Biomathematics

Master's degree candidates must complete five graduate-level courses in biomathematics, three of which must be chosen from Biomathematics 201, 202, M203, 204, 205 and 210. If any of these five courses were completed as an undergraduate, the student may petition the department to count them in fulfillment of this requirement of specific background in biomathematics; however, in accord with Academic Senate regulations, they cannot be applied toward the minimum requirements stated below for the master's degree.

The master's degree candidate must complete the university minimum requirement of nine (36 units) of graduate and upper division courses taken in graduate standing, five (20 units) of which must be graduate courses. No more than two 596 courses may be applied toward the required nine courses, and none may be applied toward the graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

As the capstone option to the master's degree, students take comprehensive examinations. The written comprehensive examinations cover material presented in course work. They are administered by a committee consisting of at least three faculty members appointed by the chair. Usually, the examinations will be given during the summer.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

Permission to undertake the thesis option must be given by the student's adviser. In consultation with the adviser, the chair must approve the thesis committee and plans for the thesis.

Time-to-Degree

The normative time to degree is 7 quarters. Exceptional students can complete the program in as few as four full-time quarters.

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Advising

The admissions and advising committees confer with incoming students about their goals and prior preparation. Students are assigned a major provisional adviser, and possibly additional special advisers to assist with specific aspects of training. Students meet with their provisional adviser(s) at least once a quarter. Students are required, as part of their degree requirements, to find a faculty member who agrees to serve as their dissertation research adviser. Students are urged to discuss permanent sponsorship and dissertation research with faculty at the earliest opportunity and to pick a dissertation adviser by the end of their second year. Students should bear in mind the normative time to advance to candidacy (ATC) listed below. Doctoral committees replace the previous advisers as soon as the committee is formed. Doctoral committee membership must be approved by the Department before it is sent to the Graduate Division for appointment.

The advisor(s) or dissertation committee will provide the faculty with assessments of a student’s progress, taking into account grades, research, performance on the written comprehensive examinations, effort and ability.

In addition to the formal advising process, all faculty are available to students for individual instruction and informal counseling.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students must complete the requirements for a field of special emphasis in biology (see details under course requirements).

Foreign Language Requirements

None.

Course Requirements

Biomathematics. The following courses are required: Four of the six core methodology courses (Biomathematics 201, 202, M203, 204, 205, and 210) plus two graduate courses from an approved list of electives in modeling application in biology/medicine.

Biology. Students confer with their advisers to develop a coherent plan for biological or biomedical training that includes 24 units of upper division and graduate courses. At least 16 units of this course work must be graduate-level. No more than four units of seminars graded on a Pass/No Pass or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis may be counted toward the requirements. A letter-graded course must be completed with a grade of B or better to be counted toward the requirements.

Students must petition the curriculum committee for approval of their biological training program. Students who enter the program with previous upper division or graduate training in biology or biomedicine may petition to reduce the 24-unit requirement. Students who hold a master's degree in a biological science are expected to take one additional graduate course. Completion of the first two years of medical school will generally be accepted in satisfaction of the requirements.

Applied Mathematics. Students must complete 24 units of graduate or upper division courses in applied mathematics or statistics with a grade of B or better. Eight units may be in upper division courses.

The department maintains a list of representative courses in engineering, mathematics, physics, theoretical computer science, and theoretical or computational statistics that are relevant to biomathematics. Students confer with their advisers to develop a coherent plan appropriate to their research area and must petition the curriculum committee for approval of courses. Students who enter with considerable preparation in applied mathematics may petition to reduce the 24-unit requirement. Students who hold a master's degree in mathematics are expected to take one additional graduate course.

Independent Research. During the first two years, students are required to take at least four units of Biomathematics 596 with a member of the department or a mentor from an affiliated training program. As students progress through the program, there is an increasing emphasis on research and encouragement to publish.

Teaching Experience

One teaching preceptorship (Biomathematics 596) is required. Students participate fully in the planning and delivery of a significant portion of one course in Biomathematics or a related subject. The emphasis is on training in all aspects of preparing for and offering a course; this is not a service-oriented teaching assistantship.

The preceptorship requirement can also be satisfied with prior departmental approval through: (1) service as a teaching assistant for one quarter at UCLA, (2) presenting a short course, or (3) completing a UCLA course in scientific writing/communication.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

In addition to the UCLA minimum standards, all Biomathematics Doctoral Committees must contain a minimum of two members, including the Committee Chair or a Co-Chair, from the Department of Biomathematics. A maximum of one member may be from outside UCLA.

In the summer, the department offers written qualifying (comprehensive) examinations to test competence in the core methodology of biomathematics. Full-time students must take these examinations by the end of two academic years of study and part-time students by the end of three years. Students must pass the written qualifying (comprehensive) examinations at the doctoral level to make satisfactory progress toward their degree. Students are only allowed two attempts to pass these exams at the doctoral level.

Details about the qualifying exams are available in the departmental brochure, Policies for the Written Comprehensive Examinations for the Doctorate in Biomathematics.

The written qualifying examinations must be successfully completed before students proceed to the University Oral Qualifying Examination. In order to better integrate course work and dissertation research, students can take their University Oral Qualifying Examination after the completion of six Biomathematics, four Mathematics and four Biology courses (or their equivalents taken elsewhere as approved by the curriculum committee). The remaining four courses can then be completed by the end of year four with exception to the time limit permitted by petition.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination, administered by the doctoral committee appointed by the Graduate Division, critically probes the quality, scope, and feasibility of the student's proposed dissertation work. The examination also explores the strength and integration of the student's biomathematical, mathematical, and biological research knowledge in the intended area of research.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

Full-time students with no deficiencies upon admission and sufficient prior upper division training in biology and mathematics should be able to complete the program in five years (15 academic quarters plus research and/or individual instruction during the summers). Such students can complete the departmental written qualifying (comprehensive) examinations in summer of their first year, identify their research field and mentor by the end of their second year, and complete all formal course requirements no later than the beginning of the fourth year.

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Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons noted above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for:

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination from an ad hoc committee to the Department Chair within two weeks of being notified by the Chair. The Chair then initiates a faculty review of the recommendation. Factors considered in the review are biomathematical research aptitude, progress toward completion of degree requirements, performance on the required examinations, and course grades.

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