Undergraduate Research Projects

Guidelines: MMG 197/198; 297/298

Premise:

Undergraduate research course work should be considered just as any other course within the Department. The Course Director is defined as the faculty member responsible for guiding the student’s research. The Course Director is expected to make clear to the student what the expectations are with respect to the particular project and its scope. The student must be informed of each of the parameters described below prior to initiating the project. The student’s Academic Advisor should also be informed of these expectations. The Student, Course Director, and Academic Advisor are required to sign the Undergraduate Research Proposal Cover Sheet and return the signed form to the Undergraduate Program Director at the beginning of the semester.  Here’s a list of current and past undergraduate research projects.  Projects may be eligible for CALS Distinguished Undergraduate Research (DUR) Honors should the student choose to submit them to the CALS Academic Awards Committee (see CALS DUR Guidelines).

Course Credits :

Course credits will be assigned in accordance with University guidelines, which assume that students should work 3-4 hours per week for 1 research credit. It is understood that a particular research project undertaken may require more time than that allotted and, should this be the case, the student and the Course Director may discuss the awarding of additional credit.

Completion of Projects:

There are two requirements for this course at the end of the semester: (1) the student must either write a research paper including: an Introduction to the research area, a Materials and Methods section, a Results and Discussion section, and a References section, or produce a research poster that will be displayed outside the lab or on the MMG Undergraduate Bulletin Board (Stafford, First Floor); and (2) the student must orally present his/her results at a lab meeting or a regular Departmental seminar (choice is the discretion of the Course Director).

Grading:

Assignment of grades is the responsibility of the Course Director (grades will be given to Douglas Johnson, Director of the Undergraduate Program, during Final Exam week). The grade will be assigned in accordance with the expectations agreed upon between the student and the Course Director and should take into account the student’s performance within the lab (i.e., reliability, work ethic, interest level, etc.), the student’s research paper/poster, and the student’s oral presentation. Grades should not be assigned solely on amount of research productivity.
2008 MMG Grads

2008 MMG Grads

  • What our students have to say...

    I cannot imagine that there is a course of study at UVM with better staff and better courses than the MMG department. The attentiveness shown by lab instructors, teaching assistants, and professors is second to none, and I never had any doubt that any one of them would have bent over backwards to help a student reach farther and achieve more. A perfect example of this has been the willingness of multiple faculty to advise former students after graduation in finding jobs and finding schools. This level of dedication to former students should be a clear indication of the kind of relationship students are able to develop with MMG faculty… The kinds of techniques and concepts we worked in lectures and in lab work were some of the most current and most applicable in broad range of research disciplines, from microbiological techniques to genomics and proteomics. I think the single greatest skill I learned as an MMG student was to think and analyze critically and creatively, as well as to think outside the box about complex problems.

    Josh (Molecular Genetics), graduated 2006