A system and method for multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) uplink (UL) layer mapping is provided. A method for mapping modulation symbols to multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) layers includes receiving a first set of modulation symbols corresponding to a first transport block, partitioning the first set of modulation symbols into M1 parts, assigning each of the M1 parts to one of the M1 MIMO layers, and transmitting the modulation symbols mapped onto the M1 MIMO layers. The first transport block includes a plurality of code blocks, all modulation symbols of at least one code block belongs to a single part, and M1 is a positive integer value greater than one.