Preparation for the Major

	Life Science Series		Physical Science Series
Chemistry	14A or 14AE, 14B or 14BE, 14BL, 14C, 14CL*, 14D	OR	20A, 20B, 20L, 30A, 30AL, 30B, 30BL*
Math	3A, 3B, 3C or LIFESCI 30A, 30B, Stats 13 or LIFESCI 40	OR	31A, 31B, 32A
Physics	5A, 5B, 5C	OR	1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, 4BL
Life Science	7A, 7B, 7C, 23L

IMPORTANT NOTES – Preparation for the Major

Students must earn a grade of C- or better in each prep course and achieve an overall GPA of 2.0 in the prep for the major. Students receiving grades of below C- in two prep courses, either separate courses or repetitions of the same course, are subject to dismissal from the major.

• Students who complete CHEM 20A can move to the 14 series starting with 14B, or after taking 20A, 20B, students can take 14BL, 14C, 14CL*, 14D, or after taking 20A, 20B, 20L, may take 14C, 14CL*, 14D. Students who transfer chemistry credit from another school for 20A, 20L, can take 14B, 14C, 14CL*, 14D.
• The CHEM 14 series is unique to UCLA – there are no equivalents at other schools and must be taken in its entirety at UCLA.

*CHEM 14CL or CHEM 30BL is not required on the major, but most professional schools and possibly some graduate schools still require an organic chemistry lab.

Upper Division Major Requirements

Upper-Division Core Requirements
Biochemistry	CHEM 153A – Biochemistry: Intro to Structure, Enzymes, & Metabolism  (4 units)
Genetics	LIFESCI 107 – Genetics  (5 units)
Cell Biology	MCDB 165A – Biology of Cells (5 units)
Developmental Biology	MCDB 138 – Developmental Biology (5 units)
Molecular Biology	MCDB 144 – Molecular Biology of Cellular Processes (5 units)

Laboratory Requirement (choose one from #1 – 6)
1. MCDB 104AL – Research Immersion Lab in Developmental Biology (5 units)
2. MCDB 187AL – Research Immersion Lab in Genomic Biology (5 units)
3. MCDB 150AL – Research Immersion Lab in Plant-Microbe Ecology (5 units)
4. MCDB 196B – Research Apprenticeship II in MCDB (4 units) Must be taken concurrently with MCDB 180B – Scientific Analysis and Communication II (2 units) to fulfill Lab Requirement MCDB 196A – Research Apprenticeship I in MCDB (4 units) and MCDB 180A – Scientific Analysis and Communication I (2 units) are prerequisites for MCDB 196B and MCDB 180B
5. MCDB 198C – Honors Research in MCDB (4 units) Limited to students completing the Biomedical Research Minor
6. MCDB 196B, 198B/C, or 199B/C Must be taken concurrently with MCDB 145 – Appreciation and Critical Review of Biomedical Research (4 units) to fulfill Lab Requirement

Upper-Division Elective Requirement for the Major
20 units of upper-division electives List of approved electives below	5 units must be taken from Category 1
	5 units may be taken from Category 1 or 2
	10 units may be taken from Category 1, 2, or 3

IMPORTANT NOTES – Major Requirements

Students must receive a grade of C or better in each required Core course (LIFESCI 107, CHEM 153A, MCDB 138, 144, 165A) and must achieve a minimum overall GPA of 2.o in the major. Students receiving grades below C in two required core courses, either in separate courses or repetitions of the same course, are subject to dismissal from the major.

• Any single course can be used in only one category on the major.
• Courses applied toward the prep and major requirements must be taken for a letter grade.
• Any upper division MCDB course will be accepted as an MCDB elective, excluding MCDB 100, 104AL, 138, 144, 150AL, 165A, 187AL, 187C, 187D, 190A-C, 192A, 192B, 193, 194A, and 199.
• A maximum of 4 units of approved seminar courses may be applied to the upper-division elective requirement for the major (e.g., MCDB 145, 180A, 180B, 191).
• Elective credit is granted for either Biostats 100A or Stats 100A, but not both.
• The MCDB department does not approve Biochemistry/MCDB or MIMG/MCDB double major petitions.

