Honors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The BCMB faculty will award honors to a major based on the entirety of the candidate’s BCMB program. This includes grades in all courses required for the major (and related additional courses in biology and/or chemistry) and successful completion of a two-semester (or summer and one semester) research experience. A minimum GPA of 3.20 is required in courses counting toward the BCMB major, including transfer (and study abroad) courses that receive BCMB credit.
The honors research project should be distinguished by the originality and definition of the research problem, the sophistication of the experimental design and its execution and the analysis and presentation (written and oral) of the results. Generally, honors reports should be of publishable or near-publishable quality. The Honors Committee will consider all these factors in its recommendation to the program faculty, and the program faculty should be cognizant of all these factors when voting on honors.
Timeline
Junior Year: Identify a member of the BCMB faculty to serve as honors research advisor.
Senior Year:
Fall:
- By Roll Call: Candidates will email both the program chair and their research mentor to state their intent to pursue honors. A committee of three faculty, including the mentor, will be formed for each candidate.
- By Monday of the second to last (penultimate) week of the semester: Candidates will submit their honors research proposal to their honors committee.
- Prior to the end of fall semester finals: The committee will meet with the candidate and review their proposal to determine their eligibility to proceed with honors.
Spring:
- By the Friday of the 12th week of classes: The candidate must submit a draft of their honors thesis to their committee.
- Between the 13th week of classes and the Wednesday Reading Day (first finals week): Within this time period, the oral presentation of the honors thesis must be presented. The honors committee meets with the candidate following the presentation.
Honors Proposal Format
- Abstract (300 words)
- Introduction including hypothesis being tested (1.5-2 pages)
- Experimental Methods (1 page)
- Preliminary Data (up to 4 pages)
- References
Oral Presentation Format
The candidate should prepare an oral presentation lasting for approximately 25 minutes at the end of the presentation, approximately 5 minutes will be allowed for questions from the audience). Faculty, students, and often family of candidates attend these presentations, and that diverse audience should be considered in the preparation of the presentation.