The Department of Biological Sciences at CSUS offers a variety of ways for undergraduate students to get actively involved in hands-on research. Doing research is an important part of undergraduate education. Not only does it give a student first-hand experience with the actual process of science, but admissions boards for graduate and professional schools look for it.

At CSUS, we offer each student a choice in the level of research involvement they want to pursue.

A. Laboratories: Sadly, many universities have reduced or eliminated the laboratory portion of many of their undergraduate biology courses. This is not the case in our department. In fact, most of our undergraduate classes have mandatory laboratories where students get hands-on experience with equipment, organisms and techniques. We feel that it is important for students to not only read and discuss ideas, but also for the student to participate fully. Many of these laboratories include individual student research projects as part of the curriculum.

B. Bio 199A (Independent Research). The Bio 199A course designation allows a student to arrange with a professor to do an individual research project and to get course credit as well. This is a wide-open opportunity for any student willing to make the effort. The process to initiate this is very simple and straight-forward. The student should approach a professor, ideally before the start of a semester or in the first week of class, and they discuss research possibilties. If they can come up with a mutually agreeable project, the student and professor fill out a one-page form and that's it -- the student can start the project. Bio 199A can be repeated multiple times (though only 2 units of 195, 197 and 199 can be applied to the Biological Sciences Upper Division Major requirement).

C. Honors (Bio 198A & 198B). The Honors program is a year-long sequence in which a student is instructed in the ways of research and conducts an individual research project under the guidance of a supervising professor. In the Fall, the student enrolls in 198A, which is an introduction to conducting research and the student develops their project. In the Spring, they enroll in 198B and concentrate on completing their research and on presenting their research in a final seminar, poster and written thesis.

D. Non-credit Independent Research. While Bio 198 and/or 199 offer the ability to get academic credit for doing research, a student can also, if they wish, simply conduct research under the guidance of a professor if both agree to this. This might be done during the Fall or Spring semesters, during the summer months or over winter break.

E. McNair Scholars Program. The McNair Scholars program is a CSUS-wide program for low income and first generation students and/or those under-represented in an academic area. For more information, click here.

In all cases, the keys to undergraduate research are simple: a student must have the desire to do research, the student must take the initiative to seek out a professor and discuss their desires and, most importantly, they must be willing to commit to seeing a project through to completion.

To find out what kinds of research are going on in Biological Sciences, click here.

 

Updated: April 24, 2008

Department of Biological Sciences, 202 Sequoia Hall, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J. Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6077; Tel: 916-278-6535; FAX 916-278-6993; Email: nangell@csus.edu