FAQs

You can learn more about the genetic counseling profession and how to become a genetic counselor through the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and their About Genetic Counselors page. You may also find genetic counselors to speak with or shadow through their “Find a Genetic Counselor” tool.

UCLA has an undergraduate genetic counseling special interest group that details useful resources and brings in a variety of genetic counselor speakers for students to learn more about the profession and application process. 

Additional resources are available on our resources page.

Yes, public service careers in genetic counseling are wide-ranging and can be found in not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, including major academic medical centers including the medical centers around the U.S. such as those in the University of California system; large HMOs such as Kaiser Permanente, county hospitals and clinics, and not-for-profit advocacy organizations or genetics-related organizations; as well as in government organizations at any level (federal, state, local, or tribal) such as the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration, and state Departments of Health. These examples of public service careers demonstrate the range of opportunities for a genetic counseling career in direct patient clinical care, teaching/education, research, and public health. Many of these settings, whether involving direct patient care or not will involve working with diverse groups or underserved populations. Individuals employed by a government or not-for-profit organization may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

After an application fee waiver is denied, it may take the Division of Graduate Education’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Admissions (DIA) a day to process before sending out a payment portal link. If you have any issues with payment, you may e-mail onlineapphelp@grad.ucla.edu.

The program curriculum is rigorous and courses are scheduled to allow time for fieldwork and educational experiences. Managing work around course and clinical schedules can be difficult.

Yes. More information is available with UCLA Housing.

Please visit our Resources page for links to available services at UCLA.

We do not have any genetic counseling internship opportunities at UCLA.

Unfortunately, we do not have the person-power to schedule individualized meetings or provide individualized feedback. It is important to keep in mind that genetic counseling graduate programs receive more qualified applicants than they can possibly interview or match with each year. Therefore, it is not unusual for an applicant to apply to more than one cycle before matching with a genetic counseling program. For information specific to our program, we can offer the following tips:

• Review our admissions page, which details the admissions requirements, including expected relevant experiences and contributions, and identify any deficiencies in your application that might need to be addressed.
• Craft your application to ensure that you highlight these admissions requirements, including expected relevant experiences and contributions, as well as any experiences or qualities you feel set you apart as an applicant.
• Update your resume/CV and your statement of purpose to highlight new experiences since your previous application, e.g., taking a relevant course, enhancing or expanding counseling experiences, or participating in healthcare-related and/or genetic counseling-related activities. Remember that the UCLA application does not impose a page limit on the resume/CV so you can craft it to your advantage to provide a roadmap for the application reviewers of what you’ve been doing and why it is important.
• Monitor the admissions page for upcoming information sessions, application workshops, and career fairs you might find useful to attend as you craft your application.
• Tap into other opportunities or people, such as your professors, other mentors, career centers, individuals who are writing letters of recommendation for you, or academic advisors, to review your application materials.

We hope this information is helpful and look forward to reviewing your application if you decide to re-apply.