Thank you for your interest in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) Ph.D. program at UCSF. Our program is exceptionally strong in Physical Chemistry, Computational Biology, Macromolecular Structure, Synthetic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. The program is a member of the Boyer Program in Biological Sciences (PIBS) and the Program in Quantitative Biology (PQB). This provides exceptional opportunities for interfacing the chemical expertise of CCB students with the biology-focused research efforts of PIBS faculty. The CCB graduate program provides an excellent environment for learning modern chemical principles and techniques to study significant problems at the interface of chemistry and biology.

We encourage students to apply who have a strong interest in obtaining a broad and rigorous training in modern chemistry that includes molecular thermodynamics, bioorganic chemistry, computational chemistry and structural biology. The study plan is flexible to provide intense involvement in laboratory research in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative setting. The CCB program is distinctive in its orientation toward the study of molecules in living systems. It is further distinguished by providing integrated training in the sciences related to chemical biology: integrating both with respect to the levels of structure (atomic, molecular, cellular) and with respect to the traditional disciplines of chemistry and biology. The training objectives for students of the program are met through course work, laboratory rotations, activities of the program such as journal clubs and research presentations and through thesis research in a specific laboratory. The class size is intentionally kept small to maximize contact with faculty members. In addition to the CCB curriculum that is currently offered to our students, we will be offering a Global Health Sciences curriculum that is tailored for those students interested in working on developing drug targets for parasitic diseases.

The Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduate Program moved into the newly constructed Genentech Hall at UCSF's new Mission Bay campus in January 2003. In addition to Genentech Hall, UCSF is building a campus community center, parking structures, a housing complex for students and staff, and more than eight acres of landscaping. By the time the campus is complete, it will have 2 million square feet of space in 20 new buildings.

The Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduate Program at UCSF offers a unique opportunity for graduate training, and we look forward to receiving your application.

Application Deadline
All application materials must be received by MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 2005. Please allow several weeks for your transcripts and letters of recommendation to arrive before the January 3, 2005 deadline. GRE and TOEFL tests should be taken no later than the November prior to application submission in order to ensure that the scores are received by early January.

Charles Craik
Director, Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduate Program