Laboratory Research – MIMG 99 and 199

• Review MIMG faculty research topics
• Determine who is doing research that looks most interesting to you.
• Contact the faculty members via e-mail.  Use the UCLA directory to find their contact info.
• In your e mail, include a resume and brief cover letter.
• If the faculty member does not respond to you in about a week, you can send a message to follow-up.  If (s)he still does not respond, do not continue to pursue the matter.
• If the faculty member is interested, you will most likely be asked to interview.
• Before the interview, it’s best to look up the faculty member’s recent publications, found in the Faculty Research section of the MIMG website (as above).
• The faculty member will discuss with you whether you should do 99 or 199 (most require students who are just beginning research to do at least one quarter of 99).
• The faculty member will discuss the project with you, that is, you do not have to already have a project in mind.

• For SRP: For SRP, sign up through the Undergraduate Research Center, 2121 Life Science Building. Also see ugresearchsci.ucla.edu/srpintro.htm.
• For 199: SEE 199 POLICIES 

• The student must first check with the department advisor to see if the faculty in question has already been approved for MIMG 199.
• If the faculty has NOT already been approved, the student must petition by submitting the following:
  1. A letter from the student explaining why (s)he want to do 199 with the mentor (previous experience with the mentor is an example).
  2. A one-page proposal for the project that the student will be researching.
• The petition materials must be submitted to 1602B Mol Sci no later than the first day of instruction.
• The departmental Curriculum Committee will review the petition. In addition to working on a topic that is relevant to the MIMG major, the Curriculum Committee also looks at the qualifications of the proposed mentor and will only approve the petition if the mentor has the experience and a record of independent research accomplishments deemed comparable to those of a typical MIMG professor.
• If the faculty is approved, the student will proceed with filling out and submitting the 199 contract

• be an MIMG major (non majors see below)
• have a GPA of at least 2.5 in the pre-major and major classes.  NO EXCEPTIONS
• have proof of completion of the Lab Safety Fundamental Concepts course

• 199 is a one-quarter commitment.
• If the student wishes to continue the research after one quarter of 199, (s)he can repeat 199 (up to 32 total units of 199).

4 units, letter graded.  It’s not possible to receive more or less units per quarter.

Your faculty mentor, not the MIMG department.

• This varies and should be discussed with the mentor before the student begins research.
• The student and mentor should decide upon a schedule that works for both of them BEFORE the quarter begins so that there is no confusion as to when the student should be in lab.

• Enrollment requires a contract, obtained from www.my.ucla.edu, under “Contract Courses”.
• After filling out the contract (see below), print it and obtain your mentor’s signature.

YOU DO NOT NEED THE SIGNATURE OF THE DEPARTMENTAL CHAIR, EVER!

• Submit the contract to the department (1602B Mol Sci) by 1:00 PM on Friday of the second week of classes.  Most contracts are processed (enrolled) late in the day on the Friday of second week.  Do not contact the Student Affairs Officer (SAO) to ask why you are not enrolled unless it is AFTER Friday of second week. If you need to be enrolled sooner for Financial Aid, let the SAO know when you submit the contract.
• You must have enough units on your study list available to add the 199.  If adding the 199 will cause you to exceed 19 units, obtain permission from the College to exceed 19 units BEFORE you submit the contract.  Failure to do so may result in a late add fee.
• You must attach to the contract proof of completion of the Lab Safety Fundamental Concepts course (https://worksafe.ucla.edu/UCLA/Programs/Standard/Control/elmLearner.wml).

• If you do not submit a contract, you will not be enrolled.  There is no “automatic enrollment”.
• Once you’ve taken the safety class you do not need to take it again, but you must attach proof of competition to every contract you submit.

• All 199 contracts must include a thoughtful and well-described proposal for research, to be approved by the department.
• Your mentor will help you with the proposal.
• All contracts also require a commitment to produce tangible evidence of the research in the form of a written report (see below).
• Your mentor must sign the contract, the Department Chair DOES NOT.

But there’s a place on the contract for the Departmental Chair to sign!

The Chair never ever needs to sign the contact.  The 199 contract is a standard contract used all across campus.  The MIMG department is not able to remove the line that asks for the Chair’s signature.  If we could, we would.

• Five to ten pages, double spaced, plus any figures and tables.
• Must have the following sections:
  Title page, Abstract, Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion, References
• The mentor must sign the report before it is submitted to the department.

The report, signed by the mentor, must be submitted to the department (1602B Mol Sci) by 5pm on Friday of Finals week. This can be done electronically by sending an email to undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu.

YES!!  Even if your mentor doesn’t require that you write a report, the department does.

• For the first quarter of 199, you are NOT expected to have enough data for a complete report.
• Think of the paper as a rough draft or work-in-progress.
• Write as much as you can, given what you have at that point.

• Some mentors use the paper as part of their basis for grading the student, some do not.
• This should be discussed with the mentor before the student begins research.
• Even though the department does not grade you, a report must still be submitted, as agreed to on the 199 contract.