 | | | Honors Program - Frequently Asked Questions | | - Why an Honors degree in Biology?
There are several reasons why this goal may be advantageous to you and your career, including the following:
It's a great opportunity to participate in an independent research project in one of the Department's 30
laboratories guided by a faculty member. The Honors Seminar in Biology (or equivalent seminar) is an ideal
opportunity to improve your skills in seminar presentation and in writing scientific English. Throughout
undergraduate residence, you may take advantage of enrollment in honors sections of courses within the college.
Irrespective of where you're headed after graduating from the UI (e.g. medical school, graduate school, or
elsewhere), your Honors degree will make your application more competitive.
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- What are the requirements for the Honors degree in Biology?
In order to pursue honors studies in the Department of Biology, a student must be a member of
the UIHP, which requires maintaining a UI grade-point average of at
least 3.33. As detailed elsewhere (see Biology Honors Degree
Requirements), to graduate with Honors in Biology, students must:
- complete the requirements for a B.S. or B.A. degree in Biology with a grade-point average of at
least 3.33 in all course work in the Biology major taken at The University of Iowa (including all
biology courses and cognates in chemistry, physics, biochemistry, mathematics, and statistics).
- complete 2 s.h. in either 002:198 Honors Seminar in Biology or an advanced-level biology seminar
course.
- complete a minimum of 6 s.h. (taken over two or more semesters) of 002:196 Honors Investigations.
- write a brief research proposal and an Honors Thesis.
- present their research findings to the Department at the Biology Honors Colloquium.
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- How many extra hours are involved in a Biology Honors degree?
At first glance, getting a Biology Honors degree appears to add at least 8 s.h. to the traditional Biology degree
(e.g. 2 s.h. for 2:198 and a minimum of 6 s.h. for 2:196). However, as shown in the table below, there are several
options for "double-counting", e.g. where Honors requirements count towards Biology major requirements.
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| Biology B.A. |
6 s.h. satisfy Biology Elective
with Lab requirement |
2 s.h. satisfy Biology Elective
requirement |
Biology B.S.
(all tracks) |
6 s.h. satisfy Investigative Lab
requirement |
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For further information or answers to any questions you may have, consult either:
Dr. Jonathan Poulton, Biology Honors Advisor
(Phone: 335-1322; Email: jonathan-poulton@uiowa.edu)
Amy Korthank Gabaldon, Biology Undergraduate Advisor
(Phone: 353-2484; Email: amy-korthank@uiowa.edu).
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- What are the primary goals of 2:198 Honors Seminar in Biology?
The Honors Seminar gives you an excellent opportunity to understand scientific methods and concepts in some
specific area of biology. Furthermore, you will be able to improve your skills in seminar presentation and
in writing scientific English.
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- When is 2:198 Honors Seminar in Biology taught and by whom?
The Honors Seminar is taught twice each year and has a maximum enrollment of 12 per semester. This course
is restricted to Biology Honors students. Graduate students are not permitted to enroll. Each Spring
Semester, this course is taught by Professor Jonathan Poulton, a plant biochemist. Other faculty from
the Department of Biology teach in the Fall. The topic of the Seminar varies widely from
semester to semester, generally correlating with the research interests of the participating professors.
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- When should I take 2:198 Honors Seminar in Biology?
You should take this course as a junior or a senior. Keep in mind that there are many skills learned or
developed in this course that will prove invaluable to you, as you work toward your Honors degree in
Biology. These include giving Powerpoint presentations, undertaking computer-assisted literature
searches, and critical analysis of scientific writing.
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- If 2:198 Honors Seminar in Biology doesn't fit into my schedule, what is the alternative?
If the Honors Seminar doesn't fit into your schedule, or if the topic of the Honors Seminar does not
interest you, you may fulfill the seminar requirement of the Honors degree by taking another 2 s.h.
advanced-level biology seminar course. Please consult your advisor or our Biology Undergraduate
Advisor Amy Korthank (Phone: 353-2484;
Email: amy-korthank@uiowa.edu)
for further information.
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- When should I begin my Honors research?
In theory, the research requirement of the Biology Honors degree (namely, 6 s.h. taken over a minimum
of two semesters and completion of an approved thesis) may be fulfilled entirely in your senior year.
However, this modus operandi leaves little or no chance for you to extend your research opportunity,
if you would so desire. For this reason, it is preferable, but not mandatory, that you start your Honors
research as a second-semester sophomore or as a junior. To facilitate this, the Honors Advisor will
contact you twice annually, beginning in your sophomore year, to assist you in finding a lab that matches
your interests. All research labs will expect you to have completed 2:10 and 2:11 (Principles
of Biology I and II) before you start your Honors research; some may also require 2:128 (Fundamental
Genetics). Please consult your potential thesis supervisors for any minimum course requirements.
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- How do I find a lab for my research project?
About 3-6 months before you wish to begin your Honors research, contact the Honors Advisor (Dr. Jonathan
Poulton) by telephone (335-1322) or by email (jonathan-poulton@uiowa.edu)
and set up an appointment to discuss research options. At that meeting, he will provide you with a brochure
that describes the research being undertaken within the Department of Biology. You will be
advised to read this brochure and provide him with a short-list of labs that interest you. Based on
information provided by his faculty colleagues, he will assist you to reduce your list to 2-3 labs.
It will then be your responsibility to contact the individuals on your shortlist and discuss
potential Honors projects. Once accepted by a lab, please inform the Honors Advisor of your final choice.
For an alternative source of information about research being conducted in our labs, visit:
Faculty Research Areas.
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- Is Honors research possible outside the Department of Biology?
No, Biology honors students must undertake their honors research within a laboratory belonging to a member
of the Department of Biology faculty. These faculty are located in the Biology Building (BB)
and Biology Building East (BBE). An exception to the above rule is Professor Jeffrey Murray, an Adjunct
Professor within our Department, whose lab is in the Department of Neonatology (2182 ML). Research
performed elsewhere is ineligible for 002:196 credit.
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- How do I enroll for Honors Research?
After being accepted into a lab for Honors Research, you should discuss the following issues with your
thesis supervisor: In which semesters will I undertake my Honors Research? How many credit hours will
I enroll for each semester? How many hours per week am I expected to work in the lab per semester hour
credit? With these issues resolved, sign up for 2:196 Honors Investigations using your thesis
supervisor's "instructor number" as the section number. The latter action is important for two reasons:
(a) it allows your supervisor to receive due credit for guiding your research, and (b) it allows the
Honors Advisor to keep track of your progress toward an Honors degree. The appropriate instructor number can be obtained
from your thesis supervisor or the Biology Honors Advisor.
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- Is Honors Research possible during the Summer Sessions?
Certainly, the summer is an excellent time to undertake your Honors research, especially since your
thesis supervisor may have fewer teaching commitments then. Also, if your research involves field-work,
summer may be prime time to gather data.
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- What is a Research Proposal, and when is it due?
When you begin your Honors research, one of your first tasks is to write a Research Proposal. This proposal, which
should not exceed 5-6 double-spaced pages, should include the following elements:
- Research background
- Proposed experimental goals or hypotheses to be tested
- Overview of experimental approaches to be taken
- Significance of proposed work to the field
- Literature citations
Your proposal should be approved by your thesis supervisor (signature required) and then submitted to the Biology
Honors Advisor no later than 2 months after beginning laboratory research. Submission deadlines are:
Fall Semester - November 1
Spring Semester - April 1
Summer Semester - September 1
Samples of Research Proposals written by former Honors students may be accessed
here.
If you have any questions about your Honors Research Proposal, or if you foresee that you will be unable to meet
your submission deadline, please contact: Dr. Jonathan Poulton, Biology Honors Advisor (Phone: 335-1322; Email:
jonathan-poulton@uiowa.edu) as soon as possible.
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- When should I start writing my Honors thesis?
It is recommended that you begin writing your Honors thesis as early as possible. For example, by the end
of your first semester of research, you should be able to write an initial draft of the Introduction as
well as several sections of the Materials and Methods. It is unwise to delay thesis writing until near
the end of the second semester of research, because, unless you are gifted in scientific writing, you
will probably face several revisions of your thesis, before it is finally approved by your thesis
supervisor.
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- What is the format of the Honors Thesis?
To graduate with Honors, you will need to write an Honors Thesis and have it approved (i.e. signed) by your thesis
supervisor and the Biology Honors Advisor. Please follow these guidelines:
Thesis Sections:
Your thesis should have the general format of a scientific paper and should contain the following components
in the order indicated below. Each section begins on a new page.
- Title Page
- Abstract
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Contents
- List of Tables (optional, but desirable for lengthy theses)
- List of Figures (optional, but desirable for lengthy theses)
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Literature Cited
A combined Results and Discussion section is also permissible, but check first with your thesis supervisor
to see if he/she approves of this approach.
Font:
Please use Times or Times New Roman with a font size of 12.
Formatting of Title Page:
The UIHP has specific instructions for formatting your Title Page; these can be viewed at:
http://honors.uiowa.edu/research/theses/requirements.shtml. The most important items to remember when formatting
this page are the following: (i) Page Margins: Please use left, right, top, and bottom margins of 1.5".
This will facilitate proper binding of your thesis by the UIHP. (ii) Centering and Spacing: All components should be
single-spaced. Center each line from left to right. Space the components more or less equally from top to bottom, as
illustrated in the example Title Page,
written by a former Biology Honors student. (iii) Thesis title: Use capital
letters for the title. Use a regular text font, not italics or boldface. The sole exceptions to this rule are names
of genes, genera, and species (e.g. FOXE1, Arabidopsis thaliana). (iv) Names and Initials: You must include your first
name, middle initial(s), and last name (i.e. Susan B. Anthony). Please do likewise for the names of your Honors Thesis
Supervisor and Biology Honors Advisor (Jonathan E. Poulton). (v) Semester and Year: The semester of the year must be
an academic term (e.g. Spring 2009) rather than a month. Note: no comma between semester and year.
