Honors Thesis & Graduation with Honors
Departmental Honors Thesis
We encourage all EBIO majors who are hoping to graduate with a GPA of 3.3 or above to consider the departmental Honors thesis option. This involves an extended research project under the guidance of a faculty member, writing an Honors thesis, and presenting its results in an oral defense. Getting involved in research provides an opportunity to deal with a topic of your choice in much more detail than is possible in a classroom setting and allows you to share in the excitement of generating new knowledge. A successfully completed Honors thesis is a most valuable asset in your future applications. This research experience will allow the professor with whom you work to get to know you better than from a classroom setting, enabling the professor to provide a very personal and insightful letter of recommendation to any future employer or program. Such a letter is often the decisive factor in successful applications. Furthermore, graduate programs, medical school, and many other programs or agencies frequently consider a research experience like this as an indicator of future success that is more significant than high grades. If you are interested in considering an Honors thesis, you should approach one or more faculty members directly whose research interests seem compatible with your own. You are encouraged to make these contacts as early in your undergraduate program as you wish. Faculty members do not expect you to come in with anything other than your enthusiasm and determination to apply yourself. They will suggest possible research projects, help you formulate hypotheses, and provide technical training and assistance. So, don't be shy; pay us a visit! We would love to hear from you. In addition to EBIO faculty, you may also choose a faculty member from another department or unit as a mentor. Furthermore, as an alternative to generating your own data, it is also possible to write a literature-based Honors thesis as long as this research is interdisciplinary and uses information from the literature to draw new conclusions.
We are offering an introductory seminar (EBIO 3890), that may be taken at any time, with detailed information about Honors research and accompanying independent research credits (EBIO 3990). For graduation with departmental Honors, another seminar/independent research unit (EBIO 4980 / 4990) is required. For more information, see the departmental handout on the EBIO departmental Honors program. Official registration in the departmental Honors program (in the semester before graduation) occurs through the campus-wide Honors program. For application forms and other information, see the University Honors Program webpage.
Honors Courses
In addition to the research-based departmental Honors program, there is also the course-based general Honors program For those interested in courses taught at a higher level of involvement and critical thinking.
Honors courses at the University of Colorado are courses which are designed for maximum involvement and intellectual fulfillment by the students. Class size is limited to 15, students are expected to participate in active discussion, and many of the courses include a research component. Graduation with General Honors requires completion of 12 hours of Honors courses in addition to the Honors Thesis (see below). The list of Course Descriptions includes biology-related courses offered by several different departments. EBIO offers honors recitations along with EBIO 1210 and 1220, and honors sections of the 2000 level majors core classes. Please speak with your Academic Advisor about current offerings.
For more information about Honors Courses, see the Honors Courses web page.
For help in getting started with the honors project, or for more information on Honors Courses, contact your EBIO advisor or the members of the departmental Honors committee, Professor Barbara Demmig-Adams or Professor Thomas Ranker. Additional information can be found through the following links.
