Requirements, Procedures and Deadlines for Integrative Biology Majors Interested in Graduation with Distinction

2007-08 Academic Year

  • pdf file of Application (requires Acrobat Reader)

    • Many undergraduate students in the Integrative Biology major carry out undergraduate research. To provide recognition of senior students in the Integrative Biology major who have demonstrated excellence in research, the Integrative Biology Distinction Committee awards graduation honors of "Distinction in Integrative Biology" in three categories, based on quality of research:  Distinction, High Distinction, and Highest Distinction. The final UIUC transcript and diploma will note if a student earned distinction and at what level.

     

    How to Get Involved in Undergraduate Research for Distinction in Biology

     

    Since good research requires intensive effort, you should plan to get started in your junior year, and certainly no later than the first semester of your senior year. Past experience indicates that one-semester projects rarely succeed in producing substantial results. Two-semester projects are more common, but three-to-four semester projects are not unusual. First decide what your area of interest is, then talk to potential faculty advisors in that area to arrange a research project. A list of SIB faculty members and their research interests, as well as suggestions for how to get involved in research, is available on the Biological Sciences Advising website under Undergraduate Research. Individual departments have more detailed information about faculty research interests. When you have found an advisor and the two of you have agreed on a project, the professor will direct you to the appropriate office to enroll under an independent study rubric (IB 490 - letter graded). You must be signed up for IB 490 prior to or during the semester you write your research paper.

     

    Specific Requirements

     

    To be considered for Distinction in Integrative Biology, you must be enrolled as an Integrative Biology Major and meet the following requirements:

    • You must be enrolled in IB 490 (not IB 390), or have been enrolled in this course in a previous semester.  If you wish to pursue a research project in the laboratory of a professor at UIUC who is not affiliated with a SIB department, you must obtain prior approval from Dr. Carol Augspurger, Associate Director for Academic Affairs, SIB, 286 Morrill Hall. See information in IB 390 and IB 490

    • You must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

    • If you are graduating in May 2008, you must submit the application form, along with a page that provides the tentative title of the research paper and a brief summary of the research (i.e., one paragraph) to Carol Hall, 286 Morrill Hall, no later than 11:00 AM,  March 3, 2008. This information is needed by the Distinction Committee to determine the number and disciplinary distribution of papers to be reviewed.  If necessary, the committee may need to add appropriate faculty members. If you are graduating in December 2007 or August 2008, you do not need to submit the application/title/summary, but you must meet the research paper submission deadline given in the table in item 4.

    • You must present the original and 6 copies of your research paper to the Integrative Biology Distinction Committee at least six weeks prior to graduation. The deadlines are:

    Graduation Date: 

    Submission Deadline: 

     Dec. 2007 11:00 AM, Monday, Nov. 5, 2007
     May 2008 11:00 AM, Thursday, March 27, 2008
    August 2008 11:00 AM, Thursday, June 5, 2008

    No papers will be accepted after the listed submission deadline.

    • Your faculty research advisor must submit the original and 6 copies of his/her letter of evaluation of your research to Chair, Integrative Biology Distinction Committee, 286 Morrill Hall, no later than the appropriate submission deadline listed in item 4.

    The Research Project

     

    The research project must consist of original research, which should attempt to answer a specific scientific question. Simply learning to master a technique is not sufficient. Because research often involves unanticipated technical problems, you should be prepared to accept delay and frustration when things do not go smoothly. Your best approach to your project is to have a clear understanding of the questions you are asking and why you are asking those particular questions. This understanding is aided by a familiarity with the literature in your area before you start work.

     

    The Research Paper

     

    The research paper should be a formal report of your results, and therefore should follow accepted professional standards for such reports. Model your paper after papers published in the major research journals in your field. Ordinarily, such papers contain an abstract, introduction, materials/methods, results, discussion and references sections. Be sure to label and caption Tables and Figures. You must fully credit any data, analyses, illustrations, etc., that are produced/obtained by, or through collaboration with, other individuals. This credit must include the names of those with whom you collaborated and an explanation of the nature of their assistance and/or collaboration. Failure to give proper credit may disqualify you from consideration for graduation with distinction. You should recognize that communication of your results is the final step in scientific research. Therefore, your paper should be as clear as you can make it. Do not get bogged down in detail. (Twenty double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables and figures, is the maximum acceptable length. About 10-15 pages double-spaced should do in most cases.) A well-written, concise paper should be understandable to researchers in allied fields as well as to specialists in your own field. Complex figures, color illustrations or other materials that do not Xerox well must be reproduced clearly in each copy. Copies of papers submitted by students who recently received distinction awards may be examined in 286 Morrill Hall.

     

    Evaluation Procedures

     

    Your research paper will be read and evaluated by members of the Integrative Biology Distinction Committee, which consists of SIB faculty members.  Committee members may ask other faculty for additional evaluation of papers that fall outside their range of expertise. Remember that committee members will consider clarity of expression as they read your paper. In addition, the committee members will also take into account the letter of evaluation submitted by your faculty research advisor.

     

    The criteria of evaluation include whether the student has made a substantial investment of time and effort on the project, and whether the student gained a substantive research experience, achieved an in-depth understanding of the research, and greatly advanced his/her ability in scientific thought, conducting of research, and production of a high quality scientific manuscript.

     

    The Committee will decide which papers, if any, are worthy of Distinction, High Distinction, or Highest Distinction. As a part of this evaluation process, the committee may interview some students.  If you are interviewed, you will be asked to discuss your work and will be questioned on its technical aspects, the interpretation of results and the significance of the research.  The objective of this interview is to find out how well you understand what you did, why you did it (the scientific reason), and what the results mean in relation to other knowledge in the field.

     

    Questions for the 2007-08 academic year should be referred to: Chair, Integrative Biology Distinction Committee, 286 Morrill Hall, c-hall@life.uiuc.edu