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Justification
for the Creation of a Gene Regulation Graduate Program
A. Provide
a defined curriculum for graduate students interested in studying mechanisms
of gene regulation at the fundamental level and in relation to specific
biological pathways and diseases.
B. Formalize and integrate into a defined program the current activities
of UCLA's gene regulation laboratories, including the monthly joint meeting,
weekly journal club, and "Leaders in the Field" seminar series.
These activities have been ongoing and highly successful for the past
12 years.
Application
Procedure
A. Interested students should apply through the UCLA
ACCESS admissions program. On the application form, applicants will
have the option of checking a box indicating that Gene Regulation is one
of their top three areas of interest.
B. Strong applicants will be invited to an interview at the UCLA campus
during one of several interview weekends in January or February. During
the interview weekends, applicants will have an opportunity to meet with
faculty and senior students affiliated with the Gene Regulation Program.
In particular, they will have the option of choosing to join the Program's
faculty and students for a dinner, which is usually held at the home of
an affiliated faculty member. During the interview weekend, applicants
may also fully explore their interests in other fields and areas of interest.
C. Decisions to accept or reject an applicant are made by the ACCESS admissions
committee, in consultation with members of the Gene Regulation Program,
within one week of the interview.
First-Year
Students (Procedures and Curriculum)
A. Students who enter graduate school through UCLA ACCESS will have the
option of becoming affiliated with the Gene Regulation Program immediately.
Alternatively, students can explore diverse interests during their first-year,
and then choose to enter the Gene Regulation Program at the end of the
year, if they choose an affiliated laboratory.
B. Entering students will be asked by the ACCESS office whether they would
like their first-year faculty advisor to be affiliated with the Gene Regulation
Program. Like all ACCESS advisors, the advisor from the Gene Regulation
Program will assist the students in choosing courses and their three research
rotations.
C. Like all
first-year ACCESS students, students interested in the Gene Regulation
Program will have an opportunity to perform research rotations in any
laboratory affilitated with the ACCESS program. They will not be restricted
to laboratories within the Gene Regulation Program.
D. The first-year course curriculum for students interested in the Gene
Regulation Program will be focused, yet flexible, which will allow students
to explore other interests. During the Fall and Winter quarters, the curriculum
conforms to the typical ACCESS curriculum, including Biological Chemistry
M253 in the Fall quarter, a cell biology lecture course in the Winter
quarter, and a 2-unit M297 seminar course each quarter. During the Spring
quarter, students will be encouraged to enroll in Mechanisms of Transcription
(CM259), an outstanding lecture course coordinated by Dr. Albert Courey.
Students will have the option of enrolling in the Gene Regulation Journal
Club (BC251) during spring quarter instead of the traditional M297 seminar
course that is required for other first-year ACCESS students. The students
will attend the Journal Club throughout the quarter and will give a presentation
during one of the weeks, which will fulfill their seminar course requirement
for that quarter.
E. First-year
students will be encouraged to attend and participate in the monthly Gene
Regulation meeting, weekly journal club, and "Leaders in the Field"
seminar series. Lunch and dinner are provided at the journal club and
monthly meeting, respectively.
F. At the end of the first year, students who choose to join a laboratory
affiliated with the Gene Regulation Program will have the option of formally
joining the Gene Regulation Graduate Program or, alternatively, any other
graduate program with which the laboratory is affiliated.
Subsequent
Years
A. During one quarter of the second year, students must enroll in a
two-unit seminar course (M298). They must also formally enroll in the Gene Regulation
Journal Club (BC251) during one quarter of their second year, as this will form
the basis for their written qualifying exam (see below). As a final requirement
during the second year, students will be required to assemble three members of
their thesis commitee and present a brief 20-minute presentation describing their
proposed thesis project. Before this meeting, the student should provide the
committee members with a brief written proposal (two single-spaced page), which
in most instances will be the same proposal the students supplied with their
training grant applications at the end of the first year.
B. Throughout their graduate education, students are encouraged to attend
the weekly journal club and monthly Gene Regulation Meeting.
C. Like all students who enter UCLA through the ACCESS program, students
affiliated with the Gene Regulation Program will serve as Teaching Assistants
during one quarter in the second year and one quarter in their third year.
A special effort will be made to assign the Program's students to courses
that allow them to make use of their gene regulation knowledge.
D. Students
will be required to take written and oral qualifying exams. The written
exam will consist of an original research proposal
(three single-spaced pages) relating to one of the papers covered in the
journal club during the quarter they were enrolled in the journal
club. The proposal will be critiqued by the leader of the journal club,
Mike Carey, and by two other Gene Regulation Faculty members. The oral qualifying
exam will consist of a research proposal (approximately 15
double-spaced pages) on a topic that is unrelated to their thesis
project. This exam must be completed by the end of the fall quarter of the student's
third year, or by the end of the winter quarter if the student serves as a Teaching
Assistant in the fall quarter.
E. An oral defense of the Ph.D. thesis will be required.
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