Applicable only to students admitted during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	28

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of 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 termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

Termination may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for termination to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for termination is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2019-2020 academic year.

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	28

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of 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 termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

Termination may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for termination to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for termination is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Biological Chemistry

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Biological Chemistry offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in biological chemistry.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate advisers act as advisers to students in the M.S. program.

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students should see course requirements in the Doctoral Degree section below. In addition to the core course requirements, elective courses must be taken to complete the total of nine courses (36 units) required for the degree. No more than two courses (eight units) in the 500 series may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only one (four units) of the two courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement (20 units) for the degree.

With the consent of the graduate adviser, Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and 598 may be taken if they are appropriate to the program. Biological Chemistry 596 may be graded S/U or letter grade; 597 and 598 are graded S/U only.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

In general, the department prefers students to enter directly into the Ph.D. program, but if a student enters the master’s program, the capstone plan is preferred. Only in exceptional situations is a student approved for the thesis plan. In either plan, the student must pass a departmental written examination. Only course requirements and the written examination are needed to complete the comprehensive examination plan.

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.

In addition to course work, a written thesis is required. A thesis committee helps the student plan the thesis research, determines the acceptability of the thesis, administers a final examination (if deemed appropriate), and recommends appropriate action on the granting of the degree. In the event of an unacceptable thesis or performance on the final examination (if one is given), the thesis committee determines if it is appropriate for additional time to be granted to rewrite the thesis or to be reexamined.

Time-to-Degree

Students on the capstone plan can normally expect to receive the master’s degree after three academic quarters plus a summer (when the written examination is given). This assumes the maintenance of satisfactory progress and the absence of deficiencies upon admission to graduate status. Students on the thesis plan ordinarily require a minimum of six academic quarters (plus one to two summers) to complete the requirements.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	3	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The head of the thesis laboratory automatically becomes the student’s adviser. Upon entering the program, the student is informed of the requirements of the departmental Ph.D. program at a meeting with the graduate committee. A dissertation committee is formed before the end of the second year and its members also act as additional advisers. The student is required to meet with this committee once a year until graduation. Members of the departmental graduate committee are also available to advise students during the Ph.D. program.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take Mol Bio 254(Concepts in Molecular Biosciences: sections A, B, C and D) and M234 (Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research) and 6 units of 200-level elective courses.

After the first year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. Ph.D. students are expected to complete Biological Chemistry 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of their program. Biological Chemistry 599 is for students who have passed their oral examinations; Biological Chemistry 596 is for those who have not.

Teaching Experience

Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for a total of two quarters, one in the second year and one in the third year. Students can fulfill this requirement in either the departmental medical student laboratory course or an undergraduate course offered in the College of Letters and Science.

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 satisfactory performance in rotations and the first-year courses as judged by the graduate student guidance committee and department faculty is required before students can select their doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, which must be passed before students can be advanced to candidacy, is administered by a doctoral committee of four faculty members. The purpose is to evaluate students’ ability to formulate and defend two short research proposals. The proposals are submitted in a written form and defended orally. One proposal is an original research proposal that is not directly related to the dissertation research. This proposal also fulfills the requirements for the written examination. The other proposal should discuss the proposed dissertation research. The doctoral committee determines whether students pass the examination and whether reexamination is allowed in case of failure. The examination may be repeated only once. It is expected that the University Oral Qualifying Examination will be completed before the beginning of the third year of graduate work.

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 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

Students can normally expect to receive the Ph.D. degree within five years (15 academic quarters and 5 summer terms) if satisfactory progress is maintained.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	9	20	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

Academic disqualification may be recommended by the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or a student’s master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the Graduate Student Guidance Committee or the master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation committee. If the recommendation for academic disqualification is upheld, the student may appeal the recommendation to the departmental chair.

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

Bioinformatics

Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Bioinformatics Program offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Bioinformatics.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

All academic affairs for graduate students in the program are directed by the program’s faculty graduate adviser, who is assisted by staff in the Graduate Student Affairs Office. Upon matriculation, students are assigned a three-faculty guidance committee by the faculty graduate adviser.

The chair of the guidance committee acts as the provisional adviser until a permanent adviser is selected. Provisional advisers are not committed to supervise examination or thesis work and students are not committed to the provisional adviser. Students select a permanent adviser before establishing a comprehensive examination or thesis committee.

