Highly motivated undergraduates can pursue a master’s degree (M.S.) via the Bioinformatics Graduate Interdepartmental Program following the completion of requirements for their B.S. in Computational & Systems Biology. The academic mechanism for this dual degree is called the Departmental Scholars Program (DSP), administered by the College of Letters & Science Honors Program.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

  • Completion of all pre-major courses, a minimum of 6 upper-division courses for the major (if admitted to the major Fall 2020 and forward), and the Writing II requirement.
  • Completion of 96 undergraduate units at UCLA, or, for transfer students, the equivalent at a similar institution (transfer students must complete at least a year of coursework at UCLA).
  • A 3.5 Cumulative GPA.
  • A 3.5 GPA in upper-division courses for the major.

Application Requirements

  • Two letters of recommendation from faculty – tenured, lectures, or adjunct. One letter should come from the student’s faculty mentor (senior thesis advisor or PI for the capstone course). The Honors Program strongly encourages one letter of recommendation to be from tenured faculty. CaSB Affiliated Faculty are preferred.
    • If you are unsure if a faculty member is a ladder faculty member, lecturer, or adjunct faculty, you can check their title on the UCLA Directory or send their name to CaSB via Message Center for verification.
  • A statement of purpose detailing your interest in the program and your intellectual and research interests, short and long-term.
    • The Statement of Purpose should be one page, double-spaced, 350 words maximum, and Times New Roman or Arial Font.
  • Copy of UCLA transcript with completed upper-division major coursework highlighted.

Submitting an Application

Students must submit all application material in one message via Message Center. This includes the Statement of Purpose, Nomination Form, and a copy of the student’s unofficial UCLA transcript with all upper-division major coursework highlighted.

Recommenders should submit their letters via Message Center. If a recommender does not have access to Message Center, they may submit their letter via email to the CaSB academic advisor.

The Application Process

The deadline to submit a DSP application will be Friday of week 2 of the Winter quarter before the student expects to graduate. This is the only window a student can apply to ensure that the student receives an update on their application before they graduate. Once the student submits their DSP application, it will be reviewed by a CaSB faculty committee. Upon approval by CaSB, the nomination is forwarded to the Assistant Vice-Provost of the Honors Program, and finally to the Dean of the Division of Graduate Education. Students can begin taking graduate courses toward the M.S. degree in the quarter following admission.

Completed applications (including letters of recommendation) are reviewed by the CaSB faculty once per academic year, after the Friday of week 2 of the Winter quarter deadline. This is the only application window to ensure that students receive an update on their application before they graduate in the spring term.

Application Deadline for the DSP is Friday of Week 2 of the Winter Quarter.

Students can begin submitting all DSP application material in week zero of the Winter quarter.

Students must submit all application materials no later than Friday of week 2 of the Winter quarter.  Final admission decisions are made by DGE by the end of the quarter.

M.S. Bioinformatics Degree Requirements

Applicants should review the Bioinformatics M.S. requirements before applying. Keep in mind that some requirements may only apply to the traditional two-year Master’s students and not DSP students. To ensure that you have the most accurate information for the DSP it is recommended that you meet with CaSB’s academic advisor.

For their M.S. requirements, DSP students pursue Field 1: Bioinformatics. Only the M.S. Thesis Plan is available to DSP students in CaSB and, with adequate planning, this can be an extension of the senior thesis required for the bachelor’s degree.

Other Policies

Before applying, please review the Departmental Scholar Program Guidelines provided by Honors.

  • While DSP students should have all undergraduate coursework completed prior to beginning graduate coursework, students remain in undergraduate status and are subject to all rules and regulations affecting UCLA undergraduates.
  • Students will receive their B.S. and M.S. degrees simultaneously (e.g., if a student finishes their B.S. requirements in Spring 2025 and their M.S. requirements in Spring 2026, they will officially earn both degrees in Spring 2026).
  • Students must fulfill all requirements for both degrees and no course may be used to fulfill requirements for both degrees (i.e., no double-counting).
  • Coursework taken prior to admission to DSP cannot be used to fulfill M.S. requirements. Students should wait to take M.S. courses until after being admitted to the DSP.