Welcome to the Biological Sciences Department Honors in Research Program
The Department of Biological Sciences seeks to provide a unique research experience to students who have a passion for research. In addition to the essential elements of the degree, the program provides an opportunity for independent research in a diverse environment.
Students who maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.25 in select courses in their major can earn Departmental Honors by completing the following curriculum in addition to a Bachelor’s Degree.
The Honors Curriculum consists of a minimum of seven credits:
- BIOL 499: Independent research with one faculty mentor
– 3 semesters (a minimum total of 6 credits)
AND
- BIOL 499H (asynchronous, fall or spring) OR BIOL 499L (synchronous, spring only)
– 1 semester (1 credit, graded, taken concurrently with 3rd semester of 499)
Eligibility
BIOL, BINF, BIOC, or BIOE majors who will have completed the following courses, or acceptable equivalents thereof, with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 at the time of graduation are eligible for the Departmental Honors Program.
- BIOL 140
- BIOL 141
- BIOL 302
- BIOL 303
- BIOL 300L
- CHEM 101
- CHEM 102
- CHEM 102L
- CHEM 351
- MATH 151 (or MATH 155 for BA degrees)
- STAT 350 (or MATH 152)
- PHYS 111 (or 121)
- PHYS 112 (or 122)
- Admission to the Honors College is not required for Departmental Honors.
- Applications for Departmental Honors must be received at least 12 weeks prior to the expected graduation date. You can find the link to apply in the yellow highlighted box at the bottom of the page.
Program Requirements
Note: This is not a complete list of requirements. See the Biological Sciences Departmental Honors in Research Requirements and Procedures for a full listing of requirements for this program.
Three semesters of BIOL 499
Three semesters of undergraduate research provides exposure to problem solving, planning, and executing experiments directed toward the research goals of a faculty mentor. An honors student will complete a minimum of 6 credits of undergraduate research, which is equivalent to three semesters of laboratory work averaging 12 hours per week.
One semester capstone in science communication: BIOL 499H or BIOL 499L
This capstone of the Biology Honors Program extends the student’s research experience by providing supervised experience in science communication. BIOL 499H is offered in the fall and spring. It is asynchronous and requires 1) a written honors thesis, 2) a formal presentation, and 3) independent seminar attendance*. BIOL 499L is offered in the spring only. It is synchronous and requires 1) a written honors thesis, 2) a formal presentation, and 3) weekly class attendance.
Honors Thesis
The culmination of the research project will be a thesis to be written in the form of a research journal article. The student’s research mentor will provide guidance and advice regarding the writing of the honors thesis. Upon completion, the thesis will be evaluated and graded by the mentor and Faculty Honors Coordinator (499H) or Instructors (499L).
Presentation
In addition, the results of the project will be presented in the form of an oral presentation and/or poster presentation to be given at one or more of public forums such as a scientific meeting (499H) or in class (499L). Public forums for 499H could include but are not limited to: UMBC’s annual spring Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day, UMBC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fest, or the fall Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences.
*499H only: Seminar attendance
Attending a minimum of 12 scientific seminars introduces each honors student to the various ways in which scientists present their work and to the diversity of research areas presented in departmental and campus-wide scientific seminars. To further develop their written skills, each student must write 1-2 page summaries of 6 of these seminars.
Biological Sciences Departmental Honors in Research Requirements and Procedures