Acceptance into the Honours program at the end of U2 requires a CGPA of 3.50 and approval of a 9 credit Independent Studies course and abstract (see the "Honours Courses" section for details). Students also complete a 4 credit Honours Seminar course, BIOL 499.

For an Honours degree, a minimum CGPA of 3.50 at the time of graduation and adherence to the program as outlined below are the additional requirements.

The proposed supervisor must also inform the Honours Director about their willingness to accommodate the student. Professors on sabbatical should not accept students.

Students must complete the Honours Program Application Form with an abstract describing the topic they wish to examine by 01 September. The abstract should be no longer than one page of single- spaced, 12-point text with one-inch margins. It should include: a title, a brief introduction to the research problem, a description of the proposed research project, and a list of cited references. The abstract and application form will be submitted electronically to both the Honours Program Director, Jon Sakata and the Honours Program Advisor, Nancy Nelson.

Write up a proposal of your research project with the help of your Research Supervisor. The proposal must be submitted electronically on MyCourses for BIOL 499, by 15 October, with a copy to the Advisor.

Your Research Supervisor and Honours Program Director will review your Research Proposal and make final recommendations.

The proposal, of no more than 5 pages (perhaps 3-5 typewritten pages) should contain the following:

• Introduction (including key references)
• Statement of the hypothesis(es) to be tested and/or an explanation of the research objective(s)
• Materials and methods
• Experimental design
• Analysis to be carried out
• List of cited references

You should notify the advisor of your intention to enter the Honors program by the end of June. If qualified, you may change your primary curriculum on Minerva to Honours Biology in August. You must register for BIOL 499 D1/D2 and submit your application therein by 5 pm the first day of classes in the fall term. You will be notified of your acceptance into the Honours Program by the Director. You may then register for the research course BIOL 479 before the course add/drop deadline in early September. You must submit your abstract by 5 pm the last day of the fall add/drop period, after reviewing it with the Director in the first two weeks of the seminar course BIOL 499.

You may begin research work during the summer before being officially accepted as an Honours student with permission from the Honours Program Advisor and your Supervisor.

At the end of the Fall term or beginning of the Winter term, you must sit down with your supervisor to review your research accomplishments during the fall semester and what needs to be done in the Winter term, and to discuss any feedback that might help to keep the project on track. The associated “Mid-Year Progress Review” form must be submitted to the Honours Program Coordinator and Advisor by January 15. Download the Mid-Year Progress Review Form.

Your research should be finished within a year. Feel free to consult your Supervisory Committee for guidance; they are there to help you. See also Guidelines for Independent Studies, or visit the Independent Research Projects page.

Your Honours Independent Studies Research Project must be written up in the form of a thesis. The thesis should be 20 double-spaced typewritten pages or more. Consult your supervisor for the exact style to follow. Your Honours Thesis must be submitted electronically to the coordinator, your supervisor and all members of your supervisory committee by the last day of classes of the Winter term. Once submitted, no changes or additions can be made.

OR

Attendance at 6 seminars selected from the research seminar series organized by the Biology Department Seminar Committee; 3 will be with the Cell and Molecular Biology series and 3 from the Organismal series. Students will meet with the visiting speakers after the seminars and participate in a round table discussion about their research. You must submit electronic reports on all of the 6 seminars to Dr. Jon Sakata (Stewart Bio N4/8). The final grade will be based on the best 5 reports.

You will be required to make an oral presentation of your Honours thesis to peers and Academic staff of the department at the Honours Symposium held in March or April (1 credit).