Areas of Study

Field 1: Bioinformatics

This field of study provides exposure primarily to biological and algorithmic advances in genomics, proteomics, and other related fields. Study consists of a core curriculum, computer science, mathematics, and statistics.

Field 2: Medical Informatics

This field of study exposes students to foundational concepts in medical informatics, providing a background in clinical data, big data management, and analyses of new and emergent data utilized to guide biomedical research and healthcare. Study comprises of an introduction to computational methods, clinical and biomedical knowledge representation, and exposure to core informatics topics.

Field 3: Computational & Systems Biology

This field provides for studies in the subfields of dynamic systems biology; systems bioinformatics; neurosystems; computers and biosystems; or biomedical systems. Core curricula consist of studies in applied mathematics, including probability and statistics; in engineering systems, including signals, feedback and control systems methodologies; in computer science; and in physiology and biochemistry. The curriculum is tailored to the subfield chosen by the student.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Field	Number of required courses	Number of required units
Field 1: Bioinformatics	9	36
Field 2: Medical Informatics	12	46
Field 3: Computational & Systems Biology	9	36

Students in Field 1 (Bioinformatics) and Field 3 (Computational & Systems Biology) must be enrolled full time and complete 36 units (nine courses) of graduate (200 or 500 series) or upper division (100 series) course work for the master’s degree. Within this overall requirement, students must complete 20 units (five courses) at the graduate level for a letter grade. Of these five required graduate courses, four must be in the 200 series and one may be in the 100 or 500 series.

Students in Field 2 (Medical Informatics) must be enrolled full time and complete 46 units (12 courses) of graduate (200 or 500 series) course work for the master’s degree.

For all students, courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless offered on S/U grading basis only.

Field 1: Bioinformatics
Students must complete all of the following: (1) at least three of the following five core courses: Bioinformatics M221, M222, M223, M224, M225 (additional core courses may be used towards the requirement for three approved elective courses); (2) three approved elective courses; (3) enrollment in Bioinformatics 201 is expected throughout study for the master’s degree; (4) enrollment in Bioinformatics 596 research units, although no more than two courses (eight units) of 596 may be applied toward the requirements for a master’s degree.

Field 2: Medical Informatics
Students must complete all of the following: (1) nine core courses (34 units): Bioengineering 220, 223A, 223B, 223C; 224A (students can choose from BE 224A or Bioinformatics M222 or M223 or M224 or M226), 224B; M226; M227; and M228; (2) 8 units of Bioinformatics 596; and (3) 4 units of 200-level seminar or journal club courses approved by the program.

Field 3: Computational & Systems Biology (CASB)
Students must complete all of the following: (1) MIMG CM234 or Biomathematics M261 (research ethics, two units); (2) eight units of Bioinformatics 596; (3) depending on the chosen subfield, students in this field are also required to take a minimum of 18 units of graduate course work and eight units of upper division course work, chosen from the following lists (minimum 26 units total):

• CASB-Systems Biology Subfield: Students must complete at least six additional courses as follows (26 units): (1) three core courses chosen from: Physiological Science 125 (Molecular Systems Biology), Biomathematics 202, 204, 213, M220, M234, M270, Computer Science CM286, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 279 (Dynamics and Control of Biological Oscillations), Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 219A, and Chemical Engineering 246; and (2) four approved elective choices chosen from: Biomathematics 106, 108A, Bioinformatics M223, MCDB 266C, Mathematics 134, 136, 151B, 171, Chemistry 153A; Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology 138, 144; Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 219B, Bioengineering 110; Chemical Engineering 145; Electrical Engineering 131B, 136.
• CASB-Systems Bioinformatics Subfield: Students must complete at least six additional courses as follows (26 units): (1) at least three core courses chosen from: BioinformaticsM221, M222, M223, M224, M225, Physiological Science 125 (Molecular Systems Biology), Biostatistics 202; and (2) at least three approved electives chosen from: Biostatistics M280, Biomathematics M234, Mathematics 113, 134, 151B, Computer Science 143.
• CASB-Neurosystems Subfield: Students must complete at least six additional courses as follows (26 units): (1) at least three core courses chosen from: Physiological Science 125 (Molecular Systems Biology), Neuroscience M145, M148, M101C, M201, M203, M204, 205, Bioengineering M260, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 279 (Dynamics and Control of Biological Oscillations); and (2) at least three approved electives chosen from: Electrical Engineering 113, 113D, 131B, 142, CM250, Mathematics 134, Psychology 119A, Chemical Engineering CM245.
• CASB-Biomedical Systems Subfield: Students must complete at least six additional courses as follows (26 units): (1) at least three core courses chosen from: Pharmacology M248, Physiological Science 125 (Molecular Systems Biology), Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 219A, Bioengineering CM202, CM203, Physiological Science 166, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 170; Biomathematics 220, 230, Computer Science CM286; and (2) at least three approved electives chosen from: Mathematics 134, 136, 151B, 164, 171, Bioengineering 210, 220, Electrical Engineering 136.
• CASB-Computers and Biosystems Subfield: Students must complete at least six additional courses as follows (26 units): (1) at least three core courses chosen from: Bioinformatics M221, M222, M223, M224, M225, Computer Science 240A, Statistics 201A, B, C, Physiological Science 125 (Molecular Systems Biology), 260A; and (2) at least three approved electives chosen from: Computer Science 149, 150, 151B, 181, 213A, 214, 215, 219, 229S, 230, Statistics 101B, C.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

