The Biology Department is home to a thriving and diverse program in undergraduate research. Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students serve as research mentors to undergraduates within the department and in related disciplines throughout the university. This program provides opportunities for advanced undergraduates to conduct cutting edge research in the laboratory and field.

Hands-on research experience provides motivated students with the opportunity to enrich their educations and develop their early careers. Direct experience with the practice of science goes beyond what can be offered in laboratory-based coursework, including the chance to interact with graduate students and postdocs and to learn about the culture of academic research. Many students have had the chance to publish their research in top journals (summarized in a list of undergraduate co-authored papers). Students often develop long-term professional relationships with their mentors and go on to rewarding and productive careers in medicine, dentistry, biotechnology and various academic disciplines. We recommend that you begin your research experience as early as practical after gaining sufficient background through core coursework, to allow time for the completion of a significant research project. It is not unusual for students to participate in undergraduate research for four or more semesters. Students also often do research in UNC labs over the summer.

In addition to providing professional rewards, participation in the undergraduate research program also offers academic credit toward completion of requirements for the biology major, through registration in Biology 395/396 [see below; formerly Biology 98] and Biol 691H/692H [Honors thesis, see below; formerly Biol 99]. To gain Biol 395 course credit for participation in research, students must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 and must have taken Biol 201 or Biol 202. Students who do not qualify for Biology 395 may enroll in Biology 295 (see below). In a typical semester, the department has 50-100 students enrolled for course credit. Other students work in laboratories for pay or on a volunteer basis.

Identify a faculty mentor 

The first step to doing undergraduate research is to find a faculty mentor. Choosing the right mentor and laboratory will have a large impact on your research experience and deserves serious effort and preparation on your part. Faculty do not generally advertise undergraduate research positions and, therefore, you will have to actively seek out a mentor. You do not need to have a particular research project in mind, just the desire to do research. Your faculty mentor can be someone from the Department of Biology or someone in a related discipline outside the department. If you plan to do research for Biology 395/396 course credit and you choose a mentor outside the Department of Biology you will also need a faculty "sponsor" within the Department, who will be willing to meet with you on a regular basis and keep track of what you are accomplishing in your mentor's laboratory (see below).

To identify a potential faculty mentor we suggest talking to professors from whom you have taken classes and scanning individual faculty web pages to identify a research program in an area of particular interest to you. (See these listings of faculty on the Research Areas page.) Ideally, you will identify several possible mentors. Contact the individual faculty member(s) in person, by phone, or by e-mail to set up an appointment to talk about the possibility of undertaking an undergraduate research project in their laboratories. Professors are generally more than willing to talk with students about their research programs. However, students should recognize that not all faculty have the space, time, or resources to mentor every interested undergraduate, and some faculty may not able to consider you for a position in their laboratories. Therefore, it is advisable to consider multiple faculty members. Perseverance in finding a mentor will almost always be rewarded. We suggest that you start looking for a mentor one semester before you would like to begin a research project.

Biology 395/396 – Undergraduate Research in Biology

The purpose of Biology 395 is to provide students with research experience while working on a question of current biological interest. Students will learn how science is practiced in a particular area of scientific endeavor, and will also make new discoveries. Research is done under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Biology or in another department on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus (for example in a medical school department or some other department that does biological research). Students may enroll for 1-3 credit hours of Biology 395 in any one semester. Each credit hour represents 3-4 hours of research per week, on average, during the semester, so that students enrolled for 3 credit hours should spend 10-12 hours or more on the research per week. 

Students must identify a faculty member in the Department of Biology or in another department on the UNC-CH campus who has agreed to supervise the student’s research. If that person is outside the Department of Biology, the research must address a biological question, and a faculty sponsor from within the department must agree to monitor the student’s research experience. This is done by meeting with the student once per month during the course of the research to discuss the project and the student’s progress. Your sponsor can be a Biology faculty member you have taken a class from or who has some knowledge of the area your research will be about. It is advisable to arrange these supervisors in advance whenever possible.

To enroll in Biology 395, students must have taken Biology 201 or 202, and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better. An enrollment form is available from Denise Hargis in the Student Services office (213 Coker Hall), and should be turned in at or before the beginning of the semester. The form requires signatures of the research supervisor and Biology Department sponsor (if applicable), and a short description of the planned research project. Students whose GPA does not qualify them for Biology 395 may enroll in Biology 295 (see below). After you have returned the completed form to 213 Coker you will be registered by the departmental undergraduate student services coordinator. 395 and 691H research courses may be taken for no more than six graded academic credits. Additional semesters of research are taken as Biol 396 or Biol 692H, which are taken pass/D/fail. 3-5 credit hours of research may be counted as one lecture course toward fulfillment of major requirements; 6 credit hours may be counted as one lecture course with laboratory toward fulfillment of major requirements. Additional hours of research course credit will be counted as elective hours toward graduation.

