The goal of the Graduate Program of the Department of Human Genetics at UCLA is to train the next generation of leaders in human genetics and genomics. This rapidly evolving field of research incorporates multiple areas of modern experimental biology (including but not limited to molecular and behavioral genetics, epigenetics, biochemisty, cell and developmental biology, imaging, and large-scale omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics and functional genomics) and of computational biology (including bioinformatics and biostatistics). In their research, students tackle Mendelian diseases and genetically complex traits of key relevance to human health.
Our Graduate Program hosts the Genetics & Genomics Home Area of the Graduate Programs in Bioscience (GPB). We are also associated with UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Prospective students may apply through the GPB or MSTP admission mechanisms.
The program offers:
A wide variety of courses are offered to equip future independent researchers with fundamental knowledge about state-of-the-art methods for generating experimental data on a genome-wide scale and computational and statistical approaches to draw from the data sound conclusions of biological and medical significance. In addition, courses on medical and ethical issues provide students with a societal perspective on human genetics.
Since its creation in 1998, more than 80 students have graduated from our program. As of June 2018, the average time to degree (defined as the time since admission to graduate school at UCLA, including years spent in other graduate programs) of our Ph.D. Program is 5.34 years. Many of our alumni have published parts of their dissertation work in top scientifc journals and become successful scientists in academy or industry.
