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GRADUATE ADMISSION
Graduate Admissions/Student and Academic Affairs
(310) 825-1711 Meeting the minimum requirements does not ensure graduate admission, which is limited by the number of places available in UCLA's graduate programs. Applicants are evaluated on scholastic qualifications and formal preparation for the graduate field of study. Departments may have other requirements for admission, which are listed by department in the Curricula and Courses section of this catalog.
Prospective students may apply online at Most departments and schools have deadlines in November and December for the following Fall Quarter. Consult the Application for Graduate Admission for specific deadlines for each major. Some departments also accept applications for Winter and Spring quarters; further information is in this catalog's departmental listings and in the application. Applications may be considered if received after a program's stated deadline, provided the enrollment limits have not been exceeded. A nonrefundable application fee is required when the application is submitted. U.S. applicants to graduate standing must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution comparable in standard and content to that awarded at the University of California. Degrees granted on the basis, for example, of nonacademic prior learning, test scores, and other than organized supervised coursework in academic subjects are not considered comparable. A scholastic average of B or better (or its equivalent if the letter grade system is not used) is required in the last two years of undergraduate coursework and in any postbaccalaureate study. Requirements for international applicants are listed below. Supporting papers and materials to be submitted, including official transcripts of record and the nonrefundable application fee, are specified at http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu and in the application. Submitted materials are not returnable. Applicants who apply for admission to a department or school that requires Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores should arrange to take the examination no later than December so scores arrive on time. GRE scores should be sent directly to the prospective department and not to the Graduate Division. GRE applications and information about both paper and computer-based testing are available from offices of the Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000. For information on GRE Fee Waivers, write to the associate program director at the above address. Most graduate professional schools, departments, and interdepartmental programs at UCLA require applicants to submit three letters of recommendation. Letters typically augment, validate, or explain information provided in the application and should be written by people qualified to analyze students' abilities and academic promise. In some cases, these letters may mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. Letters should be sent directly to the prospective department. Forms to be used are included in the application brochure and at http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu. International applicants who have completed their postsecondary education outside the U.S. are expected to hold a degree, with above average scholarship, from a university or university-level institution. If their examinations have been graded Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Pass, students must have at least a Very Good general rating to qualify for admission. Students who hold a three-year ordinary or pass degree, or who hold a professional diploma in accounting, business, librarianship, social work, physical education, health education, and so forth, or a four-year degree, diploma, or higher certificate from a technical, vocational, or postsecondary specialized school, should not apply for graduate admission. Persons with memberships in professional associations such as Institutes of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, and so forth, also do not qualify for graduate admission unless they also hold recognized university-level degrees or titles. Students should submit official transcripts of record, in duplicate, for all college and university work. Specific instructions are given in the application brochure. International students who hold a bachelor's or higher degree from a university in a country where the official language is English and in which English is the spoken tongue and the medium of instruction are exempt from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination and the UCLA English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE). All other applicants must take the TOEFL, administered by the Educational Testing Service in some 95 foreign centers. The IELTS examination is administered by IELTS test centers throughout the world. See http://www.ielts.org for the nearest test center. TOEFL applications are available from TOEFL Services, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 (609-771-7100) or at http://www.toefl.org. Students whose native language is not English are required to take the UCLA English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE), in addition to the TOEFL or IELTS examination, before the term in which they are to register. Failure to sit for the ESLPE results in a hold on student records. Those graduate students who believe that their initial ESLPE score is not reflective of their English language proficiency due to having recently arrived in the U.S. may sit for the examination a second time in the subsequent term only (retaking the examination in the same term is not counted as a valid result). In cases where students retake the examination in their second term of study, the most recent examination score is held to be valid. Unauthorized retakes of the examination result in an invalid examination score. Depending on the ESLPE results, students may be required to complete one or more courses in the English as a Second Language 33 series, beginning in their first term in residence at UCLA. The courses must be passed with a grade of C or better if taken for a letter grade, or B or better if taken on an S/U basis. Students should expect to spend a longer period of time at the University than would normally be necessary to complete a degree program if they are required to take any English as a second language courses. If they do not achieve a minimum score on the ESLPE, their admission is deferred until they have acquired the necessary proficiency in English. Neither the TOEFL, nor IELTS, nor any other English proficiency test can be submitted or accepted in lieu of the ESLPE. International students or permanent residents who are not native speakers of English, before they are allowed to serve as teaching assistants, must take and pass either the Test of Spoken English (TSE) offered at TOEFL Centers in their home countries or the SPEAK examination (institutional version of the TSE) on arrival at UCLA. They can "pass" with a score of 50 or "pass conditionally" with a score of 45 if they also are enrolled in an English as a Second Language oral skills course at UCLA. Students should consult with their departments to determine if they require a higher score.
