Life Sciences Core (Major Preparation)

Life Sciences Core Overview

The UCLA Life Sciences Core Curriculum is comprised of four areas (chemistry, life sciences, math, and physics) designed to prepare students for any discipline in the life sciences. The Life Sciences Core includes all required MIMG Major Preparation courses.

Each Life Science Core/MIMG Major Preparation requirement must be passed with a grade of C− or better. All courses must be completed with an overall grade-point average of 2.0 or better. 

Students receiving a grade of D or lower in two core curriculum courses, either in separate courses or repetitions of the same course, are subject to dismissal from the major and must contact MIMG advisors@undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu.

Students must abide by requisite requirements to be able to enroll. Please see below for a list of all MIMG Preparation Requirements in addition to course planning notes. 

MIMG Major Preparation Requirements:

Life Sciences (4 Courses Total)

Complete 4 courses:

Please note MIMG requisite requirements here and LIFESCI course key topics here. AP credit cannot apply to this requirement.

General & Organic Chemistry (1 Series Total)

Choose 1 Chemistry series: 

Important Pre-Health Note: CHEM 14CL and CHEM 30BL are NOT required for MIMG Majors. However, these labs are typically required for for pre-health professional schools (i.e. medical school). Students must review UCLA"s Schedule of Classes before enrolling as major-specific enrollment restrictions may apply, even for Pre-Health students. 

Please note MIMG requisite requirements here.  AP credit cannot apply to this requirement.

Calculus (1 Series Total)

Choose 1 Calculus series:

Please note MIMG requisite requirements here.

Statistics (1 Course Total)

Choose 1 course: LIFESCI 40 OR STATS 13**

Please note MIMG requisite requirements here.  AP credit cannot apply to this requirement.

**STATS 10 is NOT an appropriate alternative to STATS 13 for our major purposes. Exceptions are made ONLY if students have completed STATS 10 at a community college prior to your first quarter at UCLA. 

Physics (1 Series Total)

Choose 1 Physics series:

Please note MIMG requisite requirements here.  AP credit cannot apply to this requirement.

Course Planning Notes

  • Students must meet course requisite requirements to be able to enroll. Students do not necessarily need to complete all courses in order or in consecutive quarters.
  • Students should typically aim to enroll in two MIMG Major Preparation courses during their first pass of enrollment each quarter. 
  • The MIMG Major Preparation requirements do not necessarily all need to be completed within two years or before beginning any upper-division MIMG major courses. 
    • First-year admitted students should aim to complete a vast majority of MIMG major preparation requirements within their first two years at UCLA. PHYSICS can be completed within a student's graduation timeline (does not need to be completed within first two years). 
    • Transfer-admitted students should have a vast majority of Life Science Core/MIMG Major Preparation requirements completed before UCLA. Students can please contact MIMG Advisors for any questions about incoming transfer credit and long-term course planning. 
    • Note: There is no "Pre-MIMG" designation. Students admitted as MIMG majors or who have been switched to the MIMG Major by an advisor are declared as MIMG and automatically on Path 1. Please see MIMG Major Entry information here for details.
  • Students cannot plan to "switch" between two different chemistry, calculus, or physics series. It is often not possible or recommended to switch series as the content does not exactly align. For inquiries about switching between series, please contact MIMG Advisors.
  • Resources: