2009-2010 Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2009-2010 academic year.

Molecular Toxicology

Interdepartmental Program
School of Public Health

Graduate Degrees

The Molecular Toxicology Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Molecular Toxicology.

Admission

Master's Degree

None.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

An academic adviser is assigned to each new student by the Associate Director of Student Affairs. The adviser meets with the student each quarter to discuss academic progress. Once the student is accepted into the laboratory of one of the participating faculty within the program, that faculty member then becomes the student's adviser.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the graduate adviser.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

During the first year, all students follow the ACCESS curriculum. In Fall Quarter they begin by taking Biological Chemistry CM253. In Winter Quarter students take the following courses: Biological Chemistry CM267A-M267B. In Spring Quarter students take Environmental Health Sciences 240 and Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics C234 (or an equivalent ethics course). In all quarters of the first year students take a three-unit seminar Molecular Toxicology 211A-211B-211C, and a six-unit laboratory rotation Molecular Toxicology (596) within the department of a faculty sponsor. Students must attain a grade of B- or better in all core courses and must pass all core courses (excluding courses offered every other year) within two years of entering the program, unless there are mitigating circumstances that prevent this; such cases are reviewed by the Faculty Advisory Committee.

In the second year students take Molecular Toxicology M242 and M245. Also starting with the second year, students spend most of their time on dissertation research. In addition to the course requirements listed here, students are expected to complete Molecular Toxicology 596, 597, and/or 599 during quarters in which research (596, 599) or study for written or oral examinations (597) is part of the program. Molecular Toxicology 596 is for students who have not passed their oral examinations; 599 is for those who have passed their oral examinations.

Teaching Experience

All students obtain instruction in teaching skills by serving as teaching assistants or readers for two quarters, typically one quarter during the second year and one quarter during the third year. Exceptions to the timing of teaching are considered by the program's Steering Committee. Assignments are made at the end of the first year and are influenced by student preference and expertise. 

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

Both a written and oral qualifying examination are required. The format for the written qualifying examination consists of a research proposal on a topic that is approved by members of the doctoral committee. The doctoral committee consists of four faculty members, including the student's adviser who serves as chair. The adviser recommends the composition of the committee, which is appointed by the Graduate Division. The research proposal topic must be approved by the doctoral committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is organized to question the candidate regarding the written proposal, and also to query the candidate in a more general way regarding scientific topics that should be common knowledge to a doctoral-level toxicologist. Two attempts are allowed to pass both the written and oral qualifying examinations.

After successful completion of coursework and written and oral examination requirements, students are advanced to candidacy and begin work on a dissertation based on original research. As a general guideline, the dissertation should consist of research equivalent to at least two peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals in the field.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

The normative time for the degree is 15 quarters (five years). It is expected that required coursework is completed within four quarters and the written and oral qualifying examinations are completed within six quarters (two years). Students who fail to complete the dissertation within 18 quarters are placed on probation within the program.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A recommendation for termination for a student who is not advanced to candidacy is made by the core faculty. A recommendation for termination for a student who is advanced to candidacy is made by the doctoral committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for termination to the interdepartmental committee. In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for termination based on the inability to communicate (in writing or orally) as required for success in the program area.

Program Requirements

Molecular Toxicology