Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

School of Medicine

Graduate Degrees

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

Admission

Program Name

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

Applicants may apply to the Ph.D. program either directly or through UCLA Access to Programs in the Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences

Address

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
23-120 CHS
650 Charles E. Young Drive
Box 951735
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1735 

Phone

(310) 825-0390 

Email

efitch@mednet.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.S., Ph.D.

The Molecular and Medical Pharmacology department admits only applicants whose objective is Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 1st 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University’s minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree in a biological or physical science or in the premedical curriculum.

M.S.: The M.S. degree in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology is offered only under special circumstances; for example, to those who already have a doctoral degree in another field and who wish to obtain additional training in pharmacology, or to students who are already in the program and, for some reason, cannot continue for the Ph.D.

Ph.D.: Prerequisite courses include basic biology, basic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and laboratory. Courses in computer science, engineering, genetics, molecular biology, physical chemistry, and physics are encouraged. In suitable cases, students who have course deficiencies may be admitted to graduate status, but any deficiencies have to be removed within a specified time.

The Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology offers two M.D./Ph.D. Programs concurrently with the UCLA School of Medicine. One is the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in which candidates are medical students that have been accepted into MSTP by the medical school in order to qualify. The second is the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program in which candidates are post-M.D. housestaff (interns, residents, or fellows) who have been accepted into the STAR Program by its selection committee in order to qualify. 

Master’s Degree

Advising

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

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

Areas of Study

Consult the department.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The M.S. degree requires satisfactory completion of the required courses as listed under Course Requirements for the Doctoral Degree, excluding three quarters of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200.

Teaching Experience

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

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

None.

Thesis Plan

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

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

Time-to-Degree

Consult the department.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

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

From the second year onward, students are required to submit an annual progress report that summarizes the progress made toward the dissertation research in the preceding 12 months. The report should not exceed two single-spaced pages and should include the following headings: title of project, original aims, summary of results, problems and obstacles that impeded progress, future plans, and abstracts and publications. A signature from the student’s mentor is required on the report. Failure to submit the progress report may result in suspension of the student’s stipend.

After advancement to candidacy and before the final oral examination, students are required to meet at least once annually with their doctoral committee. For this annual progress meeting, students are expected to give a presentation on their dissertation research. Students should be prepared to engage in a discussion with the committee members who will offer guidance on the progress and direction of the research project.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Cardiovascular pharmacology; chemical pharmacology; medical pharmacology; molecular imaging; molecular pharmacology; immuno-pharmacology; neuroendocrine pharmacology; neuropharmacology; psychopharmacology; nuclear medicine (positron emission tomography); pharmacokinetics; signal transduction; structural biology; toxicology; and virology.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Required: Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 (three quarters), 212A-212B, 237, 251 (must be taken every quarter), 291; Biological Chemistry CM253, CM267A-M267B.

Recommended Electives:  Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 211A-211B, M241, M248, M255, 288; Molecular Biology 298; a course in biostatistics.

These requirements are waived for students who have passed equivalent courses with grades of B or better within the past 36 months. Students are required to maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 in all coursework and to achieve grades of B or better in all molecular and medical pharmacology courses. One grade of less than B in a required molecular and medical pharmacology course results in probationary status; the course must be repeated with a grade of B or better; two grades of less than B result in recommendation to the graduate dean for dismissal. A single grade below B in any of the other required courses results in probationary status as well. Any student with two grades less than B in any of the non-molecular and medical pharmacology courses is considered by the graduate training committee for dismissal. A total of three grades below B in any of the required courses results in recommendation to the graduate dean for dismissal.

All required coursework should be completed by the end of the sixth quarter.

The department provides a system of laboratory rotations (Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200) in order to familiarize students with a variety of pharmacological research areas and techniques. During the first year in the department, students participate in projects of the laboratories of their choosing. Students also become familiar with the literature relevant to the various research projects and thus establish a basis for the selection of their own research areas.

Students must submit a report on their activities at the end of each quarter of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 to research advisers. The report should include the nature of the project, how the student participated, the results obtained, and a critical evaluation of the project. A copy of this report and an evaluation form by the research adviser are submitted to the graduate training committee. A report on the student and the final grade are also submitted to the committee by the research adviser.

For students entering through UCLA ACCESS, required courses include Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 237, 251 (each term after entering a pharmacology laboratory for dissertation research), Biological Chemistry CM267; Molecular Biology 298. Recommended electives include Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 211A-211B, 212A-212B, 234A, M248, M255, 288; Biological Chemistry M248; Molecular Biology 298; a course in  biostatistics. Students may use Molecular and Medical Pharmacology 200 or courses in other departments for the three required laboratory research rotations.

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

Teaching Experience

Seminar presentations are required of all students in the graduate program. Students may participate as teaching assistants in undergraduate, medical, or graduate courses. Students entering through ACCESS are required to serve as teaching assistants for two quarters either in the Molecular and Medical Pharmacology Department or in other departments on campus.

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.

Within six months after completing all required courses, students are required to take and pass a written qualifying examination and the University Oral Qualifying Examination in order to advance to doctoral candidacy. The examinations are administered by the student’s doctoral committee, which must be appointed in advance by the Graduate Division. The examinations test for a rational, analytical approach to problem solving and for ability to integrate material learned in different courses. Students are required to know basic principles of pharmacology and the status of topics of current interest in pharmacology. Specifically, the written examination consists of submitting a written research proposal to the student’s doctoral committee, at least one week before the proposed date of the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The research proposal must be written according to the NIH grant application format, with a maximum length of 10 pages, excluding references. The University Oral Qualifying Examination consists of defending the proposal to the doctoral committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

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

Doctoral Dissertation

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

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

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

Time-to-Degree

(1) Students must select a major professor by the beginning of the second academic year.

(2) Students must take the written and oral qualifying examinations by the end of the second academic year.

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

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

A student’s progress is evaluated on performance in coursework and on the qualifying examinations. Performance on the examinations is graded Pass, Fail and Deferral. Deferral means that a student is asked to repeat some part or all of the examination. If a student receives a Fail, the student may appeal the decision in writing to either the Graduate Training Committee or the departmental chair. The written appeal is reviewed by either the Graduate Training Committee or an ad hoc committee within the department.