committee, a student may be permitted to participate in a fourth rotation which will be completed during the summer before their second academic year starts. Fourth rotations usually provide the place for students to conduct their dissertation and should be approached by both faculty and student with this in mind. If a student fails to identify a Dissertation Adviser in a fourth rotation, the student is considered not to make adequate progress towards the degree and will be recommended for academic disqualification.

Examinations are given in all courses except seminars and research. These are in the form of written examinations, oral examinations, term papers, and/or laboratory practicals.

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations to department faculty and students are required of all students in the graduate program at least once a year. One quarter as a teaching assistant is required and should be completed by the end of the third year. Students in the Medical Scientist Training Program are not subjected to the teaching assistant requirement.

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 and oral qualifying examinations are a two-step process:

The first step will be the M Pharm 292 course in proposal writing.  All first year Pharmacology Home Area students matriculating towards a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Pharmacology are required to enroll in M Pharm 292 in their first year.  Students will learn to write and orally defend a proposal.  The proposal shall be on a topic unrelated to any of their rotation projects.  Specific instructions for preparation of the proposal, evaluation of the written documents, and structure of the oral defense will be discussed during the M Pharm 292 course.  Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

The second step of the qualifying exam will be on the thesis topic.  Students will prepare a written proposal and defend the proposal in an oral examination.  The written examination consists of submitting a written research proposal to the student’s doctoral committee at least one week before the proposed date of the University Oral Qualifying Examination.  The research proposal must be written according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application format (a copy of the ATC Guidelines can be obtained from the Student Affairs Officer). The University Oral Qualifying Examination consists of defending the proposal to the doctoral committee. Students must pass this examination by December 1st of their third year or be subject to a recommendation for academic disqualification unless special circumstances, which will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

(1) Students must select a thesis adviser by the beginning of the second academic year.

(2) Students must complete all course requirements by December 20th of the third academic year.

(3) Students must take the written and oral qualifying examinations and pass by December 1st of the third academic year.

(4) The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be 15 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	7	15	21

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’s progress is evaluated on performance in course work and on the qualifying examinations. A grade below B in M Pharm 292 or a total of three grades below B in any of the other required courses results in recommendation to the graduate dean for academic disqualification. Failure to identify a Dissertation Adviser after three laboratory rotations or after approval of a fourth rotation also results in recommendation for academic disqualification. Performance on the ATC is graded Pass, Fail and Deferral. Deferral means that a student is asked to repeat some part or all of the examination. All deferrals must be completed by December 20th of the third academic year. If a student receives a Fail or is unable to complete the ATC by December 1st of the third academic year, the student may appeal the decision or extension in writing to either the Graduate Training Committee or the departmental chair. The written appeal is reviewed by either the Graduate Training Committee or an ad hoc committee within the department. Failure to follow the ATC policy may result in a recommendation for academic disqualification.

UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies. Information regarding the University’s accreditation may be obtained from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget, 2107 Murphy Hall.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. It also offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Islamic Studies.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to their MA exams, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter with their faculty adviser(s). During this appointment, students and their adviser(s) agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. Prior to each quarter, the student will discuss and seek the approval of their plans for the next quarter with their adviser(s). If a student wishes to make changes after these plans have been approved by their adviser(s), the changes must be approved by both their adviser(s) and the DGUS before the change is made online.
Approval of all petitions concerning program requirements will require the signatures of the adviser(s) and the DGUS.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee, which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Areas of Study

Major fields of specialization include Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian Studies, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archaeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on language, literature, or archaeology in their selected field, but are expected to engage broadly with these fields of study as part of their individual program.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students are required to pass an examination in one major modern research language other than English by the beginning of their fourth quarter in residence. The choice of the language is determined in consultation with their faculty adviser. Students in the master’s degree program specializing in Arabic may study an Arabic dialect rather than a major modern research language.

Students may satisfy the modern language requirement by one of the following methods: (1) a departmentally-administered examination that earns a grade of Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. Students are able to repeat an individual failed exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the written final comprehensive exam for the master’s degree.

If students intend to continue toward the Ph.D. degree, it is strongly recommended that they acquire knowledge of a second major research language other than English while still a candidate for the M.A. degree.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine upper division (100 series) and graduate courses (200 series) (36 units) is required, of which at least six (24 units) must be at the graduate level for a letter grade. Students are expected to continue to take graduate seminars for a letter grade before advancing to candidacy.

All students are required to study at least one Near Eastern language, although most programs will require both a primary and a secondary language. In Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, two languages are required. For the primary language, either Ancient Egyptian (including Coptic), Akkadian, Aramaic (including Syriac), Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician), or Old and Middle Iranian (including Old Persian and Middle Persian) may be chosen. For the second language, any of the above or Hittite or Sumerian may be chosen.

For Hebrew Bible, Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician) and a second Semitic language (e.g., Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian) are required.

For Turkic, either two Turkic languages or Turkish and a second culturally related language are required.

In Arabic, Armenian and Iranian Studies (modern), a primary language and a second culturally related language are required.

For Semitics, three Near Eastern languages are required, at least two of which should be Semitic; the third may be Hittite or Sumerian.

For Iranian Studies (Old Iranian), students are required to study three Old and Middle Iranian languages (e.g. Avestan, Old Persian, Parthian, Middle Persian, Khotanese, Sogdian, and Bactrian).

Only eight units (usually two courses of four credits each) of a 596 course may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

Field Experience

There are no field requirements for the MA for most programs. Archaeology students will participate in fieldwork during at least one term in connection with their program. If necessary, they may petition to count fieldwork during the 12 months preceding their matriculation or, in consultation with their adviser, construct an alternative summer program to meet the objectives of this requirement.

Capstone Plan

Final comprehensive examinations are required in the program’s major and minor languages, in addition to the history, literature, or archaeology of their major field.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normative progress from graduate admission to conferral of the master’s degree is eight academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	8	8	16

Doctoral Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to advancement to doctoral candidacy, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. After advancement to candidacy, a student must get their committee and department chair approval to change any faculty on their committee. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter. During this appointment, students and their advisers agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. In each subsequent quarter, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss their plans for that quarter with their adviser and obtain approval for their study list. If a student wishes to make changes in the study list after it is approved by the graduate advisor, the changes must be approved by the department chair or the graduate advisor before the student accesses the online enrollment system. Departmental policy requires the signature of the chair or the graduate advisor for approval of all petitions.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Major fields of specialization are Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on either language or literature in their selected field but are required to do work in both.

Foreign Language Requirement

Two modern major research languages other than English are required. The choice of languages must be approved by the advisor, who may also require additional language skills in modern and/or ancient languages if such skills are needed for scholarly work in the area of the student’s interest. The requirement is fulfilled by one of the following options: (1) a departmentally-administered examination with a Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus, or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. For modern language exams only, students are able to repeat a failed individual exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the Written Qualifying Examination for the doctoral degree.

Course Requirements

Students are required to achieve high competence in two languages and to familiarize themselves with the cultural backgrounds of each of the languages chosen. Students who study Arabic may request to use an Arabic dialect as their second language per faculty adviser approval given the dissertation topic. Students are required to familiarize themselves, through appropriate course work, with the history of the cultural area, and the methods of literary research and the history of literary criticism.

