Seminar and Research Courses

Biology 1109 (01): Topics in Modern Biology. This is a companion course to Biology 1107 (Introductory Biology I) and is taught by the faculty in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) or the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB). The format varies among instructors, but generally involves the instructor and students selecting one or more scientific discoveries and examining primary literature relevant to this discovery in an attempt to observe how science proceeds. Meets 1 hour, once a week, 1 credit.

Biology 1109 (02): Topics in Modern Biology. This is a companion course to Biology 1108 (Introductory Biology II) and is taught by faculty in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). Each week a different EEB faculty member speaks to the class about his or her research. The course includes an orientation to the library research resources. The students are required to select approximately four speakers and to provide written summaries of the research programs of these individuals after having sought additional information on their work from promary literature. The speakers are generally selected by the instructor. Meets 1 hour, once a week, 1 credit.

Biology 2289: Introduction to Undergraduate Research. Responsibility for this course is rotated among the three biology departments. The main objective of this course is to provide students with exposure to a wide diversity of researchers to aid them in their selection of a lab in which to conduct their undergraduate research. The format varies with instructor, but in general, students are asked to select a partner and each pair of students is randomly assigned a class meeting period for which they are responsible for : selecting and inviting a researcher to speak to the class and introducing the researcher to the class. Following the research seminar, the class shares refreshments with the speaker. This provides an opportunity for the students to discover how the researcher came to be in his or her current position, etc. This course is required for all biology Honor students. 1 hour, once a week, 1 credit.

Research Courses

EEB 3999: Independent Study. Undergraduate research is generally conducted under this course number (some students do research readings under EEB 3895). The Honors students generally take 6-12 credits of Independent Study. Most students develop a project of their own after the first semester of work, i.e. once they have developed the necessary laboratory techniques, skills, etc. Grading varies among faculty members. Variable credit; usually 3-4 hours of lab work per week is considered to represent 1 credit of Independent Study.

EEB 4896W: Honors Thesis. The Honors thesis must be read and approved by the thesis advisor and one other faculty member (either the student's academic advisor if different from the thesis advisor, or a faculty member with expertise in the subject area of the thesis). The Honors thesis format follows that of a Masters thesis in EEB. In addition, students are required to follow thesis guidelines and deadlines established by the Honors office. A copy of the thesis is permanently filed in the Honors office. Required of Honors students; 3 credits.