Enrollment Process

About a week after admission: Set up your UCSD ITS account and read about computer accounts for students in the BISB program.

Registering for fall classes: Fall registration typically opens in May (this may change in 2026). The typical first year fall quarter schedule is:

  • BISB track: Math 283; BNFO 281, 283, 298; an elective and/or ethics.
  • BMI track: Math 283; MED 262, 264; BNFO 283, 298; an elective and/or ethics.
  • You must enroll in at least 12 units each quarter (fall, winter, and spring). Waitlisted units do not count.

Submitting transcripts: See your application portal for a checklist of items you need to submit to the Graduate Admissions Office, including official final transcripts showing degree conferral. Please submit the required documents promptly once they're available, or contact GEPA to make arrangements if you'll be delayed past the deadline.

Onboarding: GEPA sends you several lists of onboarding tasks; please complete all tasks by the deadlines or they may place holds, preventing enrollment:

BISB Curriculum:

Use the following links on the BISB website under Graduate » Curriculum to plan your courses. Please discuss your schedule with your advisor. First year students have an academic advisor (not necessarily the same as the Rotation Lab advisor).

 

Other UCSD classes:

  • Short catalog descriptions:
         UCSD General Catalog > "Courses/Curricula/Faculty" > [Department name] > "courses"
  • Course websites and syllabi: Most are in Canvas (canvas.ucsd.edu) and restricted to students enrolled in the class that quarter. If you need a syllabus that you can't find, contact the instructor or department.
  • Division of Biomedical Informatics class descriptions
  • Some classes may not be in the catalog, including new classes, special topics classes (like specific offerings of CSE 291 or BENG 207), and School of Medicine classes. Check department websites and email announcements. Contact the instructor for information if needed.
  • See Enrolling in classes at UC San Diego:
    • The page points to detailed instructions and deadlines to add, drop, waitlist, change grading options, etc.
    • Use the Schedule of Classes to look up classes and WebReg to register.
    • Use the Enrollment and Registration Calendar to find when registration opens and various deadlines. Fall quarter registration usually opens in May, but some classes (particularly BMI courses with MED course numbers) may not be added to the registration system until late summer. Winter usually opens in November, Spring in February, and Summer (not typical for this program) in April.
    • Please enroll or waitlist as early as possible, as classes may fill.
       
  • You may need to request authorization to enroll/waitlist in certain classes.
  • All Core and Elective courses for the degree must be taken for a letter grade.
    • When enrolling in core and elective classes, pick the Letter grading option instead of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) or Pass/No Pass (P/NP).
    • You may have to change this from the default option. Some classes/departments default to Letter grading, while some (including CMM) default to S/U.
    • If you enroll with the wrong grading option, go back into WebReg to fix it by the deadline (usually in Week 2). See S/U grading option on this FAQ for more info.
       
  • You must enroll in at least 12 units each quarter (fall, winter, and spring).
    • Waitlisted units do not count.
    • BNFO 299 units may be varied to meet the full-time enrollment requirement of 12 units per quarter.

All Core and Elective courses for the degree must be taken for a letter grade. Students must obtain a “B” or better in courses taken for the degree. If you receive a “B-” or lower in a Core or Elective class, or you take it on S/U grading, it does not fulfill your requirements. Please see the Grades FAQ if you have any grades of “B-” or lower or “U”.

Please also see GEPA's Good Academic Standing page and FAQ. Campus-wide requirements for all graduate programs include that you must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or the equivalent in upper-division, graduate, and professional course work, and must not have accumulated more than a total of eight units of "F" and/or "U" grades overall.

If there is a hold in WebReg (course registration) or your Student Account (financial matters), check the Holds tool to see which office placed the hold and the steps to resolve it. Check for any info from that office such as emails or info on that office's website or account portal. Contact the BISB Graduate Coordinator if you need help.

Here is information on some types of holds, but this is not a complete list:

Code Meaning Notes
    First year and incoming students
GRMD Graduate Admissions Missing Documents Please respond promptly to Graduate Admissions' requests to submit your official transcripts from your previous school(s) (see your application portal) and do other onboarding tasks (see "New students" above). They will place holds if you miss the deadlines.
IMSR, TBSR Student Health requirements Also part of onboarding
RESC Residency requirements Also part of onboarding
    3rd+ year students
ADCN Did Not Advance to Candidacy BISB PhD students must advance to candidacy by spring of their 3rd year, or GEPA will place a hold on enrollment.
 
If you need an extension, discuss it with the BISB Graduate Coordinator, the BISB Program Director, and your advisor. Applying for the extension in advance is especially important if you want to enroll in classes that are likely to fill up if you enroll late.
 
The deadline may differ for students who switched UCSD graduate programs or took a leave of absence. See your time limits in the Graduate Student Portal under Letters > Academic Affairs Documents > Time Limit - Annual.
    Other
MIST Mandatory Student Training See info on various trainings at OPHD, SAGE, and HR. If not completed by the deadlines, they may place a hold on your account and/or restrict you from logging into campus systems, until completed.
BURF, WO, ... Financial holds Please check your paystubs (UCPath and TritonLink) and billing statements (TritonPay) monthly, and any emails about these.
 
See info about holds from SFS (Student Financial Services) or HDH (Housing Dining Hospitality). Contact SFS or the BISB Graduate Coordinator if you need help.
 
After the balance of a financial hold is paid in full, if they do not automatically lift the hold, then submit the SFS "Hold Removal Request Form" on this page.
  • Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA)
    Central resource for all matters related to graduate education and postdoctoral affairs. Previously called Graduate Division, Office of Graduate Studies (OGS), and Office of Graduate Studies and Research (OGSR); you may see references to those instead of GEPA.
    • Graduate Student Portal: Repository for graduate student information and forms, such as academic and financial support letters, annual Spring Evaluations, and request for a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal form.
    • Time limits letter:
      • For the BISB program, the normal deadline to advance (Pre-Candidacy Time Limit, PCTL) is spring quarter of the third year. The deadline may differ for students who switched UCSD graduate programs or took a leave of absence.
      • GEPA usually posts a letter with your time limit in the summer after your first year and again when there are updates. In the Graduate Student Portal, see Letters > Academic Affairs Documents > Time Limit - Annual.
         
  • UCSD Academic Calendars:
  • My TritonLink: Tools
    Index of campus-wide websites for enrollment, advising, grades and transcripts, financial tools, and more.
     
  • Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD)
    For accommodations, contact OSD and go through their approval process.
     
  • Leave of Absence/Withdrawal
    The above page includes campus-wide leave of absence info such as eligibility, impact on doctoral time limits, health insurance, international students, and more.

After regular admission to the program, all students are in major code BF76 (Bioinformatics and Systems Biology).

Students in the BMI Track should at some point switch to major code BF77 (Bioinformatics and Systems Biology with a Specialization in Biomedical Informatics). Please discuss the timing and process for doing this with the Graduate Coordinator.