If the archaeology emphasis in the Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations specialization is chosen, students are required to achieve high competence in two ancient Near Eastern languages and must be well-versed both in the history of the cultural area and in archaeological methodologies.

Students who choose a language emphasis for the PhD. degree are required to add a third Near Eastern language to the two that are required for the MA degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

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.

Written qualifying examinations must be passed before the formation of a doctoral committee. Candidates in languages are examined in three Near Eastern languages and the literary and historical background of at least two of them. Candidates in literature are examined in the literatures written in two languages within the cultural area of concentration and the historical and cultural background of these languages, with emphasis on one of them. Candidates in Arabic literature are also examined in one outside field to be determined in consultation with the advisor. Candidates in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations are examined in two ancient languages and in the history and archaeology of the major areas of the ancient Near East.

Following successful completion of the course and language requirements and the written qualifying examinations, students are required to form a doctoral committee and take the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

To formally nominate a doctoral committee a student must email the Student Affairs Officer the committee, which is formed with email approval from all faculty committee members. The department chair or graduate advisor will sign off on the final committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

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

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)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Ph.D. students are expected to respect the following normative guidelines in carrying out their program. From admission to the Ph.D. program (i.e., after obtaining the M.A. degree) to:

(1)  the written qualifying examinations – six academic quarters.

(2) the oral qualifying examination and approval of the dissertation prospectus – twelve academic quarters (and four summer terms).

(3) the conferral of the Ph.D. degree – eighteen academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	12	18	28

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

In addition to the standards reasons outlined above, a student may specifically be recommended for academic disqualification because of: (1) a terminal master’s degree recommendation from the student’s master’s committee; (2) inadequate scholarship as recommended by the Graduate Committee; or (3) inadequate progress toward the degree as recommended by the departmental section in the student’s specialization.

In all cases, the student’s academic progress is discussed in depth by the departmental section that made the recommendation. A recommendation for academic disqualification is forwarded to the departmental chair for review and decision. The student is notified of a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing.

A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification by stating the reasons in writing to the departmental chair. The chair transmits the appeal to the student’s departmental section for consideration.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the beginning of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their thesis research.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of the required courses as listed under Course Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237 (two quarters), 251 (must be taken every quarter during the first and second year) 291, and 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year. After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

M Pharm 596 and 599 may be applied toward the degree. Up to eight units of 500-series courses may be applied toward the total course requirements, four units toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Required Courses
3 x M Pharm 200	24
2 x M Pharm 237	6
6 x M Pharm 251	12
M Pharm 291	4
M Pharm 292	6
MIMG C234	2
1 500-series	Varies (1-8)
Total Required Units	54

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations are required of all students in the graduate program. Students may participate as teaching assistants in undergraduate, medical, or graduate courses.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

None.

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 M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of a thesis.

To obtain the M.S. degree, the student must formally request approval by the graduate training committee. If approved, a guidance committee, proposed by the student and approved by the graduate training committee, reviews the thesis. None of the research conducted for the M.S. thesis may be applied to a Ph.D. degree at a later time.

Time-to-Degree

The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be six to nine quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	6	6	9

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Pre-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the start of the fall quarter of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their dissertation research.

Doctoral Committee:  Student will form their Doctoral Committee during Spring quarter of their second year.  The committee must include one Graduate Training Committee (GTC) member.  The Doctoral Committee must have a minimum of four members, including one faculty member who does not have an appointment in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

The GTC member will chair the ATC oral examination administered by the student’s doctoral committee.  The faculty mentor is present only to provide answers to questions asked of him/her by the other committee members, for clarification of student comments when asked by the other committee members, and to address other concerns of the committee members.

Post-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): After ATC and before the final oral examination, students are required to meet at least once annually with their doctoral committee. For this annual progress meeting, students are expected to give a presentation on their dissertation research. Students should be prepared to engage in a discussion with the committee members who will offer guidance on the progress and direction of the research project. The annual committee meeting is chaired by the student’s faculty mentor, who is an active, engaged participant at these meetings.  At the end of the annual meeting, each committee member must complete an evaluation form and return it to the faculty mentor.  The faculty mentor will discuss the evaluation and provide feedback to the student, and submit the evaluations forms and a committee meeting report to the Student Affairs Officer.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Animal models of disease; biochemistry; cardiovascular pharmacology; cell biology; chemical pharmacology; drug discovery; functional genomics; gene and cell-based therapy; immunology; medical pharmacology; molecular imaging; molecular pharmacology; immuno-pharmacology; neuroendocrine pharmacology; neuropharmacology; psychopharmacology; nuclear medicine (positron emission tomography); pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; signal transduction; structural biology; systems biology; theranostics; toxicology; and virology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237, 251 (must be taken every quarter during first and second year), 291, 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year.  After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

Students are required to maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 in all course work and achieve grades of B or better in all Molecular and Medical Pharmacology courses. One grade of less than B in a required Molecular and Medical Pharmacology course results in probationary status; the course must be repeated with a grade of B or better. Students are required to earn a B or better in M Pharm 292. Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

All required course work, excluding M Pharm 596/599,  should be completed by the end of the sixth quarter.

Laboratory Rotations: The department requires students to participate in three laboratory rotations (Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200), one per quarter, during the first year to become familiar with a variety biomedical and of pharmacological research areas and techniques. During the first year in the department, students participate in projects of the laboratories of their and the faculty’s choosing. Students also become familiar with the literature relevant to the various research projects and thus establish a basis for the selection of their own research areas. At the end of the third rotation, students are required to join a laboratory, where they will conduct their dissertation research. If students are unable to secure a position in one of the three rotation laboratories, with written petition to and approval by the Graduate Training Committee, a student may be permitted to participate in a fourth rotation which will be completed during the summer before their second academic year starts. Fourth rotations usually provide the place for students to conduct their dissertation and should be approached by both faculty and student with this in mind. If a student fails to identify a Dissertation Adviser in a fourth rotation, the student is considered not to make adequate progress towards the degree and will be recommended for academic disqualification.

Examinations are given in all courses except seminars and research. These are in the form of written examinations, oral examinations, term papers, and/or laboratory practicals.

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations to department faculty and students are required of all students in the graduate program at least once a year. One quarter as a teaching assistant is required and should be completed by the end of the third year. Students in the Medical Scientist Training Program are not subjected to the teaching assistant requirement.

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 and oral qualifying examinations are a two-step process:

The first step will be the M Pharm 292 course in proposal writing.  All first year Pharmacology Home Area students matriculating towards a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Pharmacology are required to enroll in M Pharm 292 in their first year.  Students will learn to write and orally defend a proposal.  The proposal shall be on a topic unrelated to any of their rotation projects.  Specific instructions for preparation of the proposal, evaluation of the written documents, and structure of the oral defense will be discussed during the M Pharm 292 course.  Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

The second step of the qualifying exam will be on the thesis topic.  Students will prepare a written proposal and defend the proposal in an oral examination.  The written examination consists of submitting a written research proposal to the student’s doctoral committee at least one week before the proposed date of the University Oral Qualifying Examination.  The research proposal must be written according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application format (a copy of the ATC Guidelines can be obtained from the Student Affairs Officer). The University Oral Qualifying Examination consists of defending the proposal to the doctoral committee. Students must pass this examination by December 1st of their third year or be subject to a recommendation for academic disqualification unless special circumstances, which will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

(1) Students must select a thesis adviser by the beginning of the second academic year.

(2) Students must complete all course requirements by December 20th of the third academic year.

(3) Students must take the written and oral qualifying examinations and pass by December 1st of the third academic year.

(4) The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be 15 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	7	15	21

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’s progress is evaluated on performance in course work and on the qualifying examinations. A grade below B in M Pharm 292 or a total of three grades below B in any of the other required courses results in recommendation to the graduate dean for academic disqualification. Failure to identify a Dissertation Adviser after three laboratory rotations or after approval of a fourth rotation also results in recommendation for academic disqualification. Performance on the ATC is graded Pass, Fail and Deferral. Deferral means that a student is asked to repeat some part or all of the examination. All deferrals must be completed by December 20th of the third academic year. If a student receives a Fail or is unable to complete the ATC by December 1st of the third academic year, the student may appeal the decision or extension in writing to either the Graduate Training Committee or the departmental chair. The written appeal is reviewed by either the Graduate Training Committee or an ad hoc committee within the department. Failure to follow the ATC policy may result in a recommendation for academic disqualification.

UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies. Information regarding the University’s accreditation may be obtained from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget, 2107 Murphy Hall.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. It also offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Islamic Studies.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to their MA exams, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter with their faculty adviser(s). During this appointment, students and their adviser(s) agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. Prior to each quarter, the student will discuss and seek the approval of their plans for the next quarter with their adviser(s). If a student wishes to make changes after these plans have been approved by their adviser(s), the changes must be approved by both their adviser(s) and the DGUS before the change is made online.
Approval of all petitions concerning program requirements will require the signatures of the adviser(s) and the DGUS.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee, which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Areas of Study

Major fields of specialization include Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian Studies, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archaeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on language, literature, or archaeology in their selected field, but are expected to engage broadly with these fields of study as part of their individual program.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students are required to pass an examination in one major modern research language other than English by the beginning of their fourth quarter in residence. The choice of the language is determined in consultation with their faculty adviser. Students in the master’s degree program specializing in Arabic may study an Arabic dialect rather than a major modern research language.

Students may satisfy the modern language requirement by one of the following methods: (1) a departmentally-administered examination that earns a grade of Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. Students are able to repeat an individual failed exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the written final comprehensive exam for the master’s degree.

If students intend to continue toward the Ph.D. degree, it is strongly recommended that they acquire knowledge of a second major research language other than English while still a candidate for the M.A. degree.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine upper division (100 series) and graduate courses (200 series) (36 units) is required, of which at least six (24 units) must be at the graduate level for a letter grade. Students are expected to continue to take graduate seminars for a letter grade before advancing to candidacy.

All students are required to study at least one Near Eastern language, although most programs will require both a primary and a secondary language. In Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, two languages are required. For the primary language, either Ancient Egyptian (including Coptic), Akkadian, Aramaic (including Syriac), Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician), or Old and Middle Iranian (including Old Persian and Middle Persian) may be chosen. For the second language, any of the above or Hittite or Sumerian may be chosen.

For Hebrew Bible, Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician) and a second Semitic language (e.g., Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian) are required.

For Turkic, either two Turkic languages or Turkish and a second culturally related language are required.

In Arabic, Armenian and Iranian Studies (modern), a primary language and a second culturally related language are required.

For Semitics, three Near Eastern languages are required, at least two of which should be Semitic; the third may be Hittite or Sumerian.

For Iranian Studies (Old Iranian), students are required to study three Old and Middle Iranian languages (e.g. Avestan, Old Persian, Parthian, Middle Persian, Khotanese, Sogdian, and Bactrian).

Only eight units (usually two courses of four credits each) of a 596 course may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

Field Experience

There are no field requirements for the MA for most programs. Archaeology students will participate in fieldwork during at least one term in connection with their program. If necessary, they may petition to count fieldwork during the 12 months preceding their matriculation or, in consultation with their adviser, construct an alternative summer program to meet the objectives of this requirement.

Capstone Plan

Final comprehensive examinations are required in the program’s major and minor languages, in addition to the history, literature, or archaeology of their major field.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normative progress from graduate admission to conferral of the master’s degree is eight academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	8	8	16

Doctoral Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to advancement to doctoral candidacy, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. After advancement to candidacy, a student must get their committee and department chair approval to change any faculty on their committee. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter. During this appointment, students and their advisers agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. In each subsequent quarter, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss their plans for that quarter with their adviser and obtain approval for their study list. If a student wishes to make changes in the study list after it is approved by the graduate advisor, the changes must be approved by the department chair or the graduate advisor before the student accesses the online enrollment system. Departmental policy requires the signature of the chair or the graduate advisor for approval of all petitions.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Major fields of specialization are Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on either language or literature in their selected field but are required to do work in both.

Foreign Language Requirement

Two modern major research languages other than English are required. The choice of languages must be approved by the advisor, who may also require additional language skills in modern and/or ancient languages if such skills are needed for scholarly work in the area of the student’s interest. The requirement is fulfilled by one of the following options: (1) a departmentally-administered examination with a Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus, or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. For modern language exams only, students are able to repeat a failed individual exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the Written Qualifying Examination for the doctoral degree.

Course Requirements

Students are required to achieve high competence in two languages and to familiarize themselves with the cultural backgrounds of each of the languages chosen. Students who study Arabic may request to use an Arabic dialect as their second language per faculty adviser approval given the dissertation topic. Students are required to familiarize themselves, through appropriate course work, with the history of the cultural area, and the methods of literary research and the history of literary criticism.

If the archaeology emphasis in the Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations specialization is chosen, students are required to achieve high competence in two ancient Near Eastern languages and must be well-versed both in the history of the cultural area and in archaeological methodologies.

Students who choose a language emphasis for the Ph.D. degree are required to add a third Near Eastern language to the two that are required for the MA degree.

Students in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Ph.D. program are required to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 annually to remain in good standing in the program.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

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.

Written qualifying examinations must be passed before the formation of a doctoral committee. Candidates in languages are examined in three Near Eastern languages and the literary and historical background of at least two of them. Candidates in literature are examined in the literatures written in two languages within the cultural area of concentration and the historical and cultural background of these languages, with emphasis on one of them. Candidates in Arabic literature are also examined in one outside field to be determined in consultation with the advisor. Candidates in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations are examined in two ancient languages and in the history and archaeology of the major areas of the ancient Near East.

Following successful completion of the course and language requirements and the written qualifying examinations, students are required to form a doctoral committee and take the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

To formally nominate a doctoral committee a student must email the Student Affairs Officer the committee, which is formed with email approval from all faculty committee members. The department chair or graduate advisor will sign off on the final committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

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

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)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Ph.D. students are expected to respect the following normative guidelines in carrying out their program. From admission to the Ph.D. program (i.e., after obtaining the M.A. degree) to:

(1)  the written qualifying examinations – six academic quarters.

(2) the oral qualifying examination and approval of the dissertation prospectus – twelve academic quarters (and four summer terms).

(3) the conferral of the Ph.D. degree – eighteen academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	12	18	28

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

In addition to the standards reasons outlined above, a student may specifically be recommended for academic disqualification because of: (1) a terminal master’s degree recommendation from the student’s master’s committee; (2) inadequate scholarship as recommended by the Graduate Committee; or (3) inadequate progress toward the degree as recommended by the departmental section in the student’s specialization.

