The master's program offers graduate students curricular flexibility and access to extensive resources at UCLA, including a variety of interdisciplinary units which include the Institute of the Environment, the Center for Tropical Research, the UC Natural Reserve System, and the Center for Society and Genetics. The two-year course of study consists of a combination of required coursework and a variety of elective courses and seminars that provide opportunities for departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration. Students begin the program with a provisional faculty advisor and spend the first year taking a common set of required courses. During the second year students take a combination of elective courses and seminars, and complete the program with the completion of a thesis or through a comprehensive exam and earn a Master's of Science in Biology.