Biostatistics

The M.S. degree requires 17 graduate and upper division courses (66 units), of which at least five must be graduate courses (200 and 500 series). The following courses are required: Biostatistics 200A-200B, 200C, 202A, 202B, 244, 402A, 402B, 596; one 4-unit course in Epidemiology; one 4-unit course in broad Public Health such as PH 150 or HPM M242; and 24 units of special topics elective courses selected from Biostatistics 203A, 203B, 212, 214, M215, Biostatistics 230-241 series, Biostatistics 406, 410, 411 and 413.

No more than one 4-unit course from the 400 series can count towards the minimum 24 units of electives for the degree. Students can apply a maximum of two 500-level courses (8 units) toward the total graduate course level requirement for the M.S. Other courses in biostatistics or mathematical statistics, or in related areas such as biology, physiology, public health, management, or mathematics, are selected with the adviser's consent and approved by the chair.

Students may petition the department to substitute any of the above required courses with elective courses, if they have previously taken the course at UCLA or its equivalent at another institution.

Students wishing to continue to the Ph.D. program are required to take Mathematics 131A as a prerequisite, unless previously taken at UCLA or elsewhere. This math course can be taken any quarter during year 2.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students are required to submit a written report and pass a written comprehensive examination administered at the beginning of the second year of study that covers the content of the first year core coursework. No more than one reexamination after failure is allowed. Students who do not take the reexamination at the time specified by the department forfeit their right to reexamination.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree (depending upon the program), normative time is six quarters, including quarters enrolled in previous graduate study at a UC campus prior to admission to the School of Public Health. Maximum time allowable from enrollment to graduation is nine quarters (three years).

MAXIMUM TTD

Advising

A faculty adviser is appointed for each beginning doctoral student by the department chair. The adviser meets with the student each quarter to discuss academic progress. When the student advances to candidacy, the chair of the dissertation committee becomes the student's adviser.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Consult the graduate adviser.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students must complete the following courses: Biostatistics 250A, 250B, 250C, 257, one 4-unit course in Epidemiology course; one 4-unit course in broad Public Health such as PH 150 or HPM M242; and six 200-level, 4-unit special topic elective courses from Biostatistics 210 and above. To fulfill the six elective courses, students may formally petition to enroll in courses in Statistics and Biomathematics. Students who entered the doctoral program with an M.S. in Biostatistics from UCLA may waive up to three special topic elective courses (12 units) based on prior completion of 200 level Biostatistics courses from Biostatistics 210 and above, or other suitable equivalent courses. Students must also enroll in Biostatistics 409 for two consecutive quarters, Biostatistics 245 every quarter, and Biostatistics 246 in spring quarter every year of study.

For students who have not completed a master's degree or equivalent in Biostatistics, the following additional courses must be included in the degree program: Biostatistics 200A-200B-200C, 202A, 202B, and six 200 level, 4-unit special topics courses from Biostatistics 210 and above.

Teaching Experience

Teaching experience is recommended but not required.

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.

Before advancement to candidacy, students must pass two written examinations (Ph.D. Preliminary Examination and Ph.D. Advanced Qualifying Examination) and the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

Students without a prior master’s degree or equivalent in Biostatistics must take the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination by the fall quarter of their second year and normally take the Ph.D. Advanced Qualifying Examination in the fall quarter of their third year of study.

Students with a prior master’s degree in Biostatistics from UCLA are exempt from taking the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination, as it was taken during their MS study. Students with a prior master’s degree in Biostatistics from UCLA normally take the Ph.D. Advanced Qualifying Examination in the fall quarter of the second year of study.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is taken after successful completion of the two written examinations. The Oral Qualifying Examination is administered by the doctoral committee and usually consists of a preliminary defense of the dissertation proposal.

A failed examination may be repeated once. The timing of reexaminations is specified by the department in the case of written examinations or by the student's committee in the case of the oral examination. Students who do not take the reexaminations at the specified time forfeit their right to reexamination.

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 the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

It is expected that doctoral students entering the program without a master's degree normally will complete the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination by the fall quarter of their second year (four quarters) and the Ph.D. Advanced Qualifying Examination in the fall quarter of their third year of study (seven quarters); advance to candidacy within thirteen quarters; and complete the dissertation and defense within five quarters of advancement to candidacy. Normative Time-to-Degree is eighteen quarters from graduate admission to award of the degree. The doctoral program is usually shortened by one year if students enter with a master's degree. Maximum allowable time for the attainment of the degree is twenty-four quarters of enrollment (eight years). This limitation includes quarters enrolled in previous graduate study at a UC campus prior to admission to the doctoral degree program.

MAXIMUM TTD

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

Master's
In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for failure to complete the required course work within seven quarters of matriculation.

Doctoral
In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for failure to maintain a 3.0 grade point average for two consecutive quarters following matriculation into the doctoral program; a second failure of any written qualifying examination; a second failure of either oral examination; or exceeding enrollment time limits.

A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification first to the departmental chair, then to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, then to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and finally to the dean of the school.

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