In all cases, the student’s academic progress is discussed in depth by the departmental section that made the recommendation. A recommendation for academic disqualification is forwarded to the departmental chair for review and decision. The student is notified of a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing.

A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification by stating the reasons in writing to the departmental chair. The chair transmits the appeal to the student’s departmental section for consideration.

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

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the beginning of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their thesis research.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of the required courses as listed under Course Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237 (two quarters), 251 (must be taken every quarter during the first and second year) 291, and 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year. After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

M Pharm 596 and 599 may be applied toward the degree. Up to eight units of 500-series courses may be applied toward the total course requirements, four units toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Required Courses
3 x M Pharm 200	24
2 x M Pharm 237	6
6 x M Pharm 251	12
M Pharm 291	4
M Pharm 292	6
MIMG C234	2
1 500-series	Varies (1-8)
Total Required Units	54

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations are required of all students in the graduate program. Students may participate as teaching assistants in undergraduate, medical, or graduate courses.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

None.

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 M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of a thesis.

To obtain the M.S. degree, the student must formally request approval by the graduate training committee. If approved, a guidance committee, proposed by the student and approved by the graduate training committee, reviews the thesis. None of the research conducted for the M.S. thesis may be applied to a Ph.D. degree at a later time.

Time-to-Degree

The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be six to nine quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	6	6	9

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Pre-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): A graduate adviser is assigned for new entering graduate students or students in their first year of study. Students must obtain approval from this adviser for enrollment in courses each quarter. The adviser also is available to discuss overall academic progress. By the start of the fall quarter of the second year, students choose a faculty member to serve as adviser for their dissertation research.

Doctoral Committee:  Student will form their Doctoral Committee during Spring quarter of their second year.  The committee must include one Graduate Training Committee (GTC) member.  The Doctoral Committee must have a minimum of four members, including one faculty member who does not have an appointment in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

The GTC member will chair the ATC oral examination administered by the student’s doctoral committee.  The faculty mentor is present only to provide answers to questions asked of him/her by the other committee members, for clarification of student comments when asked by the other committee members, and to address other concerns of the committee members.

Post-Advancement to Candidacy (ATC): After ATC and before the final oral examination, students are required to meet at least once annually with their doctoral committee. For this annual progress meeting, students are expected to give a presentation on their dissertation research. Students should be prepared to engage in a discussion with the committee members who will offer guidance on the progress and direction of the research project. The annual committee meeting is chaired by the student’s faculty mentor, who is an active, engaged participant at these meetings.  At the end of the annual meeting, each committee member must complete an evaluation form and return it to the faculty mentor.  The faculty mentor will discuss the evaluation and provide feedback to the student, and submit the evaluations forms and a committee meeting report to the Student Affairs Officer.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Animal models of disease; biochemistry; cardiovascular pharmacology; cell biology; chemical pharmacology; drug discovery; functional genomics; gene and cell-based therapy; immunology; medical pharmacology; molecular imaging; molecular pharmacology; immuno-pharmacology; neuroendocrine pharmacology; neuropharmacology; psychopharmacology; nuclear medicine (positron emission tomography); pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; signal transduction; structural biology; systems biology; theranostics; toxicology; and virology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 237, 251 (must be taken every quarter during first and second year), 291, 292. MIMG C234 must be taken during spring quarter of first year.  After rotations are completed, M Pharm 596 or 599 must be taken until program completion.

Recommended Electives: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology M248, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

Students are required to maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 in all course work and achieve grades of B or better in all Molecular and Medical Pharmacology courses. One grade of less than B in a required Molecular and Medical Pharmacology course results in probationary status; the course must be repeated with a grade of B or better. Students are required to earn a B or better in M Pharm 292. Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

All required course work, excluding M Pharm 596/599,  should be completed by the end of the sixth quarter.

Laboratory Rotations: The department requires students to participate in three laboratory rotations (Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200), one per quarter, during the first year to become familiar with a variety biomedical and of pharmacological research areas and techniques. During the first year in the department, students participate in projects of the laboratories of their and the faculty’s choosing. Students also become familiar with the literature relevant to the various research projects and thus establish a basis for the selection of their own research areas. At the end of the third rotation, students are required to join a laboratory, where they will conduct their dissertation research. If students are unable to secure a position in one of the three rotation laboratories, with written petition to and approval by the Graduate Training Committee, a student may be permitted to participate in a fourth rotation which will be completed during the summer before their second academic year starts. Fourth rotations usually provide the place for students to conduct their dissertation and should be approached by both faculty and student with this in mind. If a student fails to identify a Dissertation Adviser in a fourth rotation, the student is considered not to make adequate progress towards the degree and will be recommended for academic disqualification.

Examinations are given in all courses except seminars and research. These are in the form of written examinations, oral examinations, term papers, and/or laboratory practicals.

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations to department faculty and students are required of all students in the graduate program at least once a year. One quarter as a teaching assistant is required and should be completed by the end of the third year. Students in the Medical Scientist Training Program are not subjected to the teaching assistant requirement.

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 and oral qualifying examinations are a two-step process:

The first step will be the M Pharm 292 course in proposal writing.  All first year Pharmacology Home Area students matriculating towards a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Pharmacology are required to enroll in M Pharm 292 in their first year.  Students will learn to write and orally defend a proposal.  The proposal shall be on a topic unrelated to any of their rotation projects.  Specific instructions for preparation of the proposal, evaluation of the written documents, and structure of the oral defense will be discussed during the M Pharm 292 course.  Students who do not earn a passing grade in M Pharm 292 will be recommended for academic disqualification.

The second step of the qualifying exam will be on the thesis topic.  Students will prepare a written proposal and defend the proposal in an oral examination.  The written examination consists of submitting a written research proposal to the student’s doctoral committee at least one week before the proposed date of the University Oral Qualifying Examination.  The research proposal must be written according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application format (a copy of the ATC Guidelines can be obtained from the Student Affairs Officer). The University Oral Qualifying Examination consists of defending the proposal to the doctoral committee. Students must pass this examination by December 1st of their third year or be subject to a recommendation for academic disqualification unless special circumstances, which will be considered and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

(1) Students must select a thesis adviser by the beginning of the second academic year.

(2) Students must complete all course requirements by December 20th of the third academic year.

(3) Students must take the written and oral qualifying examinations and pass by December 1st of the third academic year.

(4) The time to final completion of the graduate program is expected to be 18 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	7	18	21

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’s progress is evaluated on performance in course work and on the qualifying examinations. A grade below B in M Pharm 292 or a total of three grades below B in any of the other required courses results in recommendation to the graduate dean for academic disqualification. Failure to identify a Dissertation Adviser after three laboratory rotations or after approval of a fourth rotation also results in recommendation for academic disqualification. Performance on the ATC is graded Pass, Fail and Deferral. Deferral means that a student is asked to repeat some part or all of the examination. All deferrals must be completed by December 20th of the third academic year. If a student receives a Fail or is unable to complete the ATC by December 1st of the third academic year, the student may appeal the decision or extension in writing to either the Graduate Training Committee or the departmental chair. The written appeal is reviewed by either the Graduate Training Committee or an ad hoc committee within the department. Failure to follow the ATC policy may result in a recommendation for academic disqualification.

UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies. Information regarding the University’s accreditation may be obtained from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget, 2107 Murphy Hall.

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

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. It also offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Islamic Studies.

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to their MA exams, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter with their faculty adviser(s). During this appointment, students and their adviser(s) agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. Prior to each quarter, the student will discuss and seek the approval of their plans for the next quarter with their adviser(s). If a student wishes to make changes after these plans have been approved by their adviser(s), the changes must be approved by both their adviser(s) and the DGUS before the change is made online.
Approval of all petitions concerning program requirements will require the signatures of the adviser(s) and the DGUS.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee, which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Areas of Study

Major fields of specialization include Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian Studies, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archaeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on language, literature, or archaeology in their selected field, but are expected to engage broadly with these fields of study as part of their individual program.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students are required to pass an examination in one major modern research language other than English by the beginning of their fourth quarter in residence. The choice of the language is determined in consultation with their faculty adviser. Students in the master’s degree program specializing in Arabic may study an Arabic dialect rather than a major modern research language.

Students may satisfy the modern language requirement by one of the following methods: (1) a departmentally-administered examination that earns a grade of Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. Students are able to repeat an individual failed exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the written final comprehensive exam for the master’s degree.

If students intend to continue toward the Ph.D. degree, it is strongly recommended that they acquire knowledge of a second major research language other than English while still a candidate for the M.A. degree.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine upper division (100 series) and graduate courses (200 series) (36 units) is required, of which at least six (24 units) must be at the graduate level for a letter grade. Students are expected to continue to take graduate seminars for a letter grade before advancing to candidacy.

All students are required to study at least one Near Eastern language, although most programs will require both a primary and a secondary language. In Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, two languages are required. For the primary language, either Ancient Egyptian (including Coptic), Akkadian, Aramaic (including Syriac), Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician), or Old and Middle Iranian (including Old Persian and Middle Persian) may be chosen. For the second language, any of the above or Hittite or Sumerian may be chosen.

For Hebrew Bible, Hebrew (with Ugaritic and Phoenician) and a second Semitic language (e.g., Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian) are required.

For Turkic, either two Turkic languages or Turkish and a second culturally related language are required.

In Arabic, Armenian and Iranian Studies (modern), a primary language and a second culturally related language are required.

For Semitics, three Near Eastern languages are required, at least two of which should be Semitic; the third may be Hittite or Sumerian.

For Iranian Studies (Old Iranian), students are required to study three Old and Middle Iranian languages (e.g. Avestan, Old Persian, Parthian, Middle Persian, Khotanese, Sogdian, and Bactrian).

Only eight units (usually two courses of four credits each) of a 596 course may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

Field Experience

There are no field requirements for the MA for most programs. Archaeology students will participate in fieldwork during at least one term in connection with their program. If necessary, they may petition to count fieldwork during the 12 months preceding their matriculation or, in consultation with their adviser, construct an alternative summer program to meet the objectives of this requirement.

Capstone Plan

Final comprehensive examinations are required in the program’s major and minor languages, in addition to the history, literature, or archaeology of their major field.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normative progress from graduate admission to conferral of the master’s degree is eight academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	8	8	16

Doctoral Degree

Advising

When applying, students indicate their preferred specialization, and once admitted the student will be formally assigned a graduate faculty adviser(s) in their given field. If a student wishes to make changes to a faculty adviser prior to advancement to doctoral candidacy, they will identify a new faculty member within the department, and submit a formal petition explaining the basis for the change to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGUS), along with the signed consent of the new faculty adviser. After advancement to candidacy, a student must get their committee and department chair approval to change any faculty on their committee. Once approved, the petition will be filed with the Student Affairs Officer.

New students should make an advising appointment at the beginning of their first quarter. During this appointment, students and their advisers agree on a coursework schedule, their future program, and reading lists for their comprehensive exams. In each subsequent quarter, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss their plans for that quarter with their adviser and obtain approval for their study list. If a student wishes to make changes in the study list after it is approved by the graduate advisor, the changes must be approved by the department chair or the graduate advisor before the student accesses the online enrollment system. Departmental policy requires the signature of the chair or the graduate advisor for approval of all petitions.

Student progress is reviewed annually. At the beginning of spring quarter, all students meet with their faculty adviser(s)and provide them with a written summary of their progress toward the degree and their goals for the coming year. Faculty advisers report to the student review committee which meets to review student progress and advises each student in writing by the end of Spring Quarter as to whether their progress is sufficient to warrant continuation in the program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Major fields of specialization are Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Assyriology, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian, Jewish Studies, Near Eastern Archeology, Semitics, and Turkic. Students may concentrate on either language or literature in their selected field but are required to do work in both.

Foreign Language Requirement

Two modern major research languages other than English are required. The choice of languages must be approved by the advisor, who may also require additional language skills in modern and/or ancient languages if such skills are needed for scholarly work in the area of the student’s interest. The requirement is fulfilled by one of the following options: (1) a departmentally-administered examination with a Pass; or (2) two years of language instruction at a UC campus, or equivalent 4 year accredited institution, with a grade of B or better. For modern language exams only, students are able to repeat a failed individual exam up to three times in subsequent quarters over a span of two years. Language proficiency must be demonstrated at the time of the scheduling of the Written Qualifying Examination for the doctoral degree.

Course Requirements

Students are required to achieve high competence in two languages and to familiarize themselves with the cultural backgrounds of each of the languages chosen. Students who study Arabic may request to use an Arabic dialect as their second language per faculty adviser approval given the dissertation topic. Students are required to familiarize themselves, through appropriate course work, with the history of the cultural area, and the methods of literary research and the history of literary criticism.

If the archaeology emphasis in the Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations specialization is chosen, students are required to achieve high competence in two ancient Near Eastern languages and must be well-versed both in the history of the cultural area and in archaeological methodologies.

Students who choose a language emphasis for the Ph.D. degree are required to add a third Near Eastern language to the two that are required for the MA degree.

Students in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Ph.D. program are required to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 annually to remain in good standing in the program.

Teaching Experience

Not required. In order to teach Arabic, graduate students from any discipline are required to complete Arabic 496 (Arabic Language Pedagogy) or the equivalent as determined by the Arabic faculty.

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.

Written qualifying examinations must be passed before the formation of a doctoral committee. Candidates in languages are examined in three Near Eastern languages and the literary and historical background of at least two of them. Candidates in literature are examined in the literatures written in two languages within the cultural area of concentration and the historical and cultural background of these languages, with emphasis on one of them. Candidates in Arabic literature are also examined in one outside field to be determined in consultation with the advisor. Candidates in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations are examined in two ancient languages and in the history and archaeology of the major areas of the ancient Near East.

Following successful completion of the course and language requirements and the written qualifying examinations, students are required to form a doctoral committee and take the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

To formally nominate a doctoral committee a student must email the Student Affairs Officer the committee, which is formed with email approval from all faculty committee members. The department chair or graduate advisor will sign off on the final committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

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

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)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Ph.D. students are expected to respect the following normative guidelines in carrying out their program. From admission to the Ph.D. program (i.e., after obtaining the M.A. degree) to:

(1)  the written qualifying examinations – six academic quarters.

