Honors & Research Thesis Program

• Review the Student Research information and identify an appropriate research sponsor (and co-sponsor if necessary).  It is recommended that you choose a sponsor by the end of your sophomore year.  Remember that if your chosen research sponsor (principal investigator) is not a faculty member in your major’s department(s), you will need to identify a “co-sponsor” from within the program. The co-sponsor will evaluate the student’s research proposal to ensure it is appropriate for the field.
  • Who can sponsor or co-sponsor?
    • Review the guidelines here.    
• Ask your sponsor (and co-sponsor if necessary) to review this document prior to applying to the Honors Program.
• Declare an honors major by applying for admittance into the Biology Honors Program.
  
  • It is recommended that students discuss the Honors Program with a major advisor early in their undergraduate careers, and apply for Honors as soon as possible.
    
  • You are encouraged to apply as soon as you have a general research plan and appropriate faculty sponsor and/or co-sponsor.
    
  • Even if you participated in the freshman and sophomore Honors Program, you must still specifically apply to declare honors in the major.
    
  • Students who did not participate in the freshman and sophomore Honors Program are eligible to declare an honors major and are encouraged to apply.
    
• Register (or plan) for at least two terms of independent research (usually via MCDB or EEB 300/400 or MICRO 399) depending on the field of study. Most students register for three or four terms of independent research, but a specific number of research credits is not required.  A minimum of two terms of work in a research lab is the recommended minimum.  If you are working with a sponsor who is out of unit and have a co-sponsor, you will register for research credit under the co-sponsor’s research section.
  
• Identify 1-2 “Readers” who agree to review your thesis.  These should be faculty members in your major’s department(s) with an understanding of your research topic. You need three faculty total to review your thesis:  one will be your sponsor, one might be your co-sponsor (if applicable), and the other 1-2 must be identified by you. Refer to this document to confirm your readers are eligible. 
  
  • Readers must agree to turn in their evaluations within 10 days of the thesis due date (April 10, August 10, or December 10 for winter, summer, or fall).
    
  • Students may petition the Honors Committee for an exception to this rule by submitting a detailed reason for the request at least three weeks prior to the submission deadline for the thesis.
    

• The thesis is due on December 1, April 1, or August 1 for graduation in fall, winter, or summer term respectively. If the 1st falls on a weekend, the thesis will be due on the following Monday.
• There are no set guidelines on how the thesis should be formatted, or a specific page requirement. However, the Thesis Committee prefers a thesis to be written in scientific manuscript format (i.e., abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections). There are examples of theses available to look at in the Bio. Office during regular business hours (2200 Biological Sciences Building).  There is no need to bind the thesis.
  
• You must submit an electronic copy of your thesis by the due date. Plan ahead as the “cover sheet” that must be submitted in advance must first be completed by your mentor.
  
  • Student Researcher Participation Assessment (Sponsor Cover Sheet) (Student must request this from the Sponsor PRIOR to the thesis due date!  The cover sheet must be included with the thesis submission.)
  • Honors Thesis Submission
• You must present the research results in a public forum such as a poster session, departmental seminar, or a formal presentation in a multi-lab meeting.
  • Note that the UPiN / Bio. Offices organize a poster presentation each April and all thesis students are invited to participate.  This will fulfill the presentation requirement.
  • The mentor will declare in the Student Researcher Participation Assessment when and where the student has fulfilled the public presentation requirement.
  • Students must fulfill the public presentation requirement by the last day of the term they wish to graduate.
  • Please be aware: Students who have participated in UROP and have presented their work in a public forum have not met the oral presentation requirement for honors.

The Biology Research Thesis can be completed by students with any major GPA. These students must:

• participate in independent study
• complete a significant piece of independent research that is reported in the form of a written Biology Research Thesis 
• present in a public forum 

Student researchers who successfully complete a thesis will receive a letter from the Program in Biology certifying the achievement but will not receive a designation on their transcript.