IMPORTANT NOTES – Applying Independent Research towards MCDB Major Requirements

To enroll in MCDB 196A-B, 198A-D, or 199A-D, students must be conducting research in an MCDB-approved lab. The list of approved faculty research mentors is available on our website: https://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/undergraduate-research/ . A maximum of 12 units of MCDB research (MCDB 196A-B, MCDB 199A-C, MCDB 198A-C) may be applied towards major requirements.  Applying Independent Research towards the Lab Requirement MCDB 196A/B and MCDB 180A/B Students may apply for these courses during their third or fourth year. Application instructions can be found here: https://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/mcdb-196a-and-196b/.  MCDB 196B fulfills the Lab Requirement. MCDB 196A, 180A, and 180B (total 8 units) apply towards the 20 units of upper-division electives required for the major. MCDB 196B, 198B/C, or 199B/C and MCDB 145 MCDB 145 is only offered in Spring quarter. Students must apply for the course in Winter quarter.  MCDB 145 is taken concurrently with an MCDB upper-division research course. The research course fulfills the Lab Requirement. MCDB 145 (4 units) applies towards the 20 units of upper-division electives required for the major.  If you take MCDB 104AL, 187AL, or 150AL to fulfill the Lab Requirement, up to 12 units of MCDB research (MCDB 199A-C or MCDB 198A-C) apply towards the 20 units of upper-division electives required for the major.

Requirements for the B.S. degree established by the College of Letters & Science are listed in the UCLA General Catalog. A total of 180 quarter-units are required for the degree. 60 of the 180 units must be upper division (courses numbered 100-199). Please note that the MCDB major requirements satisfy 49 upper-division units.

Approved List of Upper-Division Electives for the MCDB Major

The categories below correspond to the categories on your Degree Audit Report.

CATEGORY 1
Five Units of MCD BIOlogy Upper Division Electives
Course #	Course Name	Units
MCDB 104BL	Advanced Research Analysis in Developmental Biology	4
MCDB M130	Fundamentals of Digital Imaging and Image Processing	5
MCDB M140	Cancer Cell Biology	5
MCDB C141	Molecular Basis of Plant Differentiation and Development	5
MCDB 145	Appreciation and Critical Review of Biomedical Research	4
MCDB 146	Metabolism and Disease	5
MCDB C150	Plant Communication	4
MCDB CM156	Human Genetics	5
MCDB 160	Principles of Light Microscopy	4
MCDB 167	Genetic Engineering: History, Science, and Applications in Medicine, Agriculture, and Law	6
MCDB 168	Stem Cell Biology	5
MCDB M175A	Neuroscience:  From Molecules to Mind	5
MCDB M175B	Neuroscience:  From Molecules to Mind	5
MCDB M175C	Neuroscience:  From Molecules to Mind	5
MCDB 180A	Scientific Analysis and Communications I	2
MCDB 180B	Scientific Analysis and Communications II	2
MCDB 191	Variable Topics in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology	2
MCDB 196A	Research Apprenticeship I	4
MCDB 198A-C	Honors Research in MCDB	4/qtr
MCDB 199A-C	Directed Research in MCDB	4/qtr

CATEGORY 2
Five Units of Upper Division Electives from MCD Biology and Acceptable List of Outside Electives
Select from any category 1 courses listed above or acceptable outside electives listed below.
Course #	Course Name	Units
Chemistry & Biochemistry
CHEM C100	Genomics and Computational Biology	5
CHEM 153B	NOT ACCEPTED ON THE MCDB MAJOR – DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE
CHEM 153C	Biochemistry: Biosynthetic and Energy Metabolism and Its Regulation	4
CHEM 153L	Biochemistry Laboratory	4
CHEM C159	Mechanisms in the Regulation of Transcription	4
CHEM CM160A	Introduction to Bioinformatics	4
Computer Science/Computational and Systems Biology
COM SCI CM124	Computational Genetics	4
COM SCI CM186	Computational Systems Biology: Modeling and Simulation of Biological Systems	5
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
EE BIOL 184	Evolution, Development, and Disease	4
Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics
MIMG 100L	Microbiology Lab for Professional Schools	3
MIMG 101	Introductory Microbiology	4
MIMG 102	Introductory Virology	4
MIMG 105	Biological Microscopy	4
MIMG 132	NOT ACCEPTED ON THE MCDB MAJOR – DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE
MIMG 158	Microbial Genomics	4
MIMG 168	Molecular Parasitology	4
MIMG 170	Cell and Gene Therapy	4
MIMG C185A	Immunology	5
Physiological Sciences
PHY SCI 121	Disease Mechanisms and Therapies	5
PHY SCI 125	Molecular Systems Biology	5
PHY SCI C130	Sex Differences in Physiology and Disease	4
PHY SCI 174	Cell Biophysics in Physiology and Disease	5

CATEGORY 3
Ten Units of Upper Division Electives from MCD Biology and Acceptable List of Additional Outside Courses
Select from any category 1 or 2 courses listed above or additional outside electives listed below.
Course #	Course Name	Units
Biostatistics
BIOSTAT 100A	Intro to Biostatistics	4
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
EE BIOL 110	Vertebrate Morphology	6
EE BIOL 121	Molecular Biology and Evolution	4
EE BIOL C146	Conservation Genetics	4
EE BIOL 162	Plant Physiology	4
Human Genetics
HUM GEN C144	Genomic Technology	4
Physiological Sciences
PHY SCI 166	Animal Physiology	6
Statistics
STATS 100A	Introduction to Probability Theory	4

Course Number Designations:

C = Course is offered concurrently to undergraduate and graduate students in the same class.

M = Course is listed under multiple departments (and may have different course numbers in each department).

SCHEDULING TIPS

• Not all electives are offered every year. Please consult the Schedule of Classes or the appropriate department.
• When planning your classes, please make sure you have accounted for all prerequisites for any upper-division class in which you plan to enroll. Courses may even have upper-division prerequisites.
• Some electives are restricted to the department’s own majors during first pass enrollment appointments. For example, you must wait until your second pass to enroll in MIMG 101, because it is restricted to MIMG majors during first pass.

Computing Specialization in MCDB

MCDB majors may receive a Specialization in Computing by:

1. Satisfying all requirements for a bachelor’s degree in the MCDB major and;
2. Completing the following course requirements:

Course Requirements
1. COMPTNG 10A – Introduction to Programming (5 units)
2. COMPTNG 10B – Intermediate Programming (5 units)
3. COMPTNG 10C – Advanced Programming (5 units)
4. COMPTNG 16A – Python with Applications (5 units)
5. STATS 13 – Introduction to Statistical Methods for Life and Health Sciences or LIFESCI 40 – Statistics for Biological Systems (5 units)
6. One upper-division course from the approved list below.

Approved Upper-Division Courses
Course #	Course Name	Units
CHEM C100	Genomics and Computational Biology	5
CHEM C160A	Introduction to Bioinformatics	4
COM SCI CM124	Computational Genetics	4
COM SCI CM186	Computational Systems Biology: Modeling & Simulation of Biological Systems	5
MCDB M130	Fundamentals of Digital Imaging and Image Processing	5
MCDB 187AL*	Research Immersion Lab in Genomic Biology	5
PHYSCI 125	Molecular Systems Biology	5

IMPORTANT NOTES – Computing Specialization

Students must earn a letter grade of C or better in each required course for the Computing Specialization and a combined GPA of at least 2.0 in these courses to graduate with the Specialization in Computing.

• Students may overlap the upper-division course for the Specialization with an elective or Lab Requirement for the major.

*Space in MCD BIO 187AL is limited and students are not guaranteed a space in MCDB 187AL simply because they are pursuing the Computing Specialization.