The master’s capstone is an individual project in the format of a written report resulting from a research project. The report should describe the results of the student’s investigation of a problem in the area of bioinformatics under the supervision of a faculty member in the program, who approves the subject and plan of the project, as well as reading and approving the completed report. While the problem may be one of only limited scope, the report must exhibit a satisfactory style, organization, and depth of understanding of the subject. A student should normally start to plan the project at least one quarter before the award of the M.S. degree is expected. The advisory committee evaluates and grades the written report as not pass or M.S. pass and forwards the results to the faculty graduate adviser.

The capstone plan is available only for students pursuing the Bioinformatics field and the Medical Informatics field. It is not available for students pursuing the Computational & Systems Biology field.

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.

Field 1: Bioinformatics

Students must choose a permanent faculty adviser and submit a thesis proposal by the end of the third quarter of study. The proposal must be approved by the permanent adviser who served as the thesis adviser. The thesis is evaluated by a three-person committee that is nominated by the program and appointed by the Graduate Division. Students must present the thesis in a public seminar.

Field 2: Medical Informatics

Students must choose a permanent faculty adviser and submit a thesis proposal by the end of the third quarter of study. The proposal must be approved by the permanent adviser who served as the thesis adviser. The thesis is evaluated by a three-person committee that is nominated by the program and appointed by the Graduate Division. Students must present the thesis in a public seminar.

Field 3: Computational & Systems Biology

Students in the research-oriented Computation & Systems Biology field are required to follow the M.S. thesis plan, leading to successful completion of a master’s thesis prior to graduation.

Time-to-Degree

Normative time-to-degree for all fields is five quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	5	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Bioinformatics Advising Committee, chaired by the Faculty Graduate Advisor, advises students during the first year and is available to students throughout their tenure of their study.

Upon entering their second year in the Bioinformatics IDP Program, students will select a mentor who will serve as their dissertation chair, research advisor, and primary graduate advisor. Together the student and the mentor will convene a doctoral committee who will guide the student throughout their research, the University Oral Qualifying Exam, Doctoral Dissertation Defense, and will approve the final dissertation.

Individual Development Plan: Beginning with a mandatory training workshop in the first quarter of graduate study, students are required to generate an Individual Development Plan via myIDP Website: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/ in order to map out their academic and professional development goals throughout graduate school. The myIDP must be updated annually, and the resulting printed summary discussed with and signed by (Year 1) the student’s advising committee member, or (Years 2-5) thesis adviser, and then turned in to the Graduate Student Affairs Office to be placed in the student’s academic file each year by June 1.

Annual Committee Meetings: Beginning one year after advancement to doctoral candidacy, and in each year thereafter until completion of the degree program, students are required to meet annually with their doctoral committee. At each meeting, students give a brief, 30-minute oral presentation of their dissertation research progress to their committee. The purpose of the meeting is to monitor the student’s progress, identify difficulties that may occur as the student progresses toward successful completion of the dissertation and, if necessary, approve changes in the dissertation project. The presentation is not an examination.

Annual Progress Report: All students are required to submit a brief report (a one-page form is provided) of their time-to-degree progress and research activities indicating the principal research undertaken and any important results, research plans for the next year, conferences attended, seminars given, and publications appearing or manuscripts in preparation. Annual Progress report must be submitted to the Bioinformatics IDP Student Affairs Office for review by the Program Director.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

These fields include computer science, medical informatics, genomics, molecular evolution/comparative genomics, mathematics, neuroinformatics, proteomics and statistics.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter. In addition to basic course requirements, all students are required to enroll in Bioinformatics 596 or 599 each quarter.

Students who have gaps in their previous training may take, with their thesis adviser’s approval, appropriate undergraduate courses. However, these courses may not be applied toward the required course work for the doctoral degree.

Field 1: Bioinformatics

Students must complete all of the following: (1) at least three of the following five core courses: Bioinformatics M221, M222, M223, M224, M225 (additional core courses may be used towards the requirements for three approved elective courses); (2) MIMG C234; (3) enrollment in Bioinformatics 201 is expected throughout the first two years; (4) Bioinformatics 202 in the Fall of the first year and the Spring of the first and second years; (5) three laboratory rotations (enrolling in six units of Bioinformatics 596 during each rotation); and (6) three approved elective courses by the end of the second year. Courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless offered on S/U grading basis only.

Field 2: Medical Informatics

Students must complete all of the following: (1) nine core courses (34 units) Bioengineering 220, 223A, 223B, 223C; 224A (students can choose from BE 224A or Bioinformatics M222 or M223 or M224 or M226), 224B; M226; M227; and M228; (2) MIMG C234; (3) 8 units of Bioinformatics 596; (4) 4 units of 200-level seminar or journal club courses approved by the program; and (5) six electives, chosen from the following list: Bioinformatics M223, M226; Biomathematics 210, M230, M281, M282; Biostatistics 213, M232, M234, M235, 241, 276; Computer Science 240A, 240B, 241B, 245, 246, 247, 262A, M262C, 262Z, 263A, 265A, M268, M276A; Electrical and Computer Engineering 206, 210A, 210B, 211A, M217, 219; Information Studies 228, 246, 272, 277; Linguistics 218, 232; Neuroscience CM272; Physics in Biology and Medicine 210, 214. M248; Statistics 221, M231A, 231B, M232A, M232B, 238, M241, M243, M250, 256. Courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless offered on S/U grading basis only.

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required by the end of the third year.

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.

Doctoral students must complete the core courses described above before they are permitted to take the written and oral qualifying examinations. Students are required to pass a written qualifying examination that consists of a research proposal outside of their dissertation topic and the University Oral Qualifying Examination in which they defend their dissertation research proposal before their doctoral committee. Students are expected to complete the written examination in the summer following the first year and the oral qualifying examination by the end of fall quarter of the third year. The written qualifying examination must be passed before the University Oral Qualifying Examination can be taken.

During their first year, doctoral students perform laboratory rotations with program faculty whose research is of interest to them and select a dissertation adviser from the program faculty inside list by the end of their third quarter of enrollment. By the end of their second spring quarter, students must select a doctoral committee that is approved by the program chair and the Graduate Division.

Written Qualifying Examination

The Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) must take place in the summer following the first year of doctoral study. In order to be eligible to take the WQE, students must have achieved at least two passing lab rotation evaluations, as well as at least a B average in all course work. Students are expected to formulate a testable research question and answer it, by carrying out a small, well-defined and focused project over a fixed one-month period. It must include the development of novel bioinformatic methodology. The topic and methodologies are to be selected by the student. The topic requires advance approval by the faculty committee, and may not be a project from a previous course, a rotation project, a project related to the student’s prior research experience, an anticipated dissertation research topic, or an active or anticipated research project in the laboratory of the student’s mentor. The WQE must be the student’s own ideas and work exclusively. Students are expected to complete a WQE paper of publication quality (except for originality), with a maximum length of 10 pages, single-spaced, excluding figures and references. This paper is submitted to the Student Affairs Office and graded by a faculty committee on a pass or no-pass basis. Students who do not pass the examination are permitted one additional opportunity to pass, which must be submitted to and graded by the faculty committee no later than the end of the summer of the first year.

Oral Qualifying Examination

The University Oral Qualifying Examination must be completed and passed by the end of the fall quarter of the third year. Students prepare a written description of the scientific background of their proposed dissertation research project, the specific aims of the project, preliminary findings, and proposed bioinformatic approaches for addressing the specific aims. This dissertation proposal must be written following an NIH research grant application format and be at least six pages, single spaced and excluding references, and is submitted to the students’ doctoral committee at least 10 days in advance of the examination. Exclusive of their doctoral committee members, students are free to consult with their dissertation adviser, or other individuals in formulating the proposed research. The examination consists of an oral presentation of the proposal by the student to the committee. The student’s oral presentation and examination are expected to demonstrate: (1) a scholarly understanding of the background of the research proposal; (2) well-designed and testable aims; (3) a critical understanding of the bioinformatic, mathematical or statistical methodologies to be employed in the proposed research; and (4) an understanding of potential bioinformatic outcomes and their interpretation. This examination is graded Pass, Conditional Pass, or Fail. If the doctoral committee decides that the examination reflects performance below the expected mastery of graduate-level content, the committee may vote to give the student a Conditional Pass. A student who receives a Conditional Pass will be required to modify or re-write their research proposal, so as to bring it up to required standard. In the case of a Conditional Pass, the student will be permitted to seek the advice of their committee in modifying or re-writing the proposal. Any required re-write or modification will be submitted to, and reviewed by the doctoral committee. A second oral presentation is not necessary unless the doctoral committee requires so. The signed Report on the Oral Qualifying Examination & Request for Advancement to Candidacy will be retained in the Graduate Student Affairs Office until the student has satisfied the doctoral committee’s request for revision or re-write. Students are allowed only one chance to revise or re-write their proposal.

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 the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

Students are expected to complete the written qualifying examination in the summer following the first year of study and the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of fall quarter of the third year. Normative time-to-degree is five years (15 quarters).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	7	15	22

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

Students must receive at least a grade of B- in core courses or repeat the course. Students who received three grades of B- in core courses, who fail all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations twice, or who fail to maintain minimum progress may be recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental program committee. Students may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental program 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.

Bioinformatics

Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Bioinformatics Program offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Bioinformatics.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

All academic affairs for graduate students in the program are directed by the program’s faculty graduate adviser, who is assisted by staff in the Graduate Student Affairs Office. Upon matriculation, students are assigned a three-faculty guidance committee by the faculty graduate adviser.

The chair of the guidance committee acts as the provisional adviser until a permanent adviser is selected. Provisional advisers are not committed to supervise examination or thesis work and students are not committed to the provisional adviser. Students select a permanent adviser before establishing a comprehensive examination or thesis committee.

Areas of Study

Bioinformatics provides exposure primarily to biological and algorithmic advances in genomics, proteomics, and other related fields. Study consists of a core curriculum, computer science, mathematics, and statistics. Students majoring in Computational & Systems Biology can enroll in this area to receive their Masters degree.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Field	Number of required courses	Number of required units
Bioinformatics	9	36

Students in Bioinformatics must be enrolled full time and complete 36 units (nine courses) of graduate (200 or 500 series) or upper division (100 series) course work for the master’s degree. Within this overall requirement, students must complete at least 20 units (five courses) at the graduate level for a letter grade. Of these five required graduate courses, four must be in the 200 series and one may be in the 500 series.

Courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless offered on S/U grading basis only.

Students must complete all of the following: (1) Bioinformatics M229S: Current Topics in Bioinformatics; (2) Bioinformatics M223: Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics; (3) Bioinformatics M275A and B: Applied Bioinformatics; (4) Two electives from the Program’s list of approved elective courses. These two electives require the approval of the student’s PI/faculty mentor. Please note: other elective courses outside of the Program’s list can be taken with the agreement of the Home Area Director and the student’s PI/faculty mentor. (5) Bioinformatics 201 taken twice a year for two years; (6) enrollment in Bioinformatics 596 research units, although no more than two courses (eight units) of 596 may be applied toward the requirements for a master’s degree. Up to eight units (two courses) of upper division electives can be applied toward the requirements for a master’s degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

The master’s capstone is an individual project in the format of a written report resulting from a research project. The report should describe the results of the student’s investigation of a problem in the area of bioinformatics under the supervision of a faculty member in the program, who approves the subject and plan of the project, as well as reading and approving the completed report. While the problem may be one of only limited scope, the report must exhibit a satisfactory style, organization, and depth of understanding of the subject. A student should normally start to plan the project at least one quarter before the award of the M.S. degree is expected. The advisory committee evaluates and grades the written report as not pass or M.S. pass and forwards the results to the faculty graduate adviser. Students who do not pass the evaluation are permitted one additional opportunity to pass, which must be submitted to and graded by the advisory committee by the end of the 6th quarter.

The capstone plan is available for all students. However, students in Computational & Systems Biology major are required to follow the Thesis Plan only.

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.

Students must choose a permanent faculty adviser and submit a thesis proposal by the end of the third quarter of study. The proposal must be approved by the permanent adviser who served as the thesis adviser. The thesis is evaluated by a three-person committee that is nominated by the program and appointed by the Division of Graduate Education. Students must present the thesis in a public seminar.

Time-to-Degree

Normative time-to-degree for all fields is five quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	3	5	6

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Bioinformatics Advising Committee, chaired by the Faculty Graduate Advisor, advises students during the first year and is available to students throughout their tenure of their study.

Upon entering their second year in the Bioinformatics IDP Program, students will select a mentor who will serve as their dissertation chair, research advisor, and primary graduate advisor. Together the student and the mentor will convene a doctoral committee who will guide the student throughout their research, the University Oral Qualifying Exam, Doctoral Dissertation Defense, and will approve the final dissertation.

Individual Development Plan: Beginning with a mandatory training workshop in the first quarter of graduate study, students are required to generate an Individual Development Plan via myIDP Website: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/ in order to map out their academic and professional development goals throughout graduate school. The myIDP must be updated annually, and the resulting printed summary discussed with and signed by (Year 1) the student’s advising committee member, or (Years 2-5) thesis adviser, and then turned in to the Graduate Student Affairs Office to be placed in the student’s academic file each year by June 1.

Annual Committee Meetings: Beginning one year after advancement to doctoral candidacy, and in each year thereafter until completion of the degree program, students are required to meet annually with their doctoral committee. At each meeting, students give a brief, 30-minute oral presentation of their dissertation research progress to their committee. The purpose of the meeting is to monitor the student’s progress, identify difficulties that may occur as the student progresses toward successful completion of the dissertation and, if necessary, approve changes in the dissertation project. The presentation is not an examination.

Annual Progress Report: All students are required to submit a brief report (a one-page form is provided) of their time-to-degree progress and research activities indicating the principal research undertaken and any important results, research plans for the next year, conferences attended, seminars given, and publications appearing or manuscripts in preparation. Annual Progress report must be submitted to the Bioinformatics IDP Student Affairs Office for review by the Program Director.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

These fields include computer science, genomics, molecular evolution/comparative genomics, mathematics, neuroinformatics, proteomics and statistics.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are required to enroll full-time in a minimum of 12 units each quarter. In addition to basic course requirements, all students are required to enroll in Bioinformatics 596 or 599 each quarter.

Students who have gaps in their previous training may take, with their thesis adviser’s approval, appropriate undergraduate courses. For example, students without statistical background are recommended to take STATS 100B (Introduction to Mathematics Statistics) in their 1st year. Students without a Computer Science background are recommended to take COM SCI 180 (Introduction to Algorithms and Complexity), COM SCI 145 (Introduction to Data Mining), COM SCI 146 (Introduction to Machine Learning), or COM SCI 148 (Introduction to Data Science). However, these courses may not be applied toward the required course work for the doctoral degree.

Students must complete all of the following: (1) Bioinformatics M229S: Current Topics in Bioinformatics; (2) Bioinformatics M223: Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics; (3) Bioinformatics M275A and B: Applied Bioinformatics; (4) one of the Data Science course chosen from the Program’s list of approved elective courses; This course requires the approval of the student’s PI/faculty mentor. (5) two additional Data Science or other elective courses chosen from the Program’s approved list elective courses shall be completed before the oral qualifying exam. These two elective courses require the approval of the student’s PI/faculty mentor. Please note: other elective courses can be taken with the agreement of the Home Area Director and the student’s PI/faculty mentor. (6) MIMG C234; (7) enrollment in Bioinformatics 201 is expected throughout the first two years; (8) Bioinformatics 202 in the Fall of the first year and the Spring of the first and second years; (9) three laboratory rotations (enrolling in six units of Bioinformatics 596 during each rotation); and (10) Bioinformatics 596 or 599 in each quarter after the first year. Courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless offered on S/U grading basis only.

