Course of Study

To provide graduate students with maximal choice and flexibility in selecting a research specialization, 12 Ph.D.-granting programs at UCLA have initiated a combined recruitment, admission and first-year graduate program. This initiative, known as UCLA ACCESS to Programs in the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Life Sciences, represents a simple and flexible mechanism for maximizing your choices throughout your first year of graduate study. This is accomplished by providing a range of research opportunities that spans all of the molecular, cellular and integrative aspects of modern biology. At the same time it provides a full year for critical evaluation prior to making the crucial decision as to the topic and mentor for your thesis research. Realizing that large, all-encompassing programs often sacrifice depth for the sake of breadth, we have designed an organizational system that assures that our first-year students will still receive the same amount of guidance and individual attention as they would in a small department.

As a first-year graduate student at UCLA, you will be able to make the most informed choice possible as to the subject area, laboratory and program for the remaining four years of your graduate studies.

Fall Quarter

  • M253. Macromolecular Structure. (4)

    Chemical and physical properties of proteins and nucleic acids. Structure, cloning, and analysis of DNA; biosynthesis and processing of RNA; biosynthesis, purification, structure, and analysis of proteins; correlation of structure and biological properties. Concurrently scheduled with course CM153G. Letter grading.

  • M248. Molecular Genetics. (4)

    Basic concepts in modern genetics, with examples from both eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems. Emphasis on use of genetic techniques for addressing fundamental questions in cellular biochemistry. Topics include mutagenesis, repair, recombination, transposition, genetic regulation, developmental genetics, neurogenetics, and immunogenetics. Letter grading.

Winter Quarter

  • M267A. Cell Structure, Signaling, and Development. (4)
    M267B. Seminar in Cell Structure, Signaling, and Development. (4)

    Cell cycle regulation; chromosomes and DNA repair; protein trafficking and endocytosis; extracellular matrix, cell to cell communication and signal transduction; cell transformation and apoptosis; molecular aspects of development, differentiation, and cancer. Concurrently scheduled with course CM169. Letter grading.

Spring Quarter

  • 200 Level. Elective Course. (4)
    200 Level. Elective Course. (4)

    Elective survey courses covering various disciplines and topics are offered. As a Spring Quarter requirement, ACCESS students select two of these courses based on their emerging research interests.

  • M234. Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research. (2)

    Course focuses on situations arising in the laboratory that may present ethical dilemmas for graduate students.

Laboratory Rotations

To be able to sample the wide range of research areas represented in the ACCESS Program, students carry out a minimum of three laboratory rotations during their first year, one during each quarter (10 weeks duration). Of the greater than 230 laboratories that are part of ACCESS, some 150 open their doors to rotating students each year. Students wishing to get a head start, or merely to increase their number of possibilities, are encouraged to consider carrying out a ?Summer Rotation? for an 8-10 week period in advance of the start of the academic year (typically at the end of September). In most cases students are able to ?match? with a lab after three rotations. In those rare cases where the match does not happen, students are able to carry out "4th Quarter" rotations during the Summer following the ACCESS year. In the ten year history of the ACCESS Program, no one has ever failed to match with a laboratory following 4 rotations.

Other ACCESS Year Activities

During the ACCESS year, students participate in a number of activities that are either academic, social or both. These include:

Annual Retreat: Near the beginning of the academic year (typically in November), all of the new ACCESS students attend a weekend-long retreat at the UCLA Conference Center located on the shores of Lake Arrowhead, a private lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.
At the retreat, students become more familiar with research opportunities at UCLA, with a number of faculty members with rotation opportunities in their laboratories and with each other. The Conference Center provides superb opportunities for outdoor activities in a rustic setting and there is a good balance between planned activities and free time.

Meet the Professors Lunch: In order to become more familiar with research opportunities, ACCESS students meet once a week during the Fall quarter with 3 faculty members over lunch. Faculty members make presentations focusing on rotation projects in their laboratories, and students are able to gain better insights into cutting edge research in at least 30 different laboratories.

Orientation and Affinity Fair: The first week of the ACCESS Program is one of the busiest. On the first day, a comprehensive introduction to UCLA and to the Program is given in a series of presentations by the Program?s director and many staff and faculty members at UCLA. The subsequent three days, comprised of 6 half-day poster sessions, is known as the Affinity Fair. In this venue each laboratory that is interested in recruiting students for rotations presents a poster on their research. The six sessions are based on major research areas represented by affinity groups within the ACCESS Program.

Quarterly Meetings: At the end of each academic quarter, the current ACCESS class meets with the Program?s director and staff for an informal review of the past quarter. Through this type of feedback, many improvements have been made to the policies and practices of the ACCESS Program.