(2) the oral qualifying examination and approval of the dissertation prospectus – twelve academic quarters (and four summer terms).

(3) the conferral of the Ph.D. degree – eighteen academic quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	12	18	28

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

In addition to the standards reasons outlined above, a student may specifically be recommended for academic disqualification because of: (1) a terminal master’s degree recommendation from the student’s master’s committee; (2) inadequate scholarship as recommended by the Graduate Committee; or (3) inadequate progress toward the degree as recommended by the departmental section in the student’s specialization.

In all cases, the student’s academic progress is discussed in depth by the departmental section that made the recommendation. A recommendation for academic disqualification is forwarded to the departmental chair for review and decision. The student is notified of a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing.

A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification by stating the reasons in writing to the departmental chair. The chair transmits the appeal to the student’s departmental section for consideration.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Neuroscience

Interdepartmental Program
School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Neuroscience Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Neuroscience.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

None.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Neuroscience program provides a comprehensive system of advising for students throughout their graduate studies. During orientation, the advising committee and program chair meet with new students to review the first-year requirements in general terms. Throughout the term, students are expected to meet individually with the chair or other members of the advising committee to identify faculty whose research is closest to their own interests and who would be most appropriate for laboratory rotations. At the end of the fall term, the entire advising committee meets informally with the first-year students to field questions that have come up after their initial entry into the program. In subsequent quarters, students’ enrollment and performance in core courses and laboratory rotations are closely monitored and, as the need arises, students are counseled individually by the advising chair. At the end of spring quarter of the first year, students are required to submit a Faculty Mentor Approval Form (co-signed by the mentor) to the advising committee, which meets to consider the choice of mentor and the ability of the faculty to serve in this capacity.

The advising program continues after each student has chosen a faculty research mentor. Every year students receive a memorandum outlining current requirements (for example, course electives, the written and oral qualifying examinations and midstream seminar). The advising committee also meets every year to discuss the progress of all students and identify potential problems. The committee then sends each student a letter that assesses their current progress in the program and makes specific recommendations as needed. An overall assessment of student progress is also made annually to the neuroscience committee. In addition to the formal advising procedures outlined above, students are repeatedly encouraged to seek advice on career development from faculty members in the UCLA neuroscience community. Finally, an annual retreat serves the purpose of allowing informal and organized contacts between faculty and students, which provides further opportunity for advising.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Several subdisciplines are represented by large groups of faculty with common interests who closely interact with each other in a collaborative manner. A number of these clusters of faculty are represented as an area of specialty within the program, which we call a Focused Area of Research (FAR). The FARs currently available in the program are Addiction, Learning & Memory, Neural Development, Degeneration & Repair, Neuroendocrinology, Neurogenetics, Neuroimaging/Cognitive. Synapses, Cells & Circuits, Computational & Systems Neuroscience; and Neurotechnology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter throughout graduate study, attend an annual program retreat and encouraged to attend the Joint Seminars in Neuroscience (JSN).

First-year students are required to complete the following core, literature and methods-based courses: Neuroscience M201, M202, M203, 205, 210ABC and 211A (211A may be taken during the second year). First-year students participate in three research training rotations, represented by enrolling in Neuro 596 in each term. In the first or second year, students take a course in scientific ethics, Neuro 207 or MIMG C234.

After the first-year, students are required to take one biostatistics or biomathematics course and eight units of advanced elective courses related to their research selected from a pre-approved list. Students can petition courses that are not on the pre-approved list. In addition, five graduate seminars in Neuroscience (i.e. Neuro 215) or research related fields. Neuro 215 may be repeated more than once to satisfy this requirement. The remaining units necessary for completion of the degree and to maintain student status are fulfilled through dissertation research (Neuro 599).

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required.  Students who enter the program through the MSTP and STAR Programs may teach but teaching is not a degree requirement.

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.

A written qualifying examination is required following completion of the core requirements, generally before the second year. The objective of this examination is to test the ability to relate knowledge in different neuroscience areas, to locate and interpret literature, and to apply research problems.

After passing the written qualifying examination, and after completion of coursework degree audit students, in consultation with the adviser, choose the doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The doctoral committee members should meet the campus wide minimum standards for doctoral committees (effective Fall 2016).

The Oral Qualifying Examination should be completed no later than the end of the third year.  For the examination, students are expected to write a research proposal and orally present the outline of the proposal to their doctoral committee. This presentation usually takes between one and two hours. The written proposal should be no more than 10-pages and should follow the basic format of an NIH grant proposal focusing on an important question pertinent to the student’s field of study, with well-defined Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Experimental Design sections. Students should not have completed significant portions of the dissertation project at the time of the examination. Instead, the purpose of the exercise is for students to (1) formulate their plans in their own words; (2) become acquainted with the faculty committee; and (3) familiarize the committee with their projects at an early stage. The committee will either accept the proposal or suggest changes.  It is expected that the committee agree that completion of the proposed research will suffice for the conferral of a Ph.D.

Doctoral Committee Meetings

Students are expected to hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The yearly doctoral committee meetings provide additional interaction between the committee and the student and serve as an important barometer for the progress of the student’s research proposal since the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Each yearly meeting requires a written progress report (prepared jointly by the doctoral committee chair and the student) to monitor and track the student’s progress in their dissertation research and time-to-degree and to identify the critical experimental and intellectual issues that students need to address prior to their final defense of the dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

In general, overall progress toward the degree is accomplished with completion of the written qualifying examination by the beginning of the second year. It is recommended that students complete the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of spring quarter of the second year, and the examination must be completed no later than spring quarter of the third year. Students must hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination and before the Final Oral Examination (defense of the dissertation). The approved normative time-to-degree is 18 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	18	21

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 must receive at least a B- in each core course or repeat the course. A student who receives three B- grades in the core courses, who fails all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations two times (if the student fails all or part of the written qualifying examination the Written Qualifying Examination Committee determines the form of reexamination), or who fails to maintain minimum progress may be recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental degree committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental degree committee and may personally present additional or mitigating information to the committee, in person or in writing.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Neuroscience

Interdepartmental Program
School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Neuroscience Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Neuroscience.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

None.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Neuroscience program provides a comprehensive system of advising for students throughout their graduate studies. During orientation, the advising committee and program chair meet with new students to review the first-year requirements in general terms. Throughout the term, students are expected to meet individually with the chair or other members of the advising committee to identify faculty whose research is closest to their own interests and who would be most appropriate for laboratory rotations. At the end of the fall term, the entire advising committee meets informally with the first-year students to field questions that have come up after their initial entry into the program. In subsequent quarters, students’ enrollment and performance in core courses and laboratory rotations are closely monitored and, as the need arises, students are counseled individually by the advising chair. At the end of spring quarter of the first year, students are required to submit a Faculty Mentor Approval Form (co-signed by the mentor) to the advising committee, which meets to consider the choice of mentor and the ability of the faculty to serve in this capacity.

