Departmental Honors in Biology

Students seeking Departmental Honors in Biology must present an honors thesis based on an independent research project written in the form of a paper for a scientific journal.  The completed thesis must be approved by the applicant's reading committee.  A student interested in becoming a candidate for Departmental Honors should submit the Application for Departmental Honors in Biology by the second week of classes of their last semester for project and reading committee approval. Fall 2024 Deadline: Monday, September 9th, 2024

Graduation with Departmental Honors in Biology requires:

• Biology majors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher in all courses required for the major.
• Enrollment in an approved Research for at least two semesters (for a total of 4 credits)
• Primary submission of the Application for Departmental Honors in Biology for project and reading committee approval by the second week of classes of their last semester.  Approved applications are returned to the student to be submitted after the reading committee approves the final thesis.  
• Final submission of the completed Application for Departmental Honors in Biology, to Undergraduate Biology at least one week prior to the date of graduation.
• To guarantee inclusion in the Department Convocation Program, final submission of the completed Application for Departmental Honors in Biology must be received no later than December 1st for December graduation or May 1st for May graduation. 

Approved Research Courses: BIO 484, BIO 486, BIO 487, and BIO 489
Approved Research Courses for the Environmental Biology specialization only: MAR 487, and ATM 487
Approved Research Courses for the Biomedical Engineering specialization only: BME 499

 FAQ's About Honors in Biology

• How do I get started?
  The first step is to meet with your faculty sponsor to discuss completing the Honors in Biology.  You will need two additional faculty members to agree to evaluate your written thesis, along with your advisor.  Your faculty sponsor can speak with you about potential readers to reach out to; the readers must include at least one person from a different department than your sponsor, and at least two of the three committee members should be from a Life Sciences department.  Once the readers agree, you should get them approved by Undergraduate Biology as soon as possible by submitting the Application for Departmental Honors in Biology.
• How long should my Honors Thesis be?
   Your Honors thesis should be approximately 20-25 pages, double spaced, including tables and graphs.  The thesis should represent scholarly work and be properly cited with scholarly references
• Can I use my Honors College thesis project as my thesis for Departmental Honors in Biology?
  Yes; however, you must  have enrolled in at least one semester of BIO research.  Students using their Honors College thesis project must still go through the project and reading committee approval process by submitting the Application for Departmental Honors in Biology.
• My GPA is slightly lower than required. Can I still graduate with Honors?
  Students with significant research experience with a GPA slightly below 3.5 may still be considered on a case by case basis.  Please contact Dr. Gergen, the Undergraduate Program Director to request permission.
• I enrolled in biology-related research through a different department. Can I submit an Honors thesis?
  You need to register for at least one semester in BIO research.  The second semester could be through a different department, as long as you were working in the same laboratory for both semesters.  This also includes one URECA experience over the summer.