DAVID GEFFEN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

e-mail: somadmiss@mednet.ucla.edu

http://dgsom.healthsciences.ucla.edu

At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, faculty members and students play a dynamic role on campus and in Los Angeles communities. Not only are they in the clinics, wards, and operating rooms of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, they are also at work in the facilities of the Molecular Biology Institute, the Department of Physiology, the Health Sciences Computer Center, the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and in dozens of other clinical and scientific units. They are in community clinics, health fairs, and schools, and assist at disaster sites in the international community.

Students at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center are exposed to the best of many worlds--strong research-oriented basic and clinical science departments, a hospital consistently ranked among the nation's elite, superb affiliated clinical facilities that provide the full spectrum of teaching settings and patient populations, and a biomedical library that is considered one of the world's best.

Geffen School of Medicine departments are each staffed by a distinguished faculty of respected researchers and practitioners. They have some of the most technologically advanced equipment and facilities, including two of the nation's 56 hospital-based biomedical cyclotrons producing short-lived radioisotopes for biological research and diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures.

Degrees and Programs

The Geffen School of Medicine offers an M.D. degree program, allied health programs in affiliation with other hospitals and universities, postgraduate medical training programs, and the following master's and doctoral degrees offered through the Graduate Division:

Biological Chemistry (M.S., Ph.D.)

Biomathematics (M.S., Ph.D.)

Biomedical Physics (M.S., Ph.D.)

Clinical Research (M.S.)

Human Genetics (M.S., Ph.D.)

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (M.S., Ph.D.)

Molecular and Medical Pharmacology (M.S., Ph.D.)

Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (Ph.D.)

Neurobiology (M.S., C.Phil., Ph.D.)

Neuroscience (Ph.D.)

Pathology--Cellular and Molecular Pathology (M.S., Ph.D.)

Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Clinical Psychology Internship (Certificate)

M.D. Degree Program

The Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree program develops a comprehensive scientific and humanistic approach to patient care that includes basic sciences, preventive medicine, diagnosis, and therapeutics. Clinical skills are taught in the context of anatomical, molecular, pathophysiological, and psychosocial factors in health, disease, and treatment.

The curriculum is presented in an integrated, organ system-based program, with problem-based learning and laboratories to maximize the educational experience. Because medical school is but one phase in a physician's education, the curriculum prepares students for a future in which scientific knowledge, social values, and human needs are ever changing. Formats for instruction include lectures, tutorials, seminars, laboratories, demonstrations, and visits to physicians' offices; students are involved in patient care from their first week through graduation.

The M.D. program is a four-year medical curriculum that prepares students broadly for careers in research, practice, and teaching in the medical field of their choice. The curriculum emphasizes issues of growing importance such as primary care, research opportunities for careers in academic medicine, human genetics and the evolving world of gene therapy, psychosocial issues of health and disease, preventive medicine, medical ethics, and clinical reasoning.

For details on the M.D. curriculum or to apply to the program, see http://dgsom.healthsciences.ucla.edu or contact the Geffen School of Medicine Admissions Office, 12-105 CHS, UCLA, Box 957035, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7035. See http://career.ucla.edu/GraduateSchool&PreProfessionalServices/Medicine.asp for details on the four-year premedical studies program.

Special Programs

Special programs address the needs and issues of specific communities and populations.

UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences

The UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences is a cooperative venture involving UC Riverside, the Geffen School of Medicine, and selected Riverside community sites. The program mission is to prepare graduates for distinguished medical careers in service to the people of California, with emphasis on the needs of the underserved, inland, and rural populations. See http://www.biomed.ucr.edu.

Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program

The Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program is designed to attract students who are interested in addressing the concerns of underserved populations. Students in the program spend their first two years at the UCLA campus and complete their last two years of clinical work in specially designated training centers in medically underserved communities and at UCLA and affiliated hospitals. See http://www.cdrewu.edu.

UCLA PRIME Program

The UCLA PRIME Program is a five-year dual degree program to develop leaders in medicine who address policy, care, and research in healthcare for the underserved. The program leads to the M.D. and a master's degree in areas that complement the mission of the program. Options for the master's degree include M.B.A., M.P.H., and M.P.P. Each year the class is comprised of 18 students. Students identify with one of three programs: PRIME UCLA-CHS, PRIME UCLA-UCR, or PRIME UCLA-Drew. A commitment to serve and experience working with diverse medically disadvantaged populations is paramount. See http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/uclaprime/ or call (310) 794-5912.

Articulated and Concurrent Degree Programs

The Geffen School of Medicine and the Graduate Division offer an articulated degree program that allows students to earn both the M.D. and Ph.D. in about seven years, depending on the course of study and research. The Ph.D. may be awarded in one of several medical sciences fields. Call the Medical Scientist Training Program at (310) 794-1817 for details or see http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/mstp/.

A concurrent program with the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management and an articulated program with the School of Public Health allow UCLA medical students to earn both the M.D. and M.B.A. or the M.D. and M.P.H. degrees over five years by following a designated course of study and some shared coursework. Separate application must be made to the Anderson School or School of Public Health during the third year of medical school. Call (310) 825-2866 for information.

Postgraduate Medical Training

Postgraduate medical training programs, including residencies, are offered through all the clinical departments at UCLA and the affiliated training hospitals such as Harbor-UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, and Greater Los Angeles VA System. Programs at the affiliated institutions broaden the scope of the teaching programs by providing extensive clinical facilities, special population settings, and diverse practice modes. Information about these programs is available from the individual clinical departments of the Geffen School of Medicine or the affiliated hospitals.

Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

The Semel Institute is one of the world's leading interdisciplinary research and education institutes devoted to the understanding of complex human behavior. Twelve research centers, ranging from genetics to human culture, together with research initiatives distributed widely across the academic departments of the Geffen School of Medicine and the College of Letters and Science provide a comprehensive and outstanding research and training environment for the study of neuroscience and behavior.

The research portfolio of the 400 faculty members, graduate students, and fellows who work in the institute spans behavioral genetics, developmental neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, neuropharmacology, brain imaging, clinical research, health policy, and sociocultural studies of human behavior and its disorders. For further information, see http://www.npi.ucla.edu.