Entry to MCDB Major
If you were admitted to UCLA as a Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology major, then you are already declared as an MCDB major and no further steps need to be taken to declare the major.
If you are a UCLA student who wants to change their major to MCDB, you will complete the Change of Major Petition through MyUCLA forms. We approve major changes only for students who:
- Are currently in good academic standing
- Meet MCDBs major preparation and major eligibility requirements (see below)
- Can complete all degree requirements in accordance with the College’s Time to Degree policy
Additional Transfer Student Requirements:
Transfer students must:
- Be admitted to UCLA as a Life Science major to be eligible to switch into the MCDB major or double major in MCDB. Please refer to the UCLA Undergraduate Admission website detailing this policy.
- Have completed one regular academic quarter at UCLA
- Summer Sessions is not considered a regular academic quarter
- Have received final grades for all classes taken during their first regular academic quarter at UCLA
MCDB Major Preparation and Major Eligibility Requirements
Major Preparation Requirements:
Students must:
- Earn a grade of C- or better in each major prep course
- Achieve an overall GPA of 2.0 in the prep for the major
Students receiving grades below C- in two prep courses, either separate or repeat courses, are ineligible for the MCDB major.
All major preparation courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Major Requirements:
Students must:
- Earn a grade of C or better in each required Core course:
- LIFESCI 107
- CHEM 153A
- MCDB 138
- MCDB 144
- MCDB 165A
- Achieve an overall GPA of 2.0 in the major
Students receiving grades below C in two required core courses, either separate courses or repeat courses, are ineligible for the MCDB major.
All major courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Double Majoring in MCDB
Students interested in double-majoring in MCDB must complete the College’s Double Major Petition Process.
MCDB students are not permitted to double-major with the following programs:
- Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics
- Biochemistry
Transfer students admitted to UCLA as a non-Life Science major are not permitted to double major in MCDB. Please refer to the UCLA Undergraduate Admission website detailing this policy.
FAQs
No. You don’t have to take additional steps to declare the major if you were admitted to UCLA as a MCDB major.
Meeting with a MCDB advisor is not required before submitting your change of major petition. You are welcome to meet with a MCDB advisor if you have any questions about the major. You can find advisor meeting information on the MCDB Advising webpage.
We review petitions weekly. You will not be notified via email if your petition is approved. To see if your petition has been processed and approved, run a Degree Audit Report a week after you submitted your petition. If it’s been approved, your major will show up as MCDB. You will only receive an email regarding your petition if your petition was denied or if there was something in your petition that we needed further information on.
If you were a first-year admit and meet our eligibility requirements, you can change to MCDB. You will need to follow the policy requirements and procedure outlined by the College’s Switching to the College of Letters and Sciences petition process.
If you were a transfer admit, unfortunately you are not permitted to switch into the MCDB major from a non-Life Science major. Please refer to the UCLA Undergraduate Admission website detailing this policy.
Classes taken for major requirements, including major prep and electives, must be taken for a letter grade. If a class is graded for P/NP, it can’t be counted towards the major.