Biology 395 Course evaluation

The grade for Biology 395 is assigned by the Biology department advisor (or sponsor, in consultation with the advisor, if the advisor is outside the department). Students participating in Biology research courses will be held to a standard as high as, if not higher than, the norm for any other graded course. The grade will be based on three aspects of a student's performance:

(a) Fulfillment of required hours in the laboratory. Students are expected to spend on average 3-4 hours per week for each credit hour enrolled. Failure to complete the expected number of hours will reduce the grade.

(b) Performance in the laboratory context. Biology research courses are meant to promote student creativity and initiative even in projects that are already well-defined. At a minimum, students should seek to confirm their understanding of the project through discussions and readings, and should learn how to troubleshoot basic problems.

(c) Written report. Students must write a paper describing their research and submit this to Denise Hargis (213 Coker Hall) by the last day of classes of the semester. The paper should be in the format of a scientific paper, and should contain the following sections: i) an Introduction that describes the rationale for the research and the biological question it addresses; ii) a Methods section describing how the experiments were done; iii) a Results section showing any data obtained; and iv) a Discussion explaining what (if any) conclusions were reached from the experiments. Appropriate literature should be cited. For students who entered the college in 2006 or later for whom this course will count toward the experiential learning requirement, the paper should be at least 10 double-spaced pages long. This paper must be reviewed and approved by the research supervisor and, if applicable, the faculty sponsor from the Department of Biology. A sample title page is provided at this link [link to 395 sample title page].

The course requires that you spend 135 hours doing research in a lab or field work setting during the semester and that you write a 10 page paper on either your research experience or on a scientific topic related to your research. The grade in the course will be given by the person running the course and it is expected that the average grade will be a B-/C+ similar to the grade scale in other Biology courses.

It is the student’s responsibility to find a research lab in which they can do the research required for the course. This may be in the Department of Biology or elsewhere in the University as long as the topic of the research is appropriate for Biology course credit. Research carried out in a location other than UNC is not appropriate for this course and students wishing to do this should register for Biology 293 instead. A Biology 295 enrollment form is available from Denise Hargis in the Student Services office (213 Coker Hall), and should be turned in at or before the beginning of the semester. The form requires the signature of the research supervisor, and a short description of the planned research project. After you have returned the completed form to 213 Coker you will be registered by the departmental undergraduate student services coordinator.

Biology Honors Program

To graduate with honors in Biology, students must meet the following requirements:

a) GPA requirement. To graduate with honors in Biology, students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.3 (effective July 1, 2008) and a GPA in Biology department courses of at least 3.4 at the start of their final semester. The Biology department GPA includes all courses taken (or cross-listed) in the Biology department except Biology 395, but does not include courses in other departments (such as Math or Chemistry) that are required for the major. Students with Biology GPA of 3.85 or better are candidates for high honors.

b) Research requirement. Students must complete at least six credit hours of biology research, in Biology 395 and/or Biology 691.

c) Honors course. In the final semester, candidates for Honors must enroll in Biology 691 or 692. This class meets weekly and provides a series of exercises designed to aid students in preparing their research for evaluation, focused on four general professional skills: (a) explaining research to different audiences, (b) design of graphical aids, (c) effective writing, and (d) giving a research presentation. Students receive a grade for their work in the course that is separate from their honors grade. See the Biol 691 course website for more information about course topics and about thesis and symposium deadlines. Biology 691/692 is taken for a grade (691) if the student has taken only 3 credits of Biology 395, or pass-fail (Biology 692) if the student has taken six or more credits of Biology 395/396. To enroll in Biology 691/692, students should fill in a form obtained from Denise Hargis (213 Coker) at the start of the semester.

d) Written work. Candidates for Honors must complete an Honors Thesis based on the independent research project. Two graders independently review and grade the thesis. The thesis is due 1-2 weeks before the symposium (see next section).

e) Symposium presentation. Candidates for Honors must present and defend their thesis research during the John K. Koeppe Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium, held once each fall and spring. Two graders independently evaluate both the content and presentation of the work. The symposium is normally held in early April (early November for fall semester graduates). For specific dates see the current Biology 691 syllabus online (link to Biology 691 page).

Research Commendation in Biology

Students whose biology department GPA is above 3.0 at the start of the final semester can graduate with Research Commendation in Biology by completing an independent research project, writing a paper about their research, and presenting a poster describing their research at the biology department undergraduate honors symposium. Any students planning to do this should contact Denise Hargis (213 Coker Hall) early in the final semester. The symposium is normally held in early April (early November for fall semester graduates), and the thesis is due 1-2 weeks before the symposium. For specific dates see the current Biology 691 syllabus online.

Questions about undergraduate research, honors, or the research commendation in Biology should be directed to Dr. Lillie Searles (Biology Honors Committee Chair). Questions regarding undergraduate research at the university more generally can be directed to Dr. Pat Pukkila (University Director of Undergraduate Research). Technical questions about calculation of the GPA or enrollment in Biol 395 or Biol 691 should be directed to the department secretary for undergraduate studies.