MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising

Welcome to Molecular, Cell & Developmental (MCD) Biology Undergraduate Advising!

Click one of the links below to be directed to that page:

• Important Announcements
  • Fall 2023 Enrollment Guide
  • Fall 2023 Enrollment Quick Notes
    • Fall 2023 Comprehensive Requirement (formerly Senior Exit)/DC Lab Enrollment Information
    • Fall 2023 BIOL 86: Research Deconstruction: MCD Biology Interest Form
    • Human Biology, BS - Enrollment in GCH 190 for Fall 2023
    • New Enrollment Restriction for BIOC 100 Series
    • Full/Closed Class - How to enroll
  • 2023-2024 Curriculum Plan
  • Discontinuation of Human Biology Information
  • Spring 2023 Enrollment Guide
    
  • Winter 2023 Welcome Newsletter
  • NEW Email Google Group for Student Opportunities
• How to Contact MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising
• MCD Biology Staff

Important Announcements

Fall 2023 Enrollment Guide!

Fall 2023 Enrollment Quick Notes:

Looking to enroll in a Comprehensive Requirement (formerly Senior Exit)/DC Lab course (BIOL 109L BIOL 115L, BIOL 129L)? See our Fall 2023 Enrollment Guide - Due to extremely limited space, to enroll in this course you will need to wait until Second Pass to add yourself to the waitlist - MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising will be monitoring the enrollment in this course. Be sure you are checking your MyUCSC account for enrollment in the course.

Interested in participating in the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) Labs? Look to enroll in BIOL 86: Research Deconstruction: MCD Biology in the Fall 2023 quarter to be eligible for the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) Labs in the Winter 2024 and Spring 2024 quarters.

In previous years, students interested in the CUREs Labs would enroll in BIOL 102J: Toxic RNA Lab I or BIOL 107J: Synthetic Gene Regulation Lab I to begin the CUREs Lab sequences, however, the MCD Biology department has adjusted the CUREs Lab courses to have BIOL 86 be the entry point to all CUREs Labs. Please note that BIOL 20L is a prerequisite to enroll in the Winter and Spring CUREs Lab courses.

Want to enroll in BIOL 86 - Fill out the Interest Form here.

Human Biology, BS Majors looking to enroll in GCH 190 for Fall 2023: complete the GCH 190 Enrollment Form to receive a permission number to enroll in GCH 190 for the Fall 2023 quarter 

New Enrollment Restriction for BIOC 100 Series (BIOC 100A, BIOC 100B, and BIOC 100C)

Starting Fall 2023, enrollment for BIOC 100A is restricted to chemistry, biochemistry, and biomolecular engineering and bioinformatics majors, and chemistry minors.

Please fill out the BIOC 100A Enrollment Request Form if you are not in one of the majors/minor above but still want to enroll in BIOC 100A. We will review each submission for enrollment consideration after all of the chemistry, biochemistry, and biomolecular engineering and bioinformatics majors, and chemistry minor students have had an opportunity to enroll (after grades post). This can take several weeks.

MCD Biology students should communicate with their MCD major advisor if they are considering taking the BIOC 100 series instead of the BIOL 100 & BIOL 101 Biochemistry requirement. Students may not enroll in BIOC 100A to circumvent a repeat/triple take petition for BIOL 100.

Completion of this form does not guarantee enrollment into BIOC 100A.

BIOC 100A Enrollment Request Form

Full/Closed Class - How to enroll

Always prioritize qualification courses and Core Four (BIOL 100, 101, 105 and 110) courses during first pass enrollment. We usually hold some seats in courses until after second pass enrollment, so don’t assume that a class is full or closed just because it has a waitlist.

The ONLY WAY to request a seat in a course that is FULL is to get on a waitlist during second pass enrollment. A spot on the waitlist does not guarantee a spot in the class, so make sure you have a back up plan. 

If you are not able to enroll or waitlist during your enrollment appointments, it may be because:

1. You are missing a prerequisite
2. You have an enrollment hold (check your portal for details)
3. You have exceeded the number of units you are allowed to enroll in or waitlist

If you were unable to waitlist or add a class from your portal, you can complete the Enrollment Request Sign In Sheet for Fall 2023 a week before the First Day of Instruction: Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 8am!

*Note: The Enrollment Request Sign In Sheet does not override holds or prerequisites. 

The reason we are waiting until the week before the first day of class to open the form is because many enrollment problems/challenges that students are encountering right now will be resolved well in advance of the first day of class or they may decide that they are no longer interested in taking the class.

Please see our How to Contact MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising page for how to contact an advisor.

• If you have a quick question, please try attending our Drop-in times.

• For Academic Planning assistance, please try to attend a workshop or Peer Advising drop-in hours.

  • You can also share your academic plan with mcdadvising@ucsc.edu for feedback.

We have posted our 2023-2024 Curriculum Plan - please note that the Curriculum Plan is subject to change.

Discontinuation of Human Biology, BS major and Transition to Global and Community Health program

February 27th, 2023

Spring 2023 Enrollment Guide

• New Spring 2023 Courses

January 18th, 2023

MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising Winter 2023 Welcome Newsletter 

Join our New Student Opportunities Email Google Group: MCDB FWD Opportunities!

NOTE: You will need to be logged into your UCSC email account.

This email list will be forwarded opportunities shared with MCD Biology Advising from: other departments at UCSC, California state graduate schools, job, scholarship, research, training, volunteer & internship opportunities. You can unsubscribe at any time.

How to Access MCD Biology Advising

Please see our How to Contact MCD Biology Advising page for more information on MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising options.

Know what type of advising you are looking for? Check out the specific advising pages below for availability:

• MCD Biology Peer Advising Calendar
• MCD Biology Undergraduate Advisor Drop-in Calendar
• MCD Biology Advising Email
• MCD Biology Undergraduate Advisor Appointments Instructions