Student Information

How do I initially register for Biology 486?

What am I expected to do when I am a Biology 486 student?

What are the requirements for a 486 proposal/thesis?

How do I schedule my defense?

Where are defenses held and how are they reserved?

What happens during the thesis/proposal defense?

What happens after the thesis/proposal defense?

Do I submit my thesis online once I am done?

Can I invite other people to my 486 defense?

I have issues collecting data (problems with methodology, weather, tissue provision, my subjects all died, etc.)

I am a 386 student who would like to continue my research as a 486 project. Do I need to register for three semesters of 486 to complete the capstone?

Do I need to register for 486 each semester?

I am having problems regarding my working relationship with my research mentor. What should I do?

How are grades determined in Biology 486?

What happens once I complete the requirements for Biology 486?

How do I initially register for Biology 486?

You need to have an agreement with a faculty member that they will serve as your research advisor (mentor). Research mentors can be faculty outside of the biology department, but you must conduct biological research. For example, research that only uses opinion surveys would not be biological research. Most biology 486 projects are conducted in research labs in the biology department, health sciences (physiology, cancer center, neuroscience, eye institute), agricultural sciences and biochemistry. Once you have a research mentor, you and they will fill out a Google form for approval (see main Biology 486 page). You need to have at least a 3.4 GPA to register for Biology 486. You will also need to discuss with your research mentor what their expectations are regarding how much time you will be spending each week in your 486 project. If you will be spending about 4 hours per week on your 486 project, register for 1 credit. About 8 hours per week, two credit hours. About 12 hours per week, three credit hours. About 16 hours per week, four credit hours. The time you spend includes lab work and time spent writing and reading research articles. Once the pair of forms are approved, you will receive information regarding the last step to register for Biology 486. When you do register, remember to choose the number of credit hours. The default is one. Make sure the number of credit hours is correct since it cannot be changed during the semester past the first week of classes.

What am I expected to do when I am a Biology 486 student?

During your first semester, you will

1. find someone to serve as the third committee member. Your mentor and I will serve as the other two members;
   
   
2. meet with your faculty mentor every week or at least be in email contact each week so that they can be updated on your progress. Continual communication with your mentor vital to success in Biology 486;
   
   
3. determine the scope of your research. Read the relevant literature and become familiar with the field in which you will be working. What will you specifically be investigating? Your mentor can provide guidance in regards to what can be done within a three semester time span;
   
   
4. become acquainted with the methodology for your research project;
   
   
5. provide your mentor with a draft of your proposal early enough in the semester so that your mentor can read it, provide feedback, have you revise it, and so on. Discuss your writing with your mentor and make a plan and schedule deadlines for when you will give your mentor specific sections of your proposal (introduction, methods). You will send your final draft to your committee at least two days before your defense. You can send copies of your proposal or thesis electronically to your committee. Hard copies are not required.I will provide the deadline for proposals in an email near the beginning of the semester and you can refer to your 486 page on eCampus as well. Make sure that you look at your mix email account for my emails. Note that you will likely not be defending right on the day of the deadline, since there are other 486 proposals scheduled each semester. Only a few can be scheduled on the last day. By the time that you have your defense, you will have worked on your proposal for several weeks, giving it back to your mentor for comments and revising it. Note: you cannot expect your mentor to give you comments on your writing when they have just had it for a day or two. Do not procrastinate;
   
   
6. before your proposal is done, you will need to schedule a time for your defense. Use doodle.com or when2meet.com to help find a time that is good for you and your committee. Doodle.com will ask you to set up a 'poll' of dates and times to send to your committee. Chose hour blocks of time in your poll. Include a range of dates and times so that your poll is large enough to find a time that coincides with your committee;
   
   
7. prepare a powerpoint presentation for your defense. Include images and other relevant visual information when making slides. Practice your presentation with fellow lab members or with your research mentor;
   
   
8. your defense is your final requirement for your first semester

During the second semester, you will

1. continue to regularly meet with your research mentor and keep them up to date on your progress as you collect data;
   
   
2. contact me if there are serious issues hindering your ability to collect data

During the third semester, you will

1. continue to regularly meet with your research mentor and keep them up to date on your progress as you collect data;
   
2. make a plan with your research mentor for when you should stop collecting data and focus on your writing. The stopping point should generally be around the middle of the semester;
   
3. make a plan with your research mentor for when you should provide your mentor with drafts for various sections of your thesis (introduction, methods, results, discussion). You should provide them with drafts for your introduction and methods around halfway through the semester. Drafts for your results and discussion will take some time. Make sure you do not procrastinate in your writing. You will send your final draft to your committee at least four days before your thesis defense. I will provide the deadline for theses in an email near the beginning of the semester.
   
4. use doodle.com or when2meet.com again to schedule your defense;
   
5. prepare your defense.
   
6. make any revisions required for your thesis and provide a final copy to the 486 coordinator (me, Sue Raylman). You can send copies of your proposal or thesis electronically to your committee. Hard copies are not required.

What are the requirements for a 486 proposal/thesis?

A guideline for the page requirements, formatting and such is available on eCampus. Proposals are not expected to be written in the form of grant proposals, but your mentor may prefer that format. The introduction section should contain all the relevant background information. It is recommended to organize your introduction with headings. Hypotheses should be clearly stated. Methods section should be as detailed as you would find in typical research papers. Although the total number of articles cited varies, the average proposal should have at least 12 cited articles and an average thesis much more than that. You and your mentor can decide what specific type of formatting you should follow ( i.e. whether using numbers when citing, specific citation format, etc.). Your mentor might ask you to follow the formatting for a specific journal. Note that on the homepage of the Biology 486 website there are templates for your title page. You will need to change the template to suit your project. Include the title of your research and also include the names of your committee members.

How do I schedule my defense?

I encourage you to use doodle.com or when2meet.com for scheduling your defense. Doodle.com will ask you to set up a 'poll' of dates and times to send to your committee. Chose hour blocks of time in your poll. Include a range of dates and times so that your poll is large enough to find a time that coincides with your committee. You will send your poll to the people you designate (your committee). The results will appear on your poll page. When everyone completes the poll, choose a time that coincides with everyone and email your committee to inform them of this time. Typically defenses are in-person but Zoom meetings may be used depending on circumstances.

Where are defenses held and how is a room reserved?

The defenses for students that are mentored by Biology faculty are held in the Life Sciences building, typically in the chair's conference room or 4001/5001. The chair's conference room is within the biology office on the third floor. I can can reserve the defense location. The defenses for students mentored by non-biology faculty can be held either in the Life Sciences building (and I will reserve a room ), or held in another building (your mentor's building). If the defense is held outside of the Life Sciences building, your mentor is responsible for finding a location and reserving a room. Notify your committee of the date, time and location.

What happens during the thesis/proposal defense?

You will give a 15-20 minute presentation using powerpoint. It is best if you can give your presentation without reading from notecards (you can use them as a guidance if you wish). Your powerpoint presentation will include visual information such as relevant images , .gifs, and diagrams. Practice your presentation with your mentor or other research group members. Give your presentation as if you are speaking to those with a biological background. Provide relevant background information regarding your research. Describe your methods. Again, images are important when conveying information. For thesis presentations provide results in a visual way as well (graphs or whatever applies). After the presentation the committee will ask you relevant questions. The quality of your writing might also be discussed. Afterwards, the committee can confer without you present.

What happens after the thesis/proposal defense?

Any revisions that the committee requires are submitted to you. In cases where the proposal needs a good deal of work, another revision will be required of you in the beginning of the next semester. For theses, any revisions will need to be completed by the end of finals week. For theses, make any revisions required for your thesis and provide a final digital copy to the 486 coordinator (me, Sue Raylman).

 

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