The overall goal of the UCLA M.S. in Genetic Counseling program is to train well-rounded genetic counselors in clinical genomic medicine who are equipped with the critical thinking skills to guide the evolving field of genetic counseling in this new era of precision health.
“Our vision is to increase diversity in the genetic counseling profession and engage underrepresented minority communities to address health disparities so that all communities and populations have access to genetic counseling and genomic medicine.”
- Christina Palmer, MS, PhD, CGC, Program Director, Licensed and Certified Genetic Counselor
UCLA is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is located in one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States. This means that UCLA faculty, students, and staff are privileged to know and work with people from different backgrounds and these interactions enhance the quality of our students’ experience and education.
UCLA Genetic Counselors
Our genetic counseling master’s program is located in the well-respected Department of Human Genetics within the David Geffen School of Medicine, a top 20 medical school. In addition to the medical school, UCLA has the Fielding School of Public Health, School of Law, Anderson School of Management, School of Nursing, School of Dentistry, Samueli School of Engineering, Herb Alpert School of Music, School of Theater, Film, and Television, and a College of Letters and Science all on the same campus. This means that our students are learning in an environment rich with creativity and opportunity.
A close alignment among the UCLA Institute for Precision Health, Department of Human Genetics, and Institute for Society and Genetics through joint and affiliated faculty enhance cross-disciplinary training for students in the program. Our program faculty consists of genetic counselors, trained at a variety of genetic counseling programs, geneticists and other clinicians, and researchers investigating topics from basic science to society, to provide top quality and well-rounded training to our genetic counseling students. Based in an academic medical center, our students are exposed to team-based medical care and team-based science. Faculty use state-of-the-art genomics resources and multi-disciplinary academic backgrounds to train students to work with patients and clients in a wide range of settings and from multicultural backgrounds.
The objectives of this master’s program are to train diverse cohorts of genetic counseling students to:
These objectives will be achieved through coursework taught by faculty, including genetic counselors, with broad expertise; a capstone research project conducted at a top-ranked research-intensive university under the direction of UCLA faculty; fieldwork experiences supervised by certified genetic counselors in a broad array of settings with diverse patient populations and healthcare professionals; and interactions with genetic counselor role models as leadership mentors.
Application deadline:
December 15, 2020
Admission limited to:
Fall applications
To apply, click here. The GC program major code is 0389. The GRE code is 4837.
UCLA Master of Science in Genetic Counseling Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC). Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling, Inc. 7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102. Telephone: (703) 506-7667.