The advising program continues after each student has chosen a faculty research mentor. Every year students receive a memorandum outlining current requirements (for example, course electives, the written and oral qualifying examinations and midstream seminar). The advising committee also meets every year to discuss the progress of all students and identify potential problems. The committee then sends each student a letter that assesses their current progress in the program and makes specific recommendations as needed. An overall assessment of student progress is also made annually to the neuroscience committee. In addition to the formal advising procedures outlined above, students are repeatedly encouraged to seek advice on career development from faculty members in the UCLA neuroscience community. Finally, an annual retreat serves the purpose of allowing informal and organized contacts between faculty and students, which provides further opportunity for advising.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Several subdisciplines are represented by large groups of faculty with common interests who closely interact with each other in a collaborative manner. A number of these clusters of faculty are represented as an area of specialty within the program, which we call a Focused Area of Research (FAR). The FARs currently available in the program are Addiction, Learning & Memory, Neural Development, Degeneration & Repair, Neuroendocrinology, Neurogenetics, Neuroimaging/Cognitive. Synapses, Cells & Circuits, Computational & Systems Neuroscience; and Neurotechnology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter throughout graduate study, attend an annual program retreat and encouraged to attend the Joint Seminars in Neuroscience (JSN).

First-year students are required to complete the following core, literature and methods-based courses: Neuroscience 201, M202, M203, 205, 210ABC and 211A (211A may be taken during the second year). First-year students participate in three research training rotations, represented by enrolling in Neuro 596 in each term. In the first or second year, students take a course in scientific ethics, Neuro 207 or MIMG C234.

After the first-year, students are required to take one biostatistics or biomathematics course and eight units of advanced elective courses related to their research selected from a pre-approved list. Students can petition courses that are not on the pre-approved list. In addition, five graduate seminars in Neuroscience (i.e. Neuro 215) or research related fields. Neuro 215 may be repeated more than once to satisfy this requirement. The remaining units necessary for completion of the degree and to maintain student status are fulfilled through dissertation research (Neuro 599).

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required.  Students who enter the program through the MSTP and STAR Programs may teach but teaching is not a degree requirement.

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.

A written qualifying examination is required following completion of the core requirements, generally before the second year. The objective of this examination is to test the ability to relate knowledge in different neuroscience areas, to locate and interpret literature, and to apply research problems.

After passing the written qualifying examination, and after completion of coursework degree audit students, in consultation with the adviser, choose the doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The doctoral committee members should meet the campus wide minimum standards for doctoral committees (effective Fall 2016).

The Oral Qualifying Examination should be completed no later than the end of the third year.  For the examination, students are expected to write a research proposal and orally present the outline of the proposal to their doctoral committee. This presentation usually takes between one and two hours. The written proposal should be no more than 10-pages and should follow the basic format of an NIH grant proposal focusing on an important question pertinent to the student’s field of study, with well-defined Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Experimental Design sections. Students should not have completed significant portions of the dissertation project at the time of the examination. Instead, the purpose of the exercise is for students to (1) formulate their plans in their own words; (2) become acquainted with the faculty committee; and (3) familiarize the committee with their projects at an early stage. The committee will either accept the proposal or suggest changes.  It is expected that the committee agree that completion of the proposed research will suffice for the conferral of a Ph.D.

Doctoral Committee Meetings

Students are expected to hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The yearly doctoral committee meetings provide additional interaction between the committee and the student and serve as an important barometer for the progress of the student’s research proposal since the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Each yearly meeting requires a written progress report (prepared jointly by the doctoral committee chair and the student) to monitor and track the student’s progress in their dissertation research and time-to-degree and to identify the critical experimental and intellectual issues that students need to address prior to their final defense of the dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

In general, overall progress toward the degree is accomplished with completion of the written qualifying examination by the beginning of the second year. It is recommended that students complete the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of spring quarter of the second year, and the examination must be completed no later than spring quarter of the third year. Students must hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination and before the Final Oral Examination (defense of the dissertation). The approved normative time-to-degree is 18 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	18	21

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 must receive at least a B- in each core course or repeat the course. A student who receives three B- grades in the core courses, who fails all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations two times (if the student fails all or part of the written qualifying examination the Written Qualifying Examination Committee determines the form of reexamination), or who fails to maintain minimum progress may be recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental degree committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental degree committee and may personally present additional or mitigating information to the committee, in person or in writing.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Neuroscience

Interdepartmental Program
School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Neuroscience Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Neuroscience.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

None.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Neuroscience program provides a comprehensive system of advising for students throughout their graduate studies. During orientation, the advising committee and program chair meet with new students to review the first-year requirements in general terms. Throughout the term, students are expected to meet individually with the chair or other members of the advising committee to identify faculty whose research is closest to their own interests and who would be most appropriate for laboratory rotations. At the end of the fall term, the entire advising committee meets informally with the first-year students to field questions that have come up after their initial entry into the program. In subsequent quarters, students’ enrollment and performance in core courses and laboratory rotations are closely monitored and, as the need arises, students are counseled individually by the advising chair. At the end of spring quarter of the first year, students are required to submit a Faculty Mentor Approval Form (co-signed by the mentor) to the advising committee, which meets to consider the choice of mentor and the ability of the faculty to serve in this capacity.

The advising program continues after each student has chosen a faculty research mentor. Every year students receive a memorandum outlining current requirements (for example, course electives, the written and oral qualifying examinations and midstream seminar). The advising committee also meets every year to discuss the progress of all students and identify potential problems. The committee then sends each student a letter that assesses their current progress in the program and makes specific recommendations as needed. An overall assessment of student progress is also made annually to the neuroscience committee. In addition to the formal advising procedures outlined above, students are repeatedly encouraged to seek advice on career development from faculty members in the UCLA neuroscience community. Finally, an annual retreat serves the purpose of allowing informal and organized contacts between faculty and students, which provides further opportunity for advising.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Several subdisciplines are represented by large groups of faculty with common interests who closely interact with each other in a collaborative manner. A number of these clusters of faculty are represented as an area of specialty within the program, which we call a Focused Area of Research (FAR). The FARs currently available in the program are Addiction, Learning & Memory, Neural Development, Degeneration & Repair, Neuroendocrinology, Neurogenetics, Neuroimaging/Cognitive. Synapses, Cells & Circuits, Computational & Systems Neuroscience; and Neurotechnology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter throughout graduate study, attend an annual program retreat and encouraged to attend the Joint Seminars in Neuroscience (JSN).

First-year students are required to complete the following core, literature and methods-based courses: Neuroscience 201, M202, M203, 205, 210ABC and 211A (211A may be taken during the second year). First-year students participate in three research training rotations, represented by enrolling in Neuro 596 in each term. In the first or second year, students take a course in scientific ethics, Neuro 207 or MIMG C234.

After the first-year, students are required to take one biostatistics or biomathematics course and eight units of advanced elective courses related to their research selected from a pre-approved list. Students can petition courses that are not on the pre-approved list. In addition, five graduate seminars in Neuroscience (i.e. Neuro 215) or research related fields. Neuro 215 may be repeated more than once to satisfy this requirement. The remaining units necessary for completion of the degree and to maintain student status are fulfilled through dissertation research (Neuro 599).

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required.  Students who enter the program through the MSTP and STAR Programs may teach but teaching is not a degree requirement.

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.

A written qualifying examination is required following completion of the core requirements, generally before the second year. The objective of this examination is to test the ability to relate knowledge in different neuroscience areas, to locate and interpret literature, and to apply research problems.