Students who plan to serve as teaching assistants during their first term at UCLA must either take and pass the TSE before arrival or arrive on campus early enough to take the SPEAK examination before instruction begins. UCLA's Office of Instructional Development (OID) conducts the SPEAK testing. For the examination schedule and other information, see http://www.oid.ucla.edu/TATP/speak.html. Students should also contact either their department or the TA Training Program. Admission to the Schools of Dentistry, Law, and Medicine Applicants for M.S. and Ph.D. programs in departments of the School of Medicine or Dentistry should apply for admission to the Graduate Division as described above. For admission to D.D.S., J.D., and M.D. degree programs in the Schools of Dentistry, Law, and Medicine, write to the respective schools for information and application procedures. Admission to Programs in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Life Sciences The life and basic biomedical sciences departments at UCLA offer a mechanism for a combined recruitment, admission, and first-year program that provides Ph.D. students in the molecular, cellular, and integrative life sciences with maximal choice and flexibility in selecting a research specialization. Through UCLA ACCESS to Programs in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Life Sciences, students are able to select research projects from faculty mentors according to changing perceptions, interests, and goals without regard to traditional departmental boundaries. The first year of each degree program has a common curriculum and advising structure. The following Ph.D. programs use UCLA ACCESS to recruit and admit students: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Molecular Biology, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, and Physiological Science in the College of Letters and Science; Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biological Chemistry, Experimental Pathology, Human Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, and Physiology in the School of Medicine; and Molecular Toxicology in the School of Public Health. For specific information, see the department listing in the Curricula and Courses section of this catalog. Applicants apply to UCLA ACCESS rather than to an individual department and must have completed an undergraduate major in a life or physical sciences discipline with superior scholastic achievement. Students should have preparation in physics, biology, and chemistry, as well as specialized courses within the major which may include cell biology, neurobiology, immunology, structural or computational biology, microbiology, virology, plant molecular biology, developmental biology, biochemistry, or molecular biology. In certain cases, background deficiencies may be remedied concurrently with graduate studies if recommended by the UCLA ACCESS steering committee. In addition to the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission, students should submit their scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (Subject Test is optional) and three letters of recommendation from individuals who can provide direct knowledge of their academic record and potential for superior achievement in independent research. Admission is limited to Fall Quarter.
Obtain applications and information from the Program Coordinator, UCLA ACCESS to Programs in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Life Sciences, 172 Boyer Hall, UCLA, Box 951570, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1570. See http://www. First-Year Course Requirements Individual requirements vary based on background and scientific interest and are determined by the steering committee. In general a formal course of study consists of three lecture courses, three laboratory rotations, and three seminar courses. In addition, participation is required in related activities on an informal basis. Three survey lecture courses to be selected from a list of approved courses maintained in the program office are required (one in molecular biology, one in cellular biology, and an elective in one of several areas). Students must enroll in one seminar course each term that includes reading and reporting on current research literature. During their first nine months in residence, students rotate for one term each through three laboratories selected from the UCLA ACCESS faculty list. They enroll in a 500-level course for 6 units of credit for each rotation. An additional course in ethics (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics CM234) is required. All departments participating in UCLA ACCESS consider teaching experience to be an integral part of the graduate program. Students are required to complete two terms of teaching beginning in their second year. They are also required to complete a course on approaches and methods for successful teaching. Transfer to the Degree-Granting Program Students are admitted to UCLA graduate standing through UCLA ACCESS on a provisional basis for up to four terms. At the end of Spring Quarter, academic progress is evaluated by the steering committee. Students who receive a satisfactory evaluation select a faculty mentor as their doctoral committee chair. With concurrence of the mentor and the degree-granting program, students then transfer from UCLA ACCESS to that program for the remainder of their Ph.D. studies. In the event students are unable to identify a suitable mentor and program by the end of their first year, one additional laboratory rotation approved by the steering committee is available during the summer quarter. Students who are unable to arrange for a laboratory after four rotations are recommended for release from their provisional graduate standing. UCLA has no special limited or unclassified categories of graduate admission. Under some circumstances, however, applicants may be admitted for coursework without a degree objective. For example, teachers with a master's degree who wish some refresher study, or international students on a year's stay in the U.S., may wish to apply in this manner. Requirements for admission are the same as those for degree programs, and the academic program must agree to accept the student for the no degree objective (NDO) status. All admission to NDO status must be specially approved by the dean of the Graduate Division, as must any University financial assistance for students on NDO status. The University of California, in general, discourages the duplication of advanced degrees. At the same time, it recognizes that a professional degree does not duplicate an academic one, and that pressing needs may exist for degrees in different areas (see Concurrent and Articulated Degree Programs in the front of this catalog). Students who apply for a second academic degree at the same level or lower than the one they already hold are required to show compelling cause to the department. All degree requirements and University regulations apply just as they do for a first degree. Courses already applied to the earlier degree may not be applied to the second. Enrollment in Summer Sessions courses does not constitute admission to graduate standing, nor does it substitute for the required continuous registration in Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Students who wish to apply Summer Sessions courses to their subsequent graduate program should consult in advance with their departmental adviser. This is also true if they have been readmitted to graduate standing and wish to resume graduate study in Summer Sessions. Information and applications are available from Summer Sessions, 1147 Murphy Hall. If students take Summer Sessions courses following the award of their bachelor's degree, the grades do not appear on the undergraduate transcript (they are included on a separate transcript). After students are accepted by the Graduate Division, Summer Sessions grades are included on the graduate transcript and computed in the grade-point average. Students who have registered at any time as a graduate student at UCLA and are returning after an absence (except a formal leave of absence) must file an Application for Graduate Admission. See the Academic Policies section of this catalog for readmission procedures. |
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