The Senior Research
Program & Senior Honors in Biology
The Senior Research Program is designed to provide an opportunity
for undergraduate students concentrating in Biology to engage
in a year-long, independent research project and to receive
credit for that research. Any senior concentrating in Biology
can participate in Senior Research. Seniors conducting Senior
Research may petition for candidacy for Senior Honors; eligibility
is determined by the student's academic record and research
performance (Senior Honors information).
We encourage students to plan for Senior Research during
their junior year as many students (and faculty) find it
beneficial to spend the summer before their senior year
working in the lab. Students who contemplate entering the
Senior Research Program should first familiarize themselves
with the research activities of the Biology faculty. Faculty
research interests can also be found on the faculty webpages.
SENIOR RESEARCH
1. Selecting the Research Sponsor
for Senior Research
Students may select any faculty member in the Department
of Biology at Brandeis University as their research Sponsor.
Alternatively, students may choose faculty members in the
Departments of Biochemistry or Chemistry at Brandeis University,
or faculty members in similar departments at other institutions
in the Boston area, as their research Sponsor. In these
latter cases, students must receive permission from the
Senior Honors Coordinator; and the student's research must
be co-sponsored by a faculty member in the Department of
Biology at Brandeis. The student should provide the co-sponsor
a description of the proposed research, and meet with his/her
co-sponsor on a regular basis to discuss how the research
is progressing.
Some students begin working in the laboratory of their
research Sponsor as early as their first or second year
at Brandeis. It is strongly recommended that students select
their research Sponsor by the beginning of Spring semester.
Many research Sponsors require that students work in the
laboratory the summer before their Senior year. Most research
Sponsors will expect their students to work on their research
projects during winter intercession and vacations. These
and other issues such as rate of work should be discussed
in advance, so that the expectations are clear to everyone
involved.
2. How to enroll in Senior Research
- The student must get the agreement of a faculty member
in the Department of Biology to act as research Sponsor
(or co-sponsor).
- During the first week of Fall semester, the student
must complete a petition, available in the Biology office,
for enrollment in the Senior Research Program. The petition
must be signed by the research Sponsor [and co-sponsor,
if applicable] and returned to the Senior Honors Coordinator
by the specified deadline.
- The student must enroll in BIOL 99d, using a course
enrollment form obtained from the Registrar. The enrollment
form must be submitted directly to the Registrar. (see http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/forms/)
Enrollment requires these two signatures: the research
Sponsor [co-sponsor, if applicable], and the Senior Honors
Coordinator for Biology.
3. Credit for Senior Research
Biol 99d is a year-long, two credit course. If unusually
intensive work by the student and his/her research Sponsor
is anticipated, and if the student is taking a light course
load enabling extra time to be spent in the lab doing research,
the student may request permission from the Senior Honors
Coordinator to enroll in BIOL 99e, to obtain a third credit.
If permission is granted, the student would register for
BIOL 99d in the Fall and for BIOL 99e in the Spring (or,
BIOL 99e followed by BIOL 99d). A student may not receive
more than three credits for Senior Research.
4. Requirements for Senior Research,
Fall semester
At the completion of the first semester of the year-long
senior research program (BIOL 99), students will write a
paper which reviews the literature in the scientific field
pertinent to their research and includes a bibliography
of cited papers. Copies are given to the faculty research
sponsor and to Dr. White (Senior Research/Honors Program
coordinator).
5. Requirements for Senior Research,
Spring semester
At the completion of the second semester of BIOL 99, students
who are not candidates for Senior Honors will write a Senior
Research thesis. The format of the Senior Research thesis
is the same as that for Senior Honors theses. The Senior
Research timetable included with the BIOL 99 petition gives
the submission deadline. Copies are given to the research
sponsor (and Co-sponsor) and to Dr. White.
