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MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising

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

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Important Announcements
How to Contact MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising
MCD Biology Staff

Important Announcements

November 16th, 2023

Enrollment Issue with BIOL 128

As of 5pm on Friday, 11/17/2023, the enrollment issue with BIOL 128 has been resolved. Please try enrolling in the course via your MyUCSC Student Portal.

Please remember that your First Pass enrollment time is active from your assigned date and time until 11:59pm on November 21st, 2023. Second Pass Enrollment times begin on November 28th, 2023. Please see the Registrar's Enrollment Information page for more details.

November 13, 2023 - Winter 2024 Enrollment

Winter 2024 Enrollment Guide and Quick Notes

Please see our Winter 2024 Enrollment Guide for updated information regarding the MCD Biology courses forthe Winter 2024 quarter as well as some updates from the department.

Need to Request a Permission Number to enroll in an MCD Biology course? Complete the Enrollment Request Form. Note: this form will open about 2 weeks before the First Day of Instruction on Monday, December 18th, 2023.

*Note: The Enrollment Request Sheet does not override holds or prerequisites. The MCD Biology strictly enforces prerequisites for our courses. Students who do not have the prerequisite(s) will not be enrolled in the course.

The reason we wait 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.

Interested in participating in the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) Labs?

The Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are 2-quarter laboratory courses in which students are guided by a faculty member in an authentic research project. In contrast to traditional lab classes, the goal of the CUREs labs is the same as that of any research lab, to discover new knowledge.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, 2 CUREs labs will be offered:

Toxic RNA Lab (BIOL 102L/103L)
- Faculty: Jeremy Sanford
- Capacity: 25 students
- Prerequisites: BIOL 20A, BIOL 20L, satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing (WRIT 1) and Composition (WRIT 2) requirements.
Environmental Phage Biology Lab (BIOL 122K/122L)
- Faculty: James Shanks
- Capacity: 20 students
- Prerequisites: CHEM1B, CHEM 3A, or CHEM 4A; BIOL 20A, BIOL 20L, satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing (WRIT 1) and Composition (WRIT 2) requirements.

Interested in joining one of the CUREs Labs? Complete the 2023-2024 CUREs Lab Application.

Comprehensive Requirement/DC Labs

Looking to enroll in a Comprehensive Requirement (formerly Senior Exit)/DC Lab course (BIOL 115L or BIOL 129L)? See our Winter 2024 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.

Looking to enroll in BIOL 130L for Winter 2024?

Like the Comprehendive Requirement/DC Lab courses, due to extreamly 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 these courses. Priority for BIOL 130L will be given to Human Biology, BS majors who have completed BIOL 189W.

Winter 2024 Important Dates

Important Dates to note for Winter 2024 (Most dates on the Registrar's Academic and Administrative Calendar):

November 15th to November 21, 2023: First Pass Appointments
- Credit Limits:
  - Senior Standing: 19-credit limit
  - Junior, Sophomore, and Frosh Standing: 14-credit limit
- Appointments every half hour - 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
- First-pass enrollment remains open from your assigned enrollment appointment opens until 11:59 p.m. on 11/21
November 28th to December 1st, 2023: Second Pass Appointments and Waitlist
- Credit limits:
  - Enrolled: 19-credit limit
  - Waitlist: 14-credit limit
  - Appointments every half hour - 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
December 2nd, 2023: Winter 2024 Open Enrollment
- Credit limit: 19 units
January 2nd, 2024: Minimum Credit Limit Enforced (12 units for Undergraduate Students)
January 8th, 2024: Instruction Begins for the Winter 2024 quarter
- Deadines:
  - Withdraw from the quarter and receive full registration fees refund
January 10th, 2024: Undergraduate Enrollment Deadline (Must be enrolled in at least 1 course)
January 18th, 2024: Permission Number Required to Enroll in any class
January 29th, 2024: ADD/DROP/SWAP Deadline
- Undergraduate Part-Time Program Deadline
January 30th, 2024: Late Add by Permission Begins ($10 fee)
February 5th, 2023: MCD Biology Winter 2024 Appeal Deadline
February 9th, 2024: Declaration Deadline
- Deadline for Fall 2023 Transfer Students
March 18th to March 22nd, 2024: Finals Week

September 27th, 2023

MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising Fall 2023 Newsletter

Please view our Newsletter linked below for department updates and information:

MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising Fall 2023 Newsletter

Open Courses: Fall 2023

MCD Biology, Biology, BS or Neuroscience Major looking to Graduate in 2024?

If you are planning to graduate Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Summer 2024, or Fall 2024 and have not completed a Comprehensive Requirement/DC Course, the MCD Biology Advising department and Faculty Advisor strongly encourage you to look to enroll in one of the Fall 2023 Comprehensive Requirement/DC courses that currently have open seats.

We are extremely concerned that we will not have enough seats in the courses for the Winter, Spring and Summer. If you have completed BIOL 101L you are most likely eligible to enroll in BIOL 109L, BIOL 115L, and/or BIOL 129L.

Need to Request a Permission Number to enroll in an MCD Biology course? Complete the Enrollment Request Form

August 2nd, 2023

Delayed response from MCD Biology Undergraduate Advisors - Thank you for reaching out to MCD Biology Undergraduate Advising! We are currently working with our Fall 2023 incoming students and may be delayed in responding to emails and have limited appointment availablilty from August 2nd, 2023 to August 25th, 2023.

We thank you in advanced for your patience. We will try to respond to emails and open more appointments as quickly as we can.

Are you a Fall 2023 incoming student with questions? Please see the "Introduction to the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Department Modules" on your Canvas Dashboard!

Upcoming Deadlines for Fall 2023

August 9th, 2023: at 11:59pm, enrollment for continuing students will close to allow incoming students to enroll. This means continuing students will not be able to add, drop, or adjust their Fall 2023 schedules until August 28th, 2023
- Enrollment Times can be found on the Enrollment Information webpage from the Office of the Registrar
August 11th, 2023 to August 24th, 2023: Incoming Student Enrollment
- Incoming Students - check your MyUCSC Student Center to see your Enrollment Date. Don't have an Enrollment Date? Check in with Slug Orientation.
August 28th, 2023: Enrollment opens for all students.
- Enrollment Times can be found on the Enrollment Information webpage from the Office of the Registrar
September 4th, 2023: Labor Day Holiday - CAMPUS CLOSED
September 19th, 2023: Minimum Credit Limit Enforced
- Undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units to be considered Full-Time Status
September 23rd, 2023: Fall 2023 quarter begins
September 28th, 2023: Instruction begins for the Fall 2023 Quarter
- This is the day classes start

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:

You are missing a prerequisite
You have an enrollment hold (check your portal for details)
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 Staff
MCD Biology Advisors:	Leanna Christine Kylie Mariah
MCD Biology Faculty Advisor:	John Tamkun
MCD Biology Curriculum Chair:	John Tamkun
MCD Biology Department Chair:	Grant Hartzog
MCD Biology Department Manager:	Teel Lopez