Formatting of Abstract (Hardcopy and Electronic):
The UIHP also has specific instructions for your thesis Abstract; these may be viewed at:
http://honors.uiowa.edu/research/theses/requirements.shtml. To assist you with correct formatting of your Abstract,
please consult the
Thesis Abstract Guidelines and
Thesis Abstract Example, which are specifically tailored to the needs of our Biology Honors students.
As of Fall Semester 2008, the UIHP also requires that you submit an electronic copy of your Abstract for future display
on their website. You must therefore submit to UIHP an electronic copy that prints to produce exactly the hardcopy
submitted. The electronic version must be readable by Microsoft Word. It may be provided on diskette or attached to an
e-mail received at: honors-program@uiowa.edu.
Approval of Title Page and Abstract by UI Honors Program:
Before you seek the signatures of your Honors Thesis Supervisor and the Biology Honors Advisor, take your Title
Page and Abstract to Mary Uhl (UIHP, 420 BHC) for proofing and formatting approval. Mary recommends that you also bring
a copy of both pages in a portable electronic form. If corrections are needed, you can make them in the Honors ITC (318
BHC) and resubmit the copies immediately, thereby sparing you a second trip. When your documents are approved, Mary
will apply a seal to the Title Page to show the Honors Advisor that these requirements have been met. Honors Advisors
are not to approve projects without this seal. Please remember to give Mary an electronic copy of your approved Abstract
on a diskette or via e-mail.
Page Margins for Remainder of Thesis:
All pages, except for the Title Page and Abstract, should have margins (top, bottom, left, and right) of 1.0".
Page Spacing:
All pages, except for the Title Page, Abstract, and the legends to Tables and Figures, should be printed double-spaced.
Formatting of Table of Contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures:
Please click here to view correct
formatting of these documents, as illustrated by pages from David Brauer's thesis.
Tables and Figures:
Tables and Figures (with relevant legends) should NOT be provided as a collection at the end of the thesis.
Instead, there are two acceptable ways to include them:
Method 1: Insert them into the thesis, printed one Table or Figure to a (new!) page (along with relevant
legends), immediately following first mention of that Table/Figure in the text.
Method 2: Embed Figures and Tables (along with relevant legends) within the text, placing them close to first
mention within the body of the text. Allow ample space between the embedded Figure (Table) and the text.
Irrespective of which method you adopt, make sure that you draw the reader's attention to a specific Figure or Table
by inserting a "flag" within the text, e.g. "Castanospermine competitively inhibited amygdalin hydrolysis (Figure 1)".
Page Numbering:
The Title Page should NOT be numbered. The Abstract, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables
(optional), and List of Figures (optional) pages should be numbered with Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc). Then,
use Arabic numerals for the remainder of the thesis, beginning with the Introduction as page 1. Number the pages
centered at the bottom of each page. If you chose Method 1 for insertion of figures and tables above, don't forget
that pages bearing these components should also be numbered.
Preparation of Thesis for Submission:
Do not staple or punch your thesis pages in any way. Just submit them to the Biology Honors Advisor as a stack of
pages in the correct order. The UIHP will bind your thesis for their library.
Submission Deadline:
Please submit your approved thesis to the Biology Honors Advisor no later than the last day of classes of the
semester in which you intend to graduate (i.e. one full week before Commencement). This allows the Advisor
sufficient time to review your thesis before submitting it to the Blank Honors Center by the UIHP stated deadline
(Wednesday of Finals Week).
Questions:
Please feel free to consult the Biology Honors Advisor (335-1322) at any time, if you have any questions or concerns.
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- When do I have to submit my Honors Thesis?
You should plan on submitting your thesis to the Biology Honors Advisor no later than the last day of
classes of the semester in which you plan to graduate (e.g. one full week before Commencement). This
allows the Advisor sufficient time to review your thesis before its submission to the Blank Honors Center
by the University's stated deadline.
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- When do I present my Honors research findings?
The final requirement of the Biology Honors degree is to give a brief (~12 minutes) oral presentation
of your research findings to the Department as part of the Biology Honors Colloquium, which takes
place each semester on Monday or Tuesday of the last week of classes. Most students give a Powerpoint
presentation, but using overheads or giving a chalk-talk are alternative options. Please inform the
Biology Honors Advisor by mid-semester of your intention to take part in the Colloquium.
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- How and when do I apply for graduation with Biology Honors?
In addition to submitting your Application For Degree, you must also complete two copies of the
Application for Graduation with Honors form, which can be downloaded from the UIHP
website. After obtaining the required signatures of your thesis supervisor and the Biology Honors Advisor (Dr. Jonathan Poulton, 108 BB) , you must submit the original form to Graduation Analysis (1 Jessup Hall, Window D) on or before the established deadlines:
Spring Semester: March 6, 2009. Summer Semester: June 11, 2009. Fall Semester: TBA.
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- Other questions about the Biology Honors Program?
For further information or answers to any questions you may have, consult either:
Biology Honors Advisor
Dr. Jonathan Poulton (Phone: 335-1322; Email:
jonathan-poulton@uiowa.edu)
Biology Undergraduate Advisor
Amy Korthank Gabaldon (Phone: 353-2484; Email:
amy-korthank@uiowa.edu).
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