Graduate Program in Biotechnology
Program

It is in light of these practical applications that the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at UCI offers its graduate program in biotechnology, leading to the Master's of Science degree in Biological Sciences. Students are trained in experimental rationales for solving actual research problems and are encouraged to take summer internships in industry during the course of their studies.

The program emphasizes formal training and immediate participation in research. First-year students participate in core technical laboratories in protein isolation and characterization, animal and microbial cell culture and recombinant DNA methodology, virology and immunology. Students also participate in individual faculty research projects.

Beginning in the 2006-2007 academic year, the graduate program in biotechnology will be expanded to include an Emphasis in Stem Cell Biology. The creation of this track within the existing graduate program addresses a growing need within the biotechnology community. Many companies have devoted significant portions of their research and development budgets into stem cell biology research platforms as the applicability of stem cells for use in treating human disease has become clear. As such, the need for well-trained scientists, skilled in the growth and manipulation of stem cells, is currently on the rise. The stem cell emphasis has been organized around UCI’s Stem Cell Research Center (SCRC), which was established in 2005 by the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Medicine.