FAQ

What is the Admission requirements?

See the Admissions Page

When is the application deadline?

December 15, 2009.

Is there financial support ?

Yes, students receive five years of full support in the program. During the first year in the graduate program, students who are admitted directly to the Interdepartmental Program (IDP) receive a stipend and payment of fees through the IDP. For the final four years, stipend and fees are provided by the research mentor, or through scholarships, fellowships or training grant support received by the student.  Stipends for the 2008-2009 academic year are $ 27,000. During years 2 or 3 in the program, students will receive support for one quarter as a teaching assistantship.

International Students, Please note

If you will be receiving support from your country of citizenship, we will need to receive documentation indicating the amount and duration of that support.

What is the major code?

25F

How do I submit my test scores?

UCLA receives most official test scores (GRE, TOEFL) electronically from ETS, and IELTS scores in hard-copy format from the testing agencies. Further information about the GRE and TOEFL, including UCLA’s school code (4837) and the department codes (necessary to route your scores to your proposed major program)
In order for your official scores to be matched to your application, is available on the UCLA Graduate Division Admissions website.  Be sure that the personal information you give on the Application for Graduate Admission is exactly the same as the information you gave at the time you took the test.

You should also be instructing ETS to send a hard-copy of your scores to the program to which you are applying.

You may submit your application if you have not yet taken the GRE (if required by your program) or TOEFL or IELTS tests and plan to take the test in the future. Enter the planned future date of the test(s) and leave the score section blank.

If you have taken the GRE, TOEFL or IELTS more than once, and the testing agency transmits your scores to UCLA, all of the scores will appear as part of your application. TOEFL and IELTS test-takers, please note: only your most recent test scores are considered as part of your application.

Do I need to take the GRE General Exam and subject exams?

Our website isays you need to take the GRE General exam, and on the Bioinformatics Program Information on the the Graduate Division Website it says you need subject exams. This was just brought to our attention; because the deadline for the subject tests for this year is Monday, November 10, 2008, we will accept the GRE General Exam.

Where do I find the Letter of Recommendation Form?

Please follow the link- http://www.gnet.ucla.edu/gasaa/library/stmtpurp.pdf

Where do I find the ‘Statement of Purpose’ ?

Within the online application, you will be directed to an interactive PDF once you have submitted your application. You will need to complete, print and mail to the address provided.

I still can’t find the Statement of Purpose, what do I do?

Please follow the link to the Statement of Purpose Form at http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/gasaa/library/stmpurp.pdf

What is the department code?

Please use the code

25F

You may also send me an unofficial copy of your score.

Where do I describe my research experience?

In the ‘tatement of Purpose under the section titled, ‘Pertinent Work Experience.’

How are the Statement of Purpose and CV submitted?

Please send your Statement of Purpose along with your CV to:

Nancy Purtill, Academic Services Manager
2318 Life Sciences Building
621 Charles E. Young Drive South
Box 951606
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606

Is there an Undergraduate Program at UCLA?

Undergraduate students interested in bioinformatics are strongly encouraged to consider the Computational and Systems Biology program at UCLA. This program provides ideal preparation for either this graduate program or many other graduate bioinformatics programs.

Interested undergraduate students should also consider participating in the Southern California Bioinformatics Summer Institute - SoCalBSI, which is an excellent summer program hosted at Cal State LA.

Most of the bioinformatics courses have concurrent undergraduate versions.  Check out the “Courses” page for details.