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Zerry Barr, AnthropologyAcademicMajorsEXPLORING YOURINTERESTS, SHAPINGYOUR FUTURESaul Lincoln,Microbiology, Immunologyand Molecular Genetics

DecidingYour MajorCOLLEGE IS A TIME OF DISCOVERY ANDSELF-DISCOVERY — and deciding on yourmajor involves both. Look inward to gaugeyour interests, academic strengths andpersonal goals. But don’t stop there. UCLAprovides the rare opportunity to exploreall the new subject areas and learningexperiences only a research university inan innovative global city can offer.

This booklet will introduce you to broadsubject areas at UCLA. You’ll see some familiarfields of study — and some new ones. Youcan pursue more than one interest: choosea double major or minor. For instance, onerecent graduate paired business economicswith Chinese to prepare for global business.Another majored in African American studiesand minored in accounting; he was hired asa bank financial analyst before graduation.UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHUCLA is a research powerhouse, averaging 1 billion in research funding annually. So it’s nosurprise that more than half of UCLA studentsgraduate with some kind of research experience.And not all research happens in labs: social scienceand humanities students do original research aswell, from analyzing the costs and benefits ofDNA databases to identifying the influences ofVictorian Gothic literature on online games.EXPERIENTIAL LEARNINGEXPLORING NEW FIELDSAs early as Orientation, your advisor or counselorcan help you choose Fiat Lux seminars, Clustersand survey courses that will introduce you to newacademic fields. With 10-week fall, winter andspring quarters, you have a lot of flexibility tosample new subject areas.If you’re a transfer student, you must declare amajor when you apply, but you may be able toadd a minor later. Be sure to consult our TransferAdmission Guide for detailed information.From Silicon Beach to Hollywood, Los Angelesis a great place to get an internship and translateyour academic interests into career skills. Studentorganizations offer another important way toshape your UCLA experience. Volunteering forgroups like Mobile Clinic, L.A. Hacks or BruinConsulting helps you explore your interests andbuild a robust résumé. And for entrepreneurialskills, there’s the Startup UCLA curriculum.STUDY ABROADMany UCLA students earn course credit outsidethe U.S. UCLA offers 100 programs in more than40 countries. Financial aid can help make studyabroad affordable.Hammer Museum CourtyardStunt Ranch nature centerStudying abroad in RomeDECIDING YOUR MAJOR3

Interestedin theway thingsworkIf you have a talent for numbers or you liketo take things apart — with your handsor in your imagination — you may findyour major in the PHYSICAL SCIENCES orENGINEERING.SHARPEN YOUR SKILLSVALUE ADDEDThe physical sciences are known for rigorousmeasurement and testing of hypotheses and theories.Students learn to handle big data as easily as labequipment. Engineering is even more hands on, withan emphasis on practical problem-solving.DESALINATION. Engineers at UCLA invented thefirst practical way to convert saltwater to drinkingwater in 1959. Today, UCLA researchers are usingnanotechnology to improve the membranes that filterthe water and sensors to make water treatment plantsself-regulating. A cross-disciplinary Grand Challengesteam of all-star faculty is committed to making LosAngeles 100 percent sustainable in energy, water andbiodiversity by 2050.SHAPE YOUR FUTUREPhysical sciences and engineering graduates are indemand. So many employers recruit our students thatUCLA’s Engineering and Technical Fair, a two-day event,is repeated twice a year. Some graduates end up insurprising places. The team that created the algorithmfor the snow in Disney’s Frozen and the water in Moanaincluded both an alumnus and a professor of AppliedMathematics.SUPER-SIZED TELESCOPES. UCLA faculty andresearchers use the Keck I and II telescopes on MaunaKea, Hawaii; they are designing instruments for thenext-generation Thirty Meter Telescope.INFINITY AND BEYOND. Faculty are involved withmany NASA missions, from Dawn to Mars 2020 to theEuropa Mission. Undergraduate students designed,built, and launched the ELFIN satellite to conductresearch into space weather, which powers theNorthern Lights.Bioengineering Prof. AndreaKasko focuses on the design ofnew materials for biomedical use.4PHYSICAL SCIENCES ENGINEERING

Here’s a sampling of majors.See pages 14–15 for a complete list.BiochemistryElectrical EngineeringComputer ScienceApplied MathematicsMechanical EngineeringThese majors are of growing ineering GeologyThe Student Creativity Center in EngineeringA few of the intriguing minors in this area.See page 15 for a complete list.Atmospheric and Oceanic SciencesBiomedical ResearchEarth and Environmental ScienceGeochemistryAstronomer and TED starProf. Andrea GhezChemistry Prof. Neil Garg isknown for creative teaching.The Concrete Lab is a research and instructionalspace for Civil and Environmental Engineering.Comet expert Prof. David Jewitt takes studentson a field trip to Kitt Peak Observatory.ENGINEERING PHYSICAL SCIENCES5

