Application
Applications for the Biology Department's honors program are due in mid-September, to allow adequate time for evaluation prior to the college-wide end-of-September deadline for declaration of intent to pursue honors (calendar found on this page).
Format: pdf copies of the two documents described below (application for honors + signed committee meeting agreement) should be submitted by email to the chair of the Biology Department; cc all members of your honors thesis committee.
APPLICATION FOR HONORS IN BIOLOGY
Your written application to pursue honors in Biology must include the following sections:
Synopsis: In approximately 500 words, describe your proposed project, including clearly articulated testable hypotheses. Include at least one figure representing work already completed.
Plan of Future Work: In approximately 500-1000 words, describe the work you plan to execute during your senior year. Describe your anticipated process, answering questions such as: What methods will you use? When do you anticipate wrapping up data collection? How will you analyze your data? Be sure to include information about your timeline, e.g. what you plan to complete in fall, January, and spring.
Annotated Bibliography: Provide a minimum of 30 references, along with a brief summary of each. These references provide the intellectual context for your project: previous work on your system, background on methodologies, etc.
SIGNED COMMITTEE MEETING AGREEMENT
Honors thesis work requires commitment of time by both the student and their honors thesis committee. The committee is comprised of three members, two of which are based on campus and one from outside of Macalester.
If your work is based on campus at Mac, your thesis committee consists of (1) your Mac research advisor, (2) a second Mac faculty member with relevant expertise, and (3) one off-campus committee member - e.g. faculty or postdoc at UMN in a relevant field, or one of your research advisor's off-campus collaborators.
If your work is based off-campus, your thesis committee consists of (1) your off-campus research advisor, (2) a Mac faculty member with relevant expertise who agrees to advise you through our department's thesis process, and (3) one additional Mac faculty member with relevant expertise.