Upper Division Requirements, Sample 4-yr Plans, Elective List
The Genetics, Genomics and Development (GGD) emphasis is dedicated to preparing students for the revolution in biology that is fueled by the genome sequences of an ever-increasing spectrum of life. The GGD emphasis explores how the information in these genomes program the development of diverse organisms including humans, classical model organisms, and species that represent pivotal nodes in evolution. In the GGD emphasis, you will explore how different sequences lead to phenotypic variation among individuals, and how these differences are inherited and fixed by natural selection. You will also learn how sequence diversity influences human phenotypes, from how we appear to how we behave. These differences also have a major influence on health and disease, and you will learn how the study of human genomes has revolutionized modern medicine.
The GGD emphasis also focuses on how genetic, molecular genetic and genomics tools are used to understand various aspects of biology, ranging from how cells with the same genetic information express different sets of genes and exhibit distinct phenotypes, to how pattern develops in metazoans, to how organisms sense and respond to their environment, and to how cell divisions are orchestrated to ensure proper chromosome integrity and segregation during formation of egg and sperm and the multitude of cell divisions of the developing organism.
Upper Division Requirements
| Genetics, Genomics, & Development | |
| Track 1: Genetics, Genomics & Development | Track 2: Developmental Genetics |
| MCB C100A: Biophysical Chemistry (Fa, Sp; 4 un) | MCB 102: Survey of Biochem & Molecular Biology |
| MCB 110: Molecular Biology (Fa, Sp; 4 un) | MCB 104: Genetics, Genomics & Cell Biology (Fa,Sp; 4 un) OR MCB 140: General Genetics (Fa, Sp; 4 un) |
| MCB 140: General Genetics | MCB 141: Developmental Biology (Sp; 4 un) |
| MCB 140L: Genetics Lab (Sp; 4 un) | MCB 140L: Genetics Lab (Sp; 4 un) |
| GGD Elective A or B (see lists below) | GGD Elective A or B (see lists below) |
| GGD Elective B (see list below) | GGD Elective B (see list below) |
Petitioning to Substitute MCB 140L with Research Units
Students may petition to substitute the lab course with equivalent knowledge and units obtained through independent research experience (such as 199 or H196 research), as determined by the Head Faculty Advisor of their major emphasis. Careful consideration and discussion with your faculty advisor is important when making the decision whether to use independent research to substitute the lab, as MCB labs expose students to many biological approaches not always encountered during these research projects. For more information on the approval process see Petition to Substitute MCB Lab Course.
Sample 4-yr Plans
These are just examples, for more sample schedules including spring start and transfer see guide.berkeley.edu or meet with an advisor to explore your options.It is recommended by MCB advisors and faculty to take the upper division lab as early as you can if you are interested in research and/or honors research.
| Track 1: Genetics, Genomics & Development | Track 2: Developmental Genetics | |||||||
| Year 1 | Year 1 | |||||||
| Fall | Un | Spring | Un | Fall | Un | Spring | Un | |
| Math 10A | 4 | Math 10B | 4 | Math 10A | 4 | Math 10B | 4 | |
| Chem 1A/1AL | 4 | Chem 3A/3AL | 5 | Chem 1A/1AL | 4 | Chem 3A/3AL | 5 | |
| Year 2 | Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Un | Spring | Un | Fall | Un | Spring | Un | |
| Chem 3B/3BL | 5 | Biology 1A/1AL | 5 | Chem 3B/3BL | 5 | Biology 1A/1AL | 5 | |
| Physics 8A | 4 | Physics 8B | 4 | Physics 8A | 4 | Physics 8B | 4 | |
| Year 3 | Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Un | Spring | Un | Fall | Un | Spring | Un | |
| MCB C100A | 4 | MCB 140 | 4 | MCB 102 | 4 | MCB 104 or 140 | 4 | |
| Biology 1B | 4 | Elective A or B | 3-4 | Biology 1B | 4 | Elective A or B | 3-4 | |
| Year 4 | Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Un | Spring | Un | Fall | Un | Spring | Un | |
| MCB 110 | 4 | MCB 140L | 4 | Elective B | 3-4 | MCB 140L | 4 | |
| Elective B | 3-4 | MCB 141 | 4 | |||||
GGD Approved Electives Lists
|
GGD Elective List A |
GGD Elective List B |
|---|---|
Molecular and Cell Biology
Environmental Science, Policy & Management
Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology
Plant & Microbial Biology
|
Molecular and Cell Biology
Bioengineering
Environmental Science and Policy Management
Integrative Biology
Mathematics
Plant & Microbial Biology
Public Health
Statistics
|
* These electives have pre-requisites outsite of courses usually required of MCB majors. Please be sure to check guide.berkeley.edu for pre-requisite information.
Approved Elective Courses but NOT Regularly Offered
- BioEng C141 Stats for Bioinformatics
- BioEng 142 Programming & Algorithim Design for Computational Biology & Genomics Application
- BioEng 143 Computational Methods in Biology
- IB 165 Introduction to Quantitative Genetics
- MCB 115 Molecular Biology of Animal Viruses
- MCB 137 Computer Simulation in Biology (replaced by MCB 137L)
- MCB C145 Genomics
- MCB C146 Topics in Computational Biology
- PHYSICS 132 Contemporary Physics
- Pb Hlth 143 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Computational and Genomic Biology
- Stats C141 Stats for Bioinformatics