Directed Studies/Research Policies and Procedures

MicB 4993-Directed Studies
MicB 4994-Directed Research
Policies and Procedures

In order to register for MicB 4993, Directed Studies, or MicB 4994, Directed Research, you and your research adviser must complete a Directed Studies/Directed Research Contract. Once this has been approved, you will need a course approval code (magic number) each semester you register for your project.

Directed Studies or Directed Research Contract MicB 4993, Directed Studies, is used by students who wish to pursue individualized projects that focus on a survey of the scientific literature.

MicB 4994, Directed Research, is used by students who are doing a project in a faculty member's lab. Faculty mentors may be from outside the Department of Microbiology if approved by your major adviser or the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

The project must be designed with the aid of the faculty member who will supervise it. Both the student and the faculty mentor must sign the contract before it is approved by the major adviser (if different). You must briefly describe the project. In many cases your work will actually be supervised by a postdoctoral fellow or a graduate student, but the instructor of record must be a faculty member. A written progress report is required at the end of each semester in order to receive a grade.

Most undergraduate research projects last at least two semesters; many of them are carried out over an entire academic year or sometimes a summer and an academic year. If you are doing research in a laboratory, you should plan to spend at least 12 hours a week performing the research. Since the University's standards for a credit are three hours of work a week for ten weeks, such an activity is worth 4 credits each semester, although you may plan to devote more time to your project than would be indicated by the number of credits you earn. It is unlikely that you will complete a laboratory project in a single semester; plan to register for at least 2 semesters.

All Directed Studies and Directed Research are graded on an S/N basis.

Registration
In order to register for MicB 4993 or MicB 4994, you must first complete a Directed Studies/Directed Research Contract. When you turn your completed contract in to the Microbiology office, you will receive a Registration Approval Code. You will need a new Approval Code each semester in order to register.

Evaluation
It is the policy of the Department of Microbiology that each semester the evaluation should include a written report. A part of doing research is presenting your findings (negative results included) in written form. At the end of the first semester of research the report may be fairly short and informal. The final report should be modeled after a paper in a scientific journal. A copy of your written report must be provided to your research adviser and to your major adviser (if different).

Questions?
Call or see the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Leslie Schiff (624-9933; 1435 Mayo Building) or call Louise Shand (624-5947; 1460 Mayo)

Sample of the Directed Studies/Directed Research for CBS

Sample of the Directed Studies/Directed Research for CLA