The Geffen School of Medicine offers an MD degree program and postgraduate medical training programs; its faculty members participate in the Graduate Programs in Bioscience. Additional master’s and doctorate degrees are offered through the UCLA Graduate Division.
The Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree program is a four-year medical curriculum that prepares students broadly for careers in research, practice, and teaching in the medical field of their choice. For details on the MD curriculum, see the current curriculum. For information about applying to the program, see the application web page or contact the David Geffen School of Medicine Admissions Office, Suite 305 Geffen Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7035.
The Geffen School of Medicine and the Graduate Division offer the Medical Scientist Training Program, an articulated degree program that allows students to earn both the MD and PhD in about eight years, depending on the course of study and research. The PhD may be awarded in one of several medical or social sciences fields.
An articulated program with the Fielding School of Public Health allows students to earn both the MD and MPH degrees in five years. The program includes four years of medical school and one year plus one additional quarter at the Fielding School of Public Health. Separate application must be made to the Fielding School of Public Health during the second year of medical school. For more information on applying to the MPH, see the Fielding School's admissions web page.
Concurrent programs with the Anderson Graduate School of Management and Luskin School of Public Affairs allow UCLA medical students to earn both the MD and MBA degrees, or MD and MPP degrees, over five years by following a designated course of study and some shared coursework. Separate application must be made to the Anderson Graduate School of Management or Luskin School of Public Affairs during the second year of medical school.
Extending medical education to a broader segment of tomorrow’s physicians and researchers, the Geffen School of Medicine admits a select group of students into two innovative partnership programs. In addition to completing the requirements for the MD degree, students engage in specialized coursework and/or projects designed to fulfill the mission of each program.
The mission of the Charles Drew University (CDU)/UCLA Medical Education Program is to train students to practice medicine with competence and compassion in disadvantaged rural and urban communities. Each year 24 students are admitted to the program. Students complete their pre-clerkship training at the UCLA campus, and complete their clinical work in specially designated training centers in medically underserved communities and at UCLA and affiliated hospitals.
The UCLA PRIME Program is a five-year, dual-degree program to develop leaders in medicine who address policy, care, and research issues in health care for underserved populations. A commitment to serve and experience in working with diverse medically disadvantaged populations is paramount. The program leads to the MD and a master’s degree in areas that complement the mission of the program. Each year 18 students are admitted to the class.
Postgraduate medical training programs, including residencies, are offered through all the clinical departments at UCLA and the affiliated training hospitals such as Harbor-UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, and Greater Los Angeles VA System. Programs at the affiliated institutions broaden the scope of the teaching programs by offering extensive clinical facilities, special population settings, and diverse practice modes. Information about these programs is available from the individual clinical departments of the Geffen School of Medicine or the affiliated hospitals.
The Semel Institute is one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary research and education institutes devoted to the understanding of complex human behavior. Fourteen research centers ranging from genetics to human culture, together with research initiatives distributed widely across the academic departments of the Geffen School of Medicine and the College of Letters and Science, offer a comprehensive and outstanding research and training environment for the study of neuroscience and behavior.
The research portfolio of the 400 faculty members, graduate students, and fellows who work in the institute spans behavioral genetics, developmental neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, neuropharmacology, brain imaging, clinical research, health policy, and sociocultural studies of human behavior and its disorders.
