Honors @ Biology

Department of Biological Sciences
Science Building, 1st floor
Kean University
Ph: 908.737.3650 Fx: 908.737.3666

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The Department of Biological Sciences offers a selective Honors Program that requires a year-long commitment involving two semester courses devoted to research and culminates in a Senior Thesis. The Honors Program has been developed to offer students accepted into the program a way to work independently and to challenge themselves with original research (usually resulting in a lot of work). Students will find the program rewarding by becoming a working scientist and that specializing their research on a specific topic area can be extremely exciting and fulfilling.

How is an Honors Thesis evaluated?

The quality of each student's thesis work will be evaluated by the Department faculty in several ways:

First, your day-to-day performance in carrying out your research is assessed by your thesis advisor.
Second, your final written thesis is evaluated by your advisor and another faculty member chosen by the Department in consultation with your advisor, who serves as a second reader.
Third, you will make two public presentations of your thesis project. These presentations are important in judging your understanding of the theory and significance of your work and the appropriateness of your experimental protocol. The first presentation is an 8-minute oral presentation of your research plans, and is given approximately 4 weeks into the semester. The second presentation is at a poster session held the next-to-last Friday of the spring semester of your senior year.

Who can apply?

Sophomores and Juniors may apply for consideration according to the following departmental criteria:

Course	Eligible Students	Minimum Completed Bio Credits	Minimum GPA	Prerequisite Courses
Honors Thesis in Biology I: Preliminary Proposal and Research (BIO 4901, 3 cr.)	Sophomores	8	3.5	none
Honors Thesis in Biology II: Research and Presentation (BIO 4902, 3 cr.)	Juniors	12	3.5	BIO 4901

The most essential requirements for successful participation in undergraduate research, however, are your engagement, initiative, sense of responsibility, and genuine enthusiasm for the work. While the Honors Program courses (BIO 4901, BIO 4902) are not required courses for any of the Biology options, one of the two courses may be used to satisfy a major elective.

When should I apply to the Honors Program?

Before applying for the Honors Program, discuss your ideas and interests with all the professors with whom you might like to work. Start this process several weeks before the application deadline. For a list of current faculty research interests, please click here.

There are different timetables for performing the research that leads to a senior thesis. The usual route is to devote your senior year to the project, starting in the fall, working through Winter Break and finishing in the spring. However, students who wish to do a fieldwork-intensive thesis that requires data gathered in the spring and summer should give special consideration to the option of starting a thesis in the spring of their junior year.

How do I apply?

The application is online. Please keep the following items in mind as you fill out the application:

The department attempts to find slots for all students who wish to do honors research, but occasionally student interest in Honors research exceeds the available slots in professors' labs. Talking to a professor doesn't ensure that you will be accepted as his or her Honors Thesis student; that decision is ultimately up to the department. Still, talking to the professors with whom you would like to work does improve your chance of being selected, and most students do end up doing Honors research in the area of their choice.
Students who list only one faculty member with whom they would like to work decrease their chance of being admitted to the program if that lab has more students applying to that lab than there are available spaces.
Students who apply late and students who are not placed in the lab(s) of their choice will be able to reapply to labs in which there are still spots remaining after all other students have been placed.

Who do I contact for more information?

Dr. Teasdale is the Honors Program Coordinator; you can contact him by email at bteasdal "at" kean.edu, by phone at 908-737-3671, or in person during his office hours in C-137. (For Dr. Teasdale's current office hours, please see the Department's faculty information page.)