Students from the first cohort of the Master’s of Applied Chemical Sciences graduated earlier this year (PHOTO CREDIT: Penny Jennings) Last month, UCLA’s chemistry department graduated its first cohort of twenty-one students in the new Master of Applied Chemical Sciences (MACS) program. Created in response to an urgent need in industry for chemists and biochemists with graduate-level hands-on training, it is one of only three of its kind in the country. Although this program is administered at UCLA, an important feature is the dedicated collaborations from industry partners.
Much of that support comes in the form of state-of-the-art tools and instruments provided by Agilent Technologies directly to MACS students. This donation allowed the department to establish lab classes in areas such as mass spectroscopy, liquid chromatography, spectroscopy, and more. “With the equipment provided by Agilent, our students get hands-on experience with the tools they can expect to use in jobs upon graduation,” said UCLA chemistry and biochemistry department chair Alex Spokoyny. “This experience has proven to be one of the most attractive aspects of our program, which has already exceeded expectations.”
“With the equipment provided by Agilent, our students get hands-on experience with the tools they can expect to use in jobs upon graduation.”
Alex Spokoyny, Department Chair
One of those recent graduates, Maggie Chen, spent time in the program conducting research to improve drug delivery systems, imaging, and diagnostics. Chen had previously relied on gas chromatography to analyze her lab-made photocages used for these applications. “Since I started in the MACS program, I’ve had access to Agilent’s liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, which is more precise and has allowed me to progress in my research much faster,” she said. “More than just improving my research capabilities, I’m getting to practice the exact skill set I will be using one day in industry labs as I search for jobs.”
The focus on hands-on training and the dedication of the MACS Program Director/Faculty Advisor, Paula Diaconescu, Associate Director, Dr. Tee Johnson, and Faculty Advisors, Dr. Chong Liu, Dr. Joe Loo, and Dr. Matt Nava, have already paid off. Within just one month of graduation, three students already had accepted jobs in industry and another eight have been accepted to PhD and medical programs across the country. That number is expected to greatly improve over the course of the summer.
In just two short years, the MACS program has already become one of the pillars of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Our incoming third cohort has already grown by nearly fifty-percent, with 30 students currently accepted to begin in Fall of 2024,” said Diaconescu.
For Spokoyny, who was instrumental in getting this program off the ground, the timing could not be better. “With the help of Agilent, this Master’s program ensures our continued leadership in training the next generation of chemists ready to enter a job market that is more competitive than ever before,” he said.