6. Evaluation of Senior Research,
Spring semester
The research Sponsor will evaluate the student's laboratory
performance and Senior Research thesis, then assign him/her
a grade for BIOL 99d. During the Biology, Biochemistry,
and Neuroscience mini-commencement proceedings, it will
be announced that the student participated in the Senior
Research Program.
SENIOR HONORS
1. Senior
Honors Eligibility and Requirements
Senior Honors is the Departmental award for Distinction
in Biology. It is earned by students who have a distinguished
academic record and who have excelled in laboratory research.
The levels of Distinction in Biology are Honors, High Honors,
and Highest Honors. In order to become a candidate for Senior
Honors, students must enroll in BIOL 99d and, when completing
the petition for the Senior Research Program (as specified
above), must fill in the section indicating candidacy for
Senior Honors.All the requirements given above for Senior
Research (Biol 99) apply to candidates for Senior Honors.
Eligibility for Honors is decided according to the following
criteria:
- Senior Biology majors who enroll in BIOL 99 and have
a grade point average of 3.30 or better in all courses offered
for concentration are automatically eligible for Honors.
- Senior Biology majors who enroll in BIOL 99 and have a
grade point average between 3.0 and 3.3 and who have achieved
an average of B+ or better in THREE Biology electives taken
to fulfill the Biology concentration requirement, for either
the B. A. or the B. S. degree in Biology. (NOTE: BIOL 99
does not count as one of the required electives).
(Senior Biology majors who have a GPA below 3.0 and those
with GPAs below 3.3 who do not enroll in a 100-level elective
course, may still enroll in Biol 99 and carry out a Senior
Research Project but will not be candidates for Honors.)
Honors Thesis and Defense
The Honors candidate submits a written Senior Honors Research
thesis by the specified deadline. The thesis consists of
the following sections:
- Title Page,which includes your name, the title of your
Senior Research, and date.
- Abstract (not more than 250 words), which summarizes
the nature of the research project, the results obtained,
and the relevance of those results.
- Introduction, which poses the research question that
was asked in the context of current knowledge in the relevant
field.
- Materials and Methods, which provides in sufficient
detail all aspects related to how the experiments were
conducted.
- Results, which provides a written description along
with figures and tables, of the experimental data obtained.
- Discussion, which evaluates the results obtained and
their relevance and significance to current models and
data in the field.
- References, which includes complete citations (authors'
names, paper titles, journal, volume, page, year). See
the journal Cell for examples.
The Honors candidate gives a public oral presentation and
defense of his/her research before a Faculty Research committee.
The Faculty Research committee consists of the faculty research
Sponsor [and co-sponsor, if applicable] and two faculty
members of the Department of Biology.
The presentations are generally 20 minutes long and should
include an introduction that indicates why the work was
undertaken and what the goals were of the project; a summary
of the results obtained; and a succinct discussion of
the significance of the findings. The Faculty Research
committee will use the remainder of the 60 minute session
to ask the Honors candidate questions about his/her research.
Presentations may include the use of the blackboard, handouts,
slides, overhead transparencies or Power Point presentation.
The student should make arrangements in advance with the
Biology office for the appropriate equipment.
2. How is Senior Honors determined
Members of the Faculty Research committee, who have read
and evaluated the Senior Honors Research thesis, and who
have attended and evaluated the oral presentation, each
make one of the following recommendations to the Department
of Biology: no honors, Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors.
The candidate's final science GPA, laboratory performance,
written thesis, and oral presentation, as well as the recommendation
of the Faculty Research committee, are all considered by
the entire faculty of the Department of Biology; which then
makes the final determination of the candidate's status.
If the Biology faculty determines that the candidate is
deserving of Honors (or High or Highest Honors) in Biology,
this is announced during the joint Biology, Biochemistry,
and Neuroscience commencement proceedings. If the faculty
determines that the candidate is not deserving of Honors
in Biology, then it will be stated during the commencement
proceedings only that the student conducted Senior Research
in Biology.
The research Sponsor will assign a grade for BIOL 99d based
upon the student's laboratory performance and Senior Honors
Research thesis.
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