Prof. Tracy Johnson, Molecular, Cell, and DevelopmentalBiology, focuses on how cells alter gene regulation.Fascinatedby life, fromsingle cellsto thehuman bodyIf you like to explore the secrets of livingorganisms or you think you might have atalent for healing, you may find your callingin the LIFE SCIENCES or NURSING.SHARPEN YOUR SKILLSVALUE ADDEDAll life sciences and nursing majors learn criticalthinking, analytical skills, research strategies andlaboratory skills. Depending on your major andcourse choices, you may develop ease in datamapping or acquire specific clinical skills.HOSPITAL. UCLA’s health science schools are on themain campus — and so is Ronald Reagan UCLA MedicalCenter, ranked the No. 6 hospital in the U.S. That’s whereour nursing students do their clinical immersion. Evenmore students are involved at the hospital as volunteersand researchers, especially in the Biomedical Researchminor. And our medical school faculty teaches courses inthe undergraduate Neuroscience program.SHAPE YOUR FUTURELife sciences majors find jobs in research labs,biotechnology, pharmaceuticals or geneticcounseling. Many go on to graduate study inneuroscience, medicine, dentistry and otherhealth-related professions.Students gain medical experiencevolunteering in Mexico.6LIFE SCIENCES NURSINGBRAIN RESEARCH. More than 50 years ago, UCLAbecame a leader in the then-new field of brain research.That’s one reason we identify psychology as a lifescience, not a social science: our approach is groundedin neurobiology. UCLA’s graduate program in clinicalpsychology is ranked first in the U.S.ECOLOGY. There’s an extensive botanical garden righton campus, an urban refuge for biodiversity. Further afieldis the University of California’s Stunt Ranch Santa MonicaMountain Reserve, used for research and internships.Ongoing studies focus on how flora and fauna haverecovered from a 1993 fire.

Prof. Robert Goldberg, Molecular,Cell, and Developmental Biology,focuses on plant genetics.Here’s a sampling of majors.See pages 14–15 for a complete list.Ronald Reagan UCLAMedical Center isranked No. 6in the nation.BiologyPsychologyPsychobiologyPhysiological ScienceNursingThese majors are of growing interest:Nursing students in the simulation labCognitive ScienceNeuroscienceMolecular, Cell andDevelopmental BiologyHuman Biology and SocietyA few of the intriguing minors in this area.See page 15 for a complete list.Applied Developmental PsychologyBiomedical ResearchConservation BiologyEvolutionary MedicineProf. Amy Rowat, Integrative Biology andPhysiology, teaches a course in Science & Food.Student organic gardenNURSING LIFE SCIENCES7

Darnell Hunt, dean ofthe Division of SocialSciences in the UCLACollege, authorsa much-quotedstudy on Hollywooddiversity.Intriguedby peopleand theinstitutionsthey createPerhaps you have a flair for business orpolitics. Or maybe you like understandinghow institutions work — and why theydon’t. You may find your focus in theSOCIAL SCIENCES OR PUBLIC AFFAIRS.SHARPEN YOUR SKILLSVALUE ADDEDSocial science majors learn research andwriting skills, creative thinking and problemsolving. Some areas — notably economics —stress quantitative skills as well.INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE. Founded in 1958, theSHAPE YOUR FUTURESocial science majors bring their skills tobusiness, consulting and government. Somestudents pursue professional degrees in law,public policy or management.International Institute is the central hub for global and areastudies at UCLA, with more than 25 centers and programspromoting multidisciplinary research. Both a major and minorin global studies are offered.QUARTER IN WASHINGTON. The University of CaliforniaD.C. Center houses more than 270 students in a high-risea short walk from the White House. UCLA students can do theQuarter in Washington program in fall, winter or spring —completing an internship and an original research project.FIELD STUDY. Los Angeles offers many opportunities forresearch. But our students pursue field study all over theworld: geography students in Thailand, anthropology studentsin Ghana and Bali, political science students in Sacramento.The Lemelson Anthropological Honors Program is only one ofthe field study programs in Social Sciences.PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS. The Luskin School offers aStudy pods in the Charles E. Young Research Library8Public Affairs major as well as a minor in Urban and RegionalStudies. The Law School welcomes undergraduate volunteersto its moot court program. The Anderson School has a minorin accounting and courses for the Entrepreneurship minor.SOCIAL SCIENCES PUBLIC AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

Prof. Lynn Vavreck, Political Science, studies presidential elections.Here’s a sampling of majors.See pages 14–15 for a complete list.Business EconomicsPolitical ScienceEconomicsSociologyHistoryPublic AffairsErica Henderson (InternationalDevelopment) and MelanieMah (Psychology) participate inQuarter in WashingtonThese majors are of growing interest:African American StudiesAmerican Indian StudiesAsian American StudiesChicana and Chicano StudiesCommunication StudiesGender StudiesA few of the intriguing minors in this area.See page 15 for a complete list.Civic EngagementEntrepreneurshipLogan Linnane (Geography and PoliticalScience) does fieldwork in Thailand.Prof. Laurence Smith, Geography,is a climate change expert.Prof. Tim Groeling, Communication Studies, focuseson political communication and new media.SOCIAL SCIENCES PUBLIC AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTES9