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Hi, I recently graduated from our University here in the Philippines with a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, and I plan to take up graduate studies in California (my relatives live there so it will be much easier). I would like to explore the Biochemistry realm further so could some of you suggest graduate schools in California that offer Biochemistry as a graduate program?

I've browsed through some websites and these were some Universities that I had in mind:

: UC - Berkeley
: UC - Los Angeles
: California Institute of Technology

They are not in any order, could any of you add more or help me decide from the list above? I would really appreciate any other inputs that I could get. Thank you very much!


Sincerely,

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[Yggdrasil]

What part of California do your relatives live?  California is a rather big state and the Southern California schools (UCLA, Caltech) and Northern California schools (Berkeley) are ~600km apart.

I would add to the list UC San Francisco, UC San Diego and Stanford as other schools with extremely good biomedical sciences programs.  Lower tier schools would include UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and University of Southern California.

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Thanks for the reply Yggdrasil. My relatives currently live in Los Angeles, so I had UCLA in mind. I visited the Stanford's website, I just found it real hard sometimes to search for the courses that they offer.

I just had my B.S. degree, and my undergraduate adviser told me to apply for a Ph.D. degree without even going to an M.S. degree first, with a Biochemistry major instead of Chemistry. Do you think that would be alright if I jump on to a Ph.D. degree at once? Would it be advisable?

Moreover, I am not really THAT good in Biology. I just really had a knack for Biochemistry (mainly because of the Chemistry part). I consider Biology as one of my weaknesses, but I really enjoy Organic Chemistry. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I faired well in my Biochemistry. I am sure that I would be taking up Biology classes if ever I push through a graduate Biochemistry degree, and so I am a bit scared of what that would turn out to be... Do I get to choose my own courses? Or does the University have "planned" courses for each term?

I am so sorry for asking a lot of questions...

[Mitch]

It is typical to go straight to a phd program. It is very unusual to do a masters then a phd.

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Oh, I see then. Thank you, Mitch, for the reply. Right now, I am looking into the websites of the Universities that Yggdrasil gave me. I think UC-San Diego has the program that I had in mind, a Chemistry-Biochemistry program, since I like both. Hehehe

Thank you very much for your inputs. If anybody else wants to add their own points, please do. It will help me decide even further.

Thank you again.

[Yggdrasil]

Whether you choose your own classes or whether the program has a set curriculum depends very much on the particular school and particular program at the school, so I would contact the particular PhD programs to which you are applying to find out that information.  However, I would not put too much weight on the classes when deciding which program to apply to.  PhD programs typically last 5+ years with only the first 1-2 years dedicated to classes.  A bigger part of your decision should be whether the school has some faculty whose research interests match yours.

Also, since you are more chemistry-inclined than biology-inclined, you may want to look at chemical biology programs.  Chemical biology is a somewhat new field, but while there is still significant overlap with biochemistry, research in chemical biology tends to be more like chemistry research than biology research while the opposite is true of biochemistry.  I would also note that the names of these fields change and overlap a lot, so a program might not have "biochemistry" or "chemical biology" in its name, but it could still be a good choice for an aspiring biochemist or chemical biologist.

I'll also note that I did my undergraduate work in UCLA's department of chemistry and biochemistry, so I could try to answer some questions about UCLA that you might have.

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Thanks Yggdrasil. I was just about to ask the difference between Biochemistry and Chemical Biology, now I understand it a bit. Yes, I am more on the Chemistry-side than the Biology-side. I never did fair very well on my undergraduate Biology courses, but when my professor in Biochemistry taught some "biology" parts in biochem, I seemed to understand some, if not most, of the processes that happen in the cell. Maybe this is the main reason why I am not really sure if I would do well on a Ph.D. program in Biochemistry.

I did my undergraduate research on Biochemistry, it was on the physico-chemical properties of chitosan and a N-lauryl chitosan; however, I must admit that the focus or rather the way that the experimentation was done did not really involve any biochemical processes at all. If I gauge it, I'd say that the experiments were more on the Physical Chemistry-side. My partner and I measured the viscosity to determine the average viscometric molecular weight of the polymer, and a bit of organic synthesis to synthesize the N-lauryl chitosan. In short, only the sample was the "biochemistry" part. But then, my adviser told me that we were majoring in Chemistry back then, so we were not expected to do a hardcore biochemistry research.

Just one question though, If ever I finish my Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, will the title still be Chemical Biology? I'm sorry if this question is vague, what I meant was, the graduates will then be called Doctors of Philosophy in Chemical Biology, and not Chemistry, is that correct?

Thank you very much for all your help.

[Yggdrasil]

I'm not sure about your question although I would probably think you would "officially" be a doctor of philosophy in chemical biology.  Of course, the actual words on the degree are not so important in your future job prospects as the papers you publish in grad school.  Also, the actual field you get your PhD in does not necessarily limit your job options; for example, my advisor has a PhD in physics yet she is now a professor in the department of chemistry (doing research in biology).

As for learning biology, going from chemistry to biology is definitely easier than going the other way.  Furthermore, at it's core, biological systems are just really complex chemical systesm so a background in chemistry gives you a good intuition for how biological systems will behave at the molecular level.  Plus, chemists often have the quantitative skills that many biologists lack.  Of course, transitioning to biology does come with some difficulties: the vocabulary is fairly different and filled with many acronyms and jargon, but that's not too difficult to pick up.   

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Thank you very much. I am checking out the websites of the other Universities that you gave me, and then I stumbled upon the Chemistry and Biochemistry department of UC San Diego. I checked out the courses that they offer, and I seem to like them. I'll coordinate with my undergraduate adviser regarding this. Thank you once again.

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I think I have finally made up my mind. I'm going to take up a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and I plan to do it in UCLA. I've been looking at the faculty members' research interests, and I seem to like the one about Cholesterol, Coenzyme Q, etc.

I am planning to take the TOEFL and GRE this November, and I am really gearing up on my practice tests so that I can do well in these exams. I have some questions, though, would anyone mind answering them? I've been emailing the department, but I think this month is just a busy month for them. I already visited the department's website and listed all of the requirements for admission; however, I just want to clear some questions that I had in mind:

1. Three letters of recommendation need to be submitted, but I just want to make sure, do my professors send it directly to the department? I understand that the forms (in an interactive .pdf file form) need to be printed, so do they have to mail it directly to the department? Or is there anyone in particular that they have to send it to? Am I allowed to collect the recommendation letters from my professors (enclosed in an envelope) so that I will be the one to send them to the department/person-in-charge?
 
2. Do Ph.D. applicants get any form of scholarship? Where could I possibly apply for one to lessen what my parents and I have to pay for the tuition? I do have relatives living in California so I guess the living expenses will not be added to the tuition, is this correct?
 
3. Are graduate students allowed to become research/teaching assistants (is this one form of scholarship in the university)?

4. About the GRE, I have to take the general as well as the subject test (as stated in the website). If I will be focusing on Biochemistry for my Ph.D., but my Bachelor's Degree is in Chemistry, will it be okay if I take the Chemistry Subject Test? Moreover, does the GRE code for UCLA really have an "R" at the beginning? i.e., R4837, I just saw it on the website as well.

I apologize for asking one-too-many questions. I hope somebody could enlighten me with these. Have a nice day!


Warmest regards,
Philippe (aka jpg)

[Yggdrasil]

I think I have finally made up my mind. I'm going to take up a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and I plan to do it in UCLA. I've been looking at the faculty members' research interests, and I seem to like the one about Cholesterol, Coenzyme Q, etc.

That's great.  Consider, however, that admissions to graduate schools are fairly competitive.  It would be wise to apply to a few programs and to consider applying to a "backup" program (a lower tier university).

1. Three letters of recommendation need to be submitted, but I just want to make sure, do my professors send it directly to the department? I understand that the forms (in an interactive .pdf file form) need to be printed, so do they have to mail it directly to the department? Or is there anyone in particular that they have to send it to? Am I allowed to collect the recommendation letters from my professors (enclosed in an envelope) so that I will be the one to send them to the department/person-in-charge?

 
Usually, the professors send their letters directly to the school.  This is done to ensure that you do not have a chance to read their letter prior to submission as schools generally will not accept letters of recommendation that the applicant has seen.  If you will be sending your professors' letters, be sure that they seal the envelope and sign their name over the seal, to show that you have not opened the letter prior to submission.

2. Do Ph.D. applicants get any form of scholarship? Where could I possibly apply for one to lessen what my parents and I have to pay for the tuition? I do have relatives living in California so I guess the living expenses will not be added to the tuition, is this correct?

Most PhD students have their tuition paid for by their PhD program or though their advisor's grants and receive a stipend for their living expenses (contact the school for more details, things may differ for international students).  Graduate students may also apply for outside fellowships which can be helpful (e.g. many students are required to teach in order to earn their stipend.  An outside fellowship would give one the freedom not to teach and to instead focus on research).  These outside fellowships generally are from the US government and are restricted to US citizens, but there are a few from private foundations that may accept international students or you may be able to apply for a fellowship from your home country.
 

3. Are graduate students allowed to become research/teaching assistants (is this one form of scholarship in the university)?

Yes.  Most programs will require that you serve as a teaching assistant for at least one quarter/semester both so that you gain teaching experience and to help pay for your tuition/stipend.

4. About the GRE, I have to take the general as well as the subject test (as stated in the website). If I will be focusing on Biochemistry for my Ph.D., but my Bachelor's Degree is in Chemistry, will it be okay if I take the Chemistry Subject Test? Moreover, does the GRE code for UCLA really have an "R" at the beginning? i.e., R4837, I just saw it on the website as well.

I would contact the department for the answer to this question.

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Thank you very much, Yggdrasil, for the reply. I will try to contact the department again, and hopefully I will get a reply soon. Thank you, again.

Sincerely,
Philippe

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Hello Yggdrasil. I'm already midway to my applications in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in UCLA. I just want to ask something about the application forms that need to be sent to the Department. There are downloadable forms (specifically for the BMB program) that is not in a .pdf form, but just as a part of the webpage. The instructions on the webpage says to print the document and have it sent to the Department. What I would like to ask is would it be better if I copy the contents of the site (forms) and then paste it on Microsoft Word, and then answer it from there so that it will be easier for them to read? Or should I just hand-write them down?

Among one of the things that need to be submitted is a statement of purpose, and I'm not so sure if I will be allowed to just type it down so that it would be easier. What do you think, Yggdrasil? This goes for everyone as well. Maybe you guys could suggest the better option. Thank you. I hope to hear from any of you soon, and have a nice day!

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[Yggdrasil]

Typing your answers to the form would probably be helpful (but not necessary if it's too much work, especially if the answers are short).  However, you should definitely type your statement of purpose.

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Thank you very much!