Many undergraduate students in the Life Sciences major carry out undergraduate research. The final UIUC transcript and diploma will note if a student earned distinction and at what level. Since good research requires intensive effort, you should plan to get started in your junior year, and certainly no later than the first semester of your senior year. Past experience indicates that one-semester projects rarely succeed in producing substantial results. First decide what your area of interest is, then talk to potential faculty advisors in that area to arrange a research project.
Individual departments have more detailed information about faculty research interests.
This information is needed by the Biology Distinction Committee to determine the number and disciplinary distribution of papers to be reviewed. If necessary, the committee may need to add appropriate faculty members. You must present the original and 10 copies of your research paper to the Biology Distinction Committee at least six weeks prior to graduation. No papers will be accepted after the listed submission deadline. The research project must consist of original research, which should attempt to answer a specific scientific question.