GRADUATE PROGRAM

UCSC grants Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (MCD Biology). This program is designed primarily for doctoral students headed for academic and research careers. Current enrollment includes forty five Ph.D. and five Masters students.

Advanced graduate students work under the direct supervision of one of 27 faculty members from four departments (MCD Biology; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Environmental Toxicology; and Biomolecular Engineering). Participating laboratories are organized into research clusters, with an emphasis on moderately sized groups and a philosophy of collaboration. Additionally, the program has several groups of faculty who work on the same model organism, including yeast, bacteria, C. elegans, Drosophila, and mice. Research clusters include:

• Cell Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Chromosome Biology
• Genomics
• Microbiology
• Neurobiology
• RNA Molecular Biology

This approach provides a lively and rigorous training environment for students and fellows at all levels.The National Institutes of Health have recognized the quality of the training program and its students by awarding an NIH Training Grant. Former graduate students have gone on to obtain faculty positions at the Harvard Medical School, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Texas, as well as prominent positions in biotechnology firms, such as Affymetrix. Finally, the program is firmly committed to furthering the careers of women and underrepresented minorities in biomedical science, and is closely affiliated with highly successful IMSD/MBRS programs.