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

Human Genetics

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Human Genetics offers three degrees: Master of Science (M.S.) in Genetic Counseling, Master of Science (M.S.) in Human Genetics, and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Human Genetics. The M.S. in Human Genetics is available on the Doctoral track; only under exceptional circumstances does the Human Genetics department admit students into the M.S. in Human Genetics program.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree in Genetic Counseling

Advising

Upon entering the program, students are assigned to meet with the Program Director or Associate Program Director twice per quarter to discuss and review their program of study and progress toward fulfillment of the degree requirements, with assistance from a Student Affairs Officer. As a student becomes more familiar with the department and program faculty, a Master’s Research Project Committee in the student’s area of interest will be constituted in the first year of the program and this committee will provide additional guidance on the capstone project.

Students are expected to follow and adhere to the program’s list of required courses and recommended sequencing. Any alterations must be approved by the Program Director.

Areas of Study

Genetic Counseling

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

All students in the M. S. in Genetic Counseling program are required to take the core curriculum, consisting of medical genetics/genomics, counseling skills, bioinformatics, and ethical, legal, and social issues in genetic counseling. These provide a foundation for an entry-level genetic counselor. The majority of the didactic courses are normally taken in the first year.

Students take a minimum of 12 units per quarter for a total of 75 units, including 16 required courses (HUM GEN 400A, HUM GEN 400B, HUM GEN 400C,HUM GEN 401, HUM GEN 402, HUM GEN 403, HUM GEN 404, HUM GEN 405, HUM GEN 406, HUM GEN 410, HUM GEN 411, HUM GEN 412, HUM GEN 413, HUM GEN 414, HUM GEN 430, BIOMATH/MED 261), five fieldwork courses (HUM GEN 431A, HUM GEN 431B, HUM GEN 431C, HUM GEN 431D, HUM GEN 431E), and independent research. 63 units must be graduate-level courses (200/400 series); 12 units must be 596 courses.

Required Courses	Units
HUM GEN 400A	3
HUM GEN 400B	3
HUM GEN 400C	3
HUM GEN 401	4
HUM GEN 402	4
HUM GEN 403	4
HUM GEN 404	4
HUM GEN 405	4
HUM GEN 406	2
HUM GEN 410	3
HUM GEN 411	2
HUM GEN 412	2
HUM GEN 413	2
HUM GEN 414	1
HUM GEN 430	1
HUM GEN 431A-E	19
Biomath/Med 261	2
HUM GEN 596	12
Total Required Units	75

Teaching Experience

Not required

Field Experience

Fieldwork Requirements: There is a concurrent fieldwork placement in each of the two years. Time spent in placement may vary according to the academic year calendar, holidays, and guidelines established by the program or placement setting. The overall time requirement is approximately 900 hours, of which approximately 450 hours are completed in the first year and 450 hours are completed in the second year of the program. Field experience in the M.S. in Genetic Counseling program earns course credit via enrollment in HG 431A (1 unit) in the spring of the first year, HG 431B (3 units) in summer of the first year, HG 431C (5 units) in the fall of the second year, HG 431D (5 units) in the winter and HG 431E (5 units) in the spring of the second year. Field placement is graded S/U each quarter.

Capstone Plan

Students will fulfill Plan II (capstone: individual research project). A Master’s Research Project Committee will be constituted for each student. The Committee will have a chair and at least two other faculty members appointed by the department. Including a genetic counselor as an additional member is highly encouraged if the genetic counselor does not already fulfill Committee member criteria. At least one member must be from the department. The Committee expects each Master’s Research Project to add to the body of knowledge in the genetic counseling field. The Committee will supervise the preparation of the project and will meet with the student regularly to review progress. The research project must be approved by the Committee. Students will be expected to (1) formally write up their Master’s Research Project in a publishable paper format, (2) present the project orally to the Committee at a Colloquium, (3) develop an abstract and poster on the research, and (4) submit an abstract to a professional meeting for presentation when possible. Students will be encouraged to submit their papers for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is six quarters plus one summer between years 1 and 2. Maximum time allowable from enrollment to graduation is three years (9 quarters). The department may recommend to the Graduate Division that students who do not complete the requirements for the Master’s Degree within nine quarters be academically disqualified from graduate study.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S. in Genetic Counseling	6 + 1 summer	6 + 1 summer	9 + 1 summer

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 are required to meet with the Program Director or Associate Program Director twice quarterly during the academic year to discuss and review academic progress and performance toward fulfillment of degree requirements. The Program Director or Associate Program Director are expected to provide academic advising and mentoring that contribute to overall student professional development.

Students may be recommended for academic disqualification from the program when they (1) earn a term or cumulative grade point average below 3.0; (2) receive a grade of “F” or “Unsatisfactory” in a course required for the degree; (3) fail to meet terms of remediation for a course or fieldwork in which there was poor performance as defined on the course syllabus, or fail to meet the terms of a remediation plan agreed to by the student and the instructor/supervisor/capstone committee chair/advisor or faculty counseling board; (4) fail to make satisfactory degree progress (defined as completing at least 36 units over any three consecutive non-summer quarters); or (5) present a degree program plan that extends beyond nine quarters plus one summer of enrollment.

When a student is subject to dismissal from the program, the program convenes a faculty counseling board comprised of the Program Director, Associate Program Director, and Medical Director. The board is responsible for reviewing and adjudicating a student’s dismissal from the program, and may at the board’s discretion, set terms for continuation (i.e., subject or skills remediation to assist the student in raising academic performance to meet minimum standards, program plan compliance, etc.). Failure to adhere to any continuation agreement will result in recommendation to the Graduate Division for academic disqualification from the program. Before the recommendation is sent to Graduate Division, a student is notified in writing and given two weeks to appeal in writing to the department chair and Program Director. An appeal is reviewed by the faculty counseling board and department chair, who makes the final departmental recommendation to Graduate Division.

Violations of the UCLA Student Conduct Code or violations of UC policies on sexual violence/sexual harassment will be reported and may result in suspension or dismissal from the program by the Dean of Students.