After passing the written qualifying examination, and after completion of coursework degree audit students, in consultation with the adviser, choose the doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The doctoral committee members should meet the campus wide minimum standards for doctoral committees (effective Fall 2016).

The Oral Qualifying Examination should be completed no later than the end of the third year.  For the examination, students are expected to write a research proposal and orally present the outline of the proposal to their doctoral committee. This presentation usually takes between one and two hours. The written proposal should be no more than 10-pages and should follow the basic format of an NIH grant proposal focusing on an important question pertinent to the student’s field of study, with well-defined Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Experimental Design sections. Students should not have completed significant portions of the dissertation project at the time of the examination. Instead, the purpose of the exercise is for students to (1) formulate their plans in their own words; (2) become acquainted with the faculty committee; and (3) familiarize the committee with their projects at an early stage. The committee will either accept the proposal or suggest changes.  It is expected that the committee agree that completion of the proposed research will suffice for the conferral of a Ph.D.

Doctoral Committee Meetings

Students are expected to hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The yearly doctoral committee meetings provide additional interaction between the committee and the student and serve as an important barometer for the progress of the student’s research proposal since the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Each yearly meeting requires a written progress report (prepared jointly by the doctoral committee chair and the student) to monitor and track the student’s progress in their dissertation research and time-to-degree and to identify the critical experimental and intellectual issues that students need to address prior to their final defense of the dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

In general, overall progress toward the degree is accomplished with completion of the written qualifying examination by the beginning of the second year. It is recommended that students complete the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of spring quarter of the second year, and the examination must be completed no later than spring quarter of the third year. Students must hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination and before the Final Oral Examination (defense of the dissertation). The approved normative time-to-degree is 18 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	18	21

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 must receive at least a B- in each core course or repeat the course. A student who receives three B- grades in the core courses, who fails all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations two times (if the student fails all or part of the written qualifying examination the Written Qualifying Examination Committee determines the form of reexamination), or who fails to maintain minimum progress may be recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental degree committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental degree committee and may personally present additional or mitigating information to the committee, in person or in writing.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Neuroscience

Interdepartmental Program
School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Neuroscience Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Neuroscience.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

None.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Neuroscience program provides a comprehensive system of advising for students throughout their graduate studies. During orientation, the advising committee and program chair meet with new students to review the first-year requirements in general terms. Throughout the term, students are expected to meet individually with the chair or other members of the advising committee to identify faculty whose research is closest to their own interests and who would be most appropriate for laboratory rotations. At the end of the fall term, the entire advising committee meets informally with the first-year students to field questions that have come up after their initial entry into the program. In subsequent quarters, students’ enrollment and performance in core courses and laboratory rotations are closely monitored and, as the need arises, students are counseled individually by the advising chair. At the end of spring quarter of the first year, students are required to submit a Faculty Mentor Approval Form (co-signed by the mentor) to the advising committee, which meets to consider the choice of mentor and the ability of the faculty to serve in this capacity.

The advising program continues after each student has chosen a faculty research mentor. Every year students receive a memorandum outlining current requirements (for example, course electives, the written and oral qualifying examinations and midstream seminar). The advising committee also meets every year to discuss the progress of all students and identify potential problems. The committee then sends each student a letter that assesses their current progress in the program and makes specific recommendations as needed. An overall assessment of student progress is also made annually to the neuroscience committee. In addition to the formal advising procedures outlined above, students are repeatedly encouraged to seek advice on career development from faculty members in the UCLA neuroscience community. Finally, an annual retreat serves the purpose of allowing informal and organized contacts between faculty and students, which provides further opportunity for advising.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Several subdisciplines are represented by large groups of faculty with common interests who closely interact with each other in a collaborative manner. A number of these clusters of faculty are represented as an area of specialty within the program, which we call a Focused Area of Research (FAR). The FARs currently available in the program are Addiction, Learning & Memory, Neural Development, Degeneration & Repair, Neuroendocrinology, Neurogenetics, Neuroimaging/Cognitive. Synapses, Cells & Circuits, Computational & Systems Neuroscience; and Neurotechnology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter throughout graduate study, attend an annual program retreat and encouraged to attend the Joint Seminars in Neuroscience (JSN).

First-year students are required to complete the following core, literature and methods-based courses: Neuroscience 201, M202, M203, 205, 210ABC and 211A (211A may be taken during the second year). First-year students participate in three research training rotations, represented by enrolling in Neuro 596 in each term. In the first or second year, students take a course in scientific ethics, Neuro 207 or MIMG C234.

After the first-year, students are required to take one biostatistics or biomathematics course and eight units of advanced elective courses related to their research selected from a pre-approved list. Students can petition courses that are not on the pre-approved list. In addition, five graduate seminars in Neuroscience (i.e. Neuro 215) or research related fields. Neuro 215 may be repeated more than once to satisfy this requirement. The remaining units necessary for completion of the degree and to maintain student status are fulfilled through dissertation research (Neuro 599).

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required.  Students who enter the program through the MSTP and STAR Programs may teach but teaching is not a degree requirement.

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.

A written qualifying examination is required following completion of the core requirements, generally before the second year. The objective of this examination is to test the ability to relate knowledge in different neuroscience areas, to locate and interpret literature, and to apply research problems.

After passing the written qualifying examination, and after completion of coursework degree audit students, in consultation with the adviser, choose the doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The doctoral committee members should meet the campus wide minimum standards for doctoral committees (effective Fall 2016).

The Oral Qualifying Examination should be completed no later than the end of the third year.  For the examination, students are expected to write a research proposal and orally present the outline of the proposal to their doctoral committee. This presentation usually takes between one and two hours. The written proposal should be no more than 10-pages and should follow the basic format of an NIH grant proposal focusing on an important question pertinent to the student’s field of study, with well-defined Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Experimental Design sections. Students should not have completed significant portions of the dissertation project at the time of the examination. Instead, the purpose of the exercise is for students to (1) formulate their plans in their own words; (2) become acquainted with the faculty committee; and (3) familiarize the committee with their projects at an early stage. The committee will either accept the proposal or suggest changes.  It is expected that the committee agree that completion of the proposed research will suffice for the conferral of a Ph.D.

Doctoral Committee Meetings

Students are expected to hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The yearly doctoral committee meetings provide additional interaction between the committee and the student and serve as an important barometer for the progress of the student’s research proposal since the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Each yearly meeting requires a written progress report (prepared jointly by the doctoral committee chair and the student) to monitor and track the student’s progress in their dissertation research and time-to-degree and to identify the critical experimental and intellectual issues that students need to address prior to their final defense of the dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

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 Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

In general, overall progress toward the degree is accomplished with completion of the written qualifying examination by the beginning of the second year. It is recommended that students complete the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of spring quarter of the second year, and the examination must be completed no later than spring quarter of the third year. Students must hold doctoral committee meetings each year after the University Oral Qualifying Examination and before the Final Oral Examination (defense of the dissertation). The approved normative time-to-degree is 18 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	18	21

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 must receive at least a B- in each core course or repeat the course. A student who receives three B- grades in the core courses, who fails all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations two times (if the student fails all or part of the written qualifying examination the Written Qualifying Examination Committee determines the form of reexamination), or who fails to maintain minimum progress may be recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental degree committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental degree committee and may personally present additional or mitigating information to the committee, in person or in writing.