During the first year of study, students complete four to five courses selected from an array of choices in such subjects as macromolecular structure and function, cell biology and metabolism, molecular genetics, transcriptional control, developmental biology, neurobiology, plant biology, computational methods, and biological catalysis. In the first year, students also complete rotations in three research laboratories before choosing a permanent research adviser. Subsequent to the first year, student effort is almost exclusively devoted to research leading to the preparation and submission of a Ph.D. thesis. An oral qualifying exam based on a research proposal is taken at the end of the second year of study. Students receive one year of teaching experience.

The research activities of the Division of Biochemistry encompass a diverse range of contemporary topics in biochemistry and molecular biology, including structural analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, computational biology, structure and assembly of electron transport proteins and co-factors, mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, biochemical basis of development, protein methylation and repair, biochemical basis of muscle contraction and cell motility, phototransduction and membrane transport, mechanism and function of metabolic cellular compartmentalization, and biochemistry of metalloproteins.

The UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers a unique program that is one of the best places in the world for integrated graduate training in structural biology and bioinformatics.

Several weekly seminar programs bring in distinguished speakers from around the world.

Faculty laboratories are housed in the the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the adjacent Molecular Biology Institute. These laboratories are equipped with a full range of modern biochemical and molecular biological instrumentation, including high field NMR spectrometers; X-ray diffractometers; mass spectrometers; UV, IR, and CD spectrometers; scanning and transmission electron microscopes; differential interference contrast and fluorescence microscopes; DNA synthesizers; preparative and analytical ultracentrifuges; HPLC, microcalorimetry, and digital autoradiographic imaging equipment. Facilities for automated DNA sequencing, protein microsequencing, confocal microscopy, media preparation, and fermentation are available on campus. Computational facilities include multiple state of the art SGI, HP, and DEC servers and work stations.