Teaching Experience

One quarter of teaching experience is required by the end of the third year.

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.

Doctoral students must complete the core courses described above before they are permitted to take the written and oral qualifying examinations. Students are required to pass a written qualifying examination that consists of a research proposal outside of their dissertation topic and the University Oral Qualifying Examination in which they defend their dissertation research proposal before their doctoral committee. Students are expected to complete the written examination in the summer following the first year and the oral qualifying examination by the end of fall quarter of the third year. The written qualifying examination must be passed before the University Oral Qualifying Examination can be taken.

During their first year, doctoral students perform laboratory rotations with program faculty whose research is of interest to them and select a dissertation adviser from the program faculty inside list by the end of their third quarter of enrollment. By the end of their second spring quarter, students must select a doctoral committee that is approved by the program chair and the Division of Graduate Education.

Written Qualifying Examination

The Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) must take place in the summer following the first year of doctoral study. In order to be eligible to take the WQE, students must have achieved at least two passing lab rotation evaluations, as well as at least a B average in all course work. Students are expected to formulate a testable research question and answer it, by carrying out a small, well-defined and focused project over a fixed one-month period. It must include the development of novel bioinformatic methodology. The topic and methodologies are to be selected by the student. The topic requires advance approval by the faculty committee, and may not be a project from a previous course, a rotation project, a project related to the student’s prior research experience, an anticipated dissertation research topic, or an active or anticipated research project in the laboratory of the student’s mentor. The WQE must be the student’s own ideas and work exclusively. Students are expected to complete a WQE paper of publication quality (except for originality), with a maximum length of 10 pages, single-spaced, excluding figures and references. This paper is submitted to the Student Affairs Office and graded by a faculty committee on a pass or no-pass basis. Students who do not pass the examination are permitted one additional opportunity to pass, which must be submitted to and graded by the faculty committee no later than the end of the summer of the first year.

Oral Qualifying Examination

The University Oral Qualifying Examination must be completed and passed by the end of the fall quarter of the third year. Students prepare a written description of the scientific background of their proposed dissertation research project, the specific aims of the project, preliminary findings, and proposed bioinformatic approaches for addressing the specific aims. This dissertation proposal must be written following an NIH research grant application format and be at least six pages, single spaced and excluding references, and is submitted to the students’ doctoral committee at least 10 days in advance of the examination. Exclusive of their doctoral committee members, students are free to consult with their dissertation adviser, or other individuals in formulating the proposed research. The examination consists of an oral presentation of the proposal by the student to the committee. The student’s oral presentation and examination are expected to demonstrate: (1) a scholarly understanding of the background of the research proposal; (2) well-designed and testable aims; (3) a critical understanding of the bioinformatic, mathematical or statistical methodologies to be employed in the proposed research; and (4) an understanding of potential bioinformatic outcomes and their interpretation. This examination is graded Pass, Conditional Pass, or Fail. If the doctoral committee decides that the examination reflects performance below the expected mastery of graduate-level content, the committee may vote to give the student a Conditional Pass. A student who receives a Conditional Pass will be required to modify or re-write their research proposal, so as to bring it up to required standard. In the case of a Conditional Pass, the student will be permitted to seek the advice of their committee in modifying or re-writing the proposal. Any required re-write or modification will be submitted to, and reviewed by the doctoral committee. A second oral presentation is not necessary unless the doctoral committee requires so. The signed Report on the Oral Qualifying Examination & Request for Advancement to Candidacy will be retained in the Graduate Student Affairs Office until the student has satisfied the doctoral committee’s request for revision or re-write. Students are allowed only one chance to revise or re-write their proposal.

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 the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

Students are expected to complete the written qualifying examination in the summer following the first year of study and the University Oral Qualifying Examination by the end of fall quarter of the third year. Normative time-to-degree is five years (15 quarters).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	7	15	22

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

Students must receive at least a grade of B- in core courses or repeat the course. Students who received three grades of B- or lower in core courses, who fail all or part of the written or oral qualifying examinations twice, or who fail to maintain minimum progress may be
recommended for academic disqualification by vote of the entire interdepartmental program committee. Failure to identify and maintain a thesis adviser is a basis for recommendation for academic disqualification. Students may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to the interdepartmental program committee, and may personally present additional or mitigating information to the committee, in person or in writing.

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