Microbiology

Major Requirements for Students Pursuing Latin Honors

Common Honors Courses in Major

The four courses below are required for completion of the Honors Thesis in CBS majors. These one-credit thesis development courses must be taken in order. Prerequisites are enforced.

BIOL 2961H: Exploring Research in the Biological Sciences

Enroll Sophomore year. Available fall and spring.

BIOL 3961H: Communication in the Biological Sciences

Enroll Junior year. Available fall and spring.

BIOL 4951H: Thesis Writing in the Biological Sciences: Developing the Literature Review

Enroll Senior year. Available fall only.
Students will start writing their thesis in this course.
This course may be applied toward the Upper Division Life Science Electives requirement in your major. Talk to your Honors Advisor for more information.

BIOL 4961H: Thesis Writing in the Biological Sciences: Conveying and Contextualizing Results

Enroll Senior year. Available spring only.
Students will complete their thesis in this course.
Students will present their thesis work at a public venue (e.g. undergraduate research symposium, professional scientific conference). Presenting at a lab group meeting, UROP, or a similar venue is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement.

BIOL 2961H+3961H+4951H = 1 course towards the required Honors Experiences.

Some circumstances, such as graduating early, going abroad, or starting UHP as a post-freshman admit, may require students to expedite the thesis course sequence. If you are considering a departure from the standard thesis course timeline, be sure to check in with your Honors Advisor and the CBS Honors Faculty Rep.

Common Courses

BIOL 1951H: Foundations of Biology Lecture I for Biological Sciences Majors (Fall and Spring)
BIOL 2003H: Foundations of Biology for Biological Sciences Majors, Part II (Fall and Spring)

Honors options for quantitative requirement:
MATH 1571H - Honors Calculus I (Fall Only)
CSCI 1133H - Honors Introduction to Computing and Programming Concepts (Fall Only)

Honors options for chemistry:
CHEM 1071H/1065 Honors Chemistry I and Lab (Fall)
CHEM 1072H/1066 Honors Chemistry II and Lab (Spring)
CHEM 2331H Honors Organic Chemistry I (Fall)
CHEM 2332H Honors Organic Chemistry II (Spring)

Honors options for physics:
PHYS 1401V Honors Physics I (Fall)
PHYS 1402V Honors Physics II (Spring)

Required Thesis Course

BIOL 4961H is considered the required thesis course for the UHP requirements and APAS report, but all four classes described above are required for completion of the CBS Honors thesis.

Capstone Considerations

None

Thesis Requirements

For summa cum laude theses, department rubric assessment will be applied.

Plan C Thesis Options

None

Research Considerations: Students should start research with their thesis faculty mentor at least one semester prior to taking BIOL 4951H. For most students, this means starting research by spring of Junior year. Students are expected to have some familiarity with their research project, methods, and data to use in the early stages of drafting their thesis at the beginning of Senior year.

Committee Composition

All theses must be approved by a three member committee. At least one committee member (not necessarily the advisor) must be a tenure-track faculty member at the University of Minnesota, and at least one must be affiliated with the department in which the thesis is conducted.