In addition to this page, detailed information regarding content of required courses, class days, times, course websites, etc. will be emailed to students by the DSCB office each quarter. If you would like to access any of the curricular messages and announcements that have been sent via email, please visit our General Communications CLE page. For general descriptions of each course, please see the curriculum page on the DSCB website.
First Year
In the first year of the program, students take courses, present in journal club, complete three laboratory rotations, and select a thesis laboratory. First-year students are required to take:
- DSCB 257: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology (Fall)
- GRAD 202: Racism in Science (Fall)
- DSCB 225: Programming and Statistics (Winter)
- DSCB 215: Laboratory Rotation (1 in Fall, 2 in Winter)
- DSCB 216: Journal Club (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- DSCB 217: Seminar Series (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- Genetics 200A: Principles of Genetics (Winter)
- Ethics course: GRAD 214: The course is composed of six lectures plus discussion sections throughout the first year.
- Three mini-courses (Spring)
This may also include one elective course, which may be one full-length elective or two mini-courses. It is recommended that electives be taken during the second year, but it may make sense to take it during Year 1. Your graduate advisor will assist with selection of elective. Elective courses may be taken for a letter grade or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U).
**A passing grade for core coursework is considered to be a B or higher**
Second Year
In the second year, students begin research in their thesis laboratories, take additional courses, present in journal club, serve as teaching assistants, and take their qualifying examinations.*
Second Year Coursework
- Teaching Assistantship: BMS 300 (Fall, Winter, or Spring)
- DSCB 216: Journal Club (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- DSCB 217: Seminar Series (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- Take elective course if not yet completed (one full length course, or two minicourses)
Students are required to serve as teaching assistants (TAs) for one quarter during the second year. This requirement is designed to provide students with a valuable teaching experience without having a significant impact on the time needed for their thesis research. As UCSF does not have undergraduate students, DSCB students TA courses taken by graduate students, medical students, pharmacy students, and/or dental students. Students are given the opportunity to rank available courses and are typically assigned to serve as TAs for one of their top three choices.
*All academic coursework must be complete prior to taking the oral exam.
Third Year and Beyond
In later years students primarily focus on their thesis research and dissertation, although they may opt to take additional elective courses or participate in a wide range of other activities.