BIOS 399: Independent Research

BIOS 399 Heading link

Find out how to be a part of BIOS 399!

BIOS 399 is a great idea for any student who intends to pursue a research field or attend a graduate or professional school! This course gives students the chance to complete supervised research and obtain 2 hours of credit.

Students must choose a researcher to act as their supervisor. The work may be completed with one of our Biological Sciences faculty members or with a faculty member from another department. You select the faculty member you want to work with. You may find a suitable match by visiting our Research page, or by using the Undergraduate Research Experience website. It is your responsibility to find a research supervisor. The department will not place students into labs.

What is a suitable BIOS 399 Research Project? The purpose of BIOS 399 is to expose students to independent biological research. In almost all cases, this will involve the collection and analysis of biological data. Projects that involve a literature review should be taken as BIOS 391. If you are being supervised by a member of the Department of Biological Sciences, then your research is automatically suitable for BIOS 399. If you are not being supervised by a member of the Department of Biological Sciences, then it is important that your data are biological in nature. This is so that a member of the department is able to assess the quality of your research. If you are unsure whether your research is suitable for BIOS 399, please contact the academic administrator of BIOS 399, Dr. Connie Jeffery (cjeffery@uic.edu).
To obtain credit, students must meet the following three expectations:
  1. Student must work at least 10 hours per week in the laboratory (20 hours per week during the summer semester).
  2. Student must attend 3 mandatory workshops throughout the semester.
  3. Students must submit a research paper at the end of the semester that is in the style of a published article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

No more than 5 hours of credit from BIOS 391 and BIOS 399 courses can be used as credit towards the Biological Sciences major.

Credit will not be given for previously conducted research. The research must be done concurrent to enrollment in BIOS 399 for students to earn credit.

Minimum of 2.00/4.00 grade point average (GPA) in Biological Sciences courses and consent of the instructor and department.

 

Grading

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades only. BIOS 399 will not affect your GPA.

 

Signing Up

First Time BIOS 399: Complete an Application for Independent Research. Completed applications must be submitted via email to biosciadvising@uic.edu no later than 12pm on Friday of Week 2 in the fall/spring semesters, or Friday of Week 1 in summer semesters. The application form includes a short research proposal. Guidance on how to write this proposal is provided here.

Deferring BIOS 399 Credit: If you have not completed your research in the designated semester, but will be able to finish within the next semester, you must complete a Deferral Form and Deferral Notice. This must be submitted to the BIOS 399 coordinator no later than 12 PM on the Friday of the last week of instruction. The deferral form should be uploaded on the BIOS 399 Blackboard site.

Submitting Your Paper: Please follow the instructions in the BIOS 399 Student Handbook for writing your research paper. You must attach a BIOS 399 Cover Sheet to your final paper. All final papers must be submitted to the BIOS 399 coordinator no later than 12 PM on the Friday of finals week. The paper should be uploaded on the BIOS 399 Blackboard site.

BIOS 399 Workshop Series

All students registered for BIOS 399 must attend two mandatory workshops each semester. The first workshop covers the basics the research process and how to write a research proposal. The second workshop covers how to present your research to non-scientists in the form of 3 minute talk. During the spring semester, an alternative workshop will be presented for students who have completed the first two workshops during the fall semester.

Workshop Schedule – Fall Semester

All workshops will be held in person in SELE 4289 unless otherwise noted.

Workshop 1: Attend one of the following meetings

  • 11:00 – 11:50am, Wednesday, Sept. 18
  • 4:00 – 4:50pm, Wednesday, Sept. 18

Workshop 2: Dates and times to be scheduled

  • Date and time to be scheduled
two students in a lab

This is a terrific resource that contains helpful information for students who are interested in pursuing undergraduate research opportunities.

BIOS 399 Summer Term Registration

Effective beginning the Summer 2022 semester, students will no longer be able to enroll and complete a BIOS 399 project solely during a summer semester. Students will be permitted to enroll in BIOS 399 during a summer semester if they meet at least one of these two conditions.

-they were previously enrolled in BIOS 399 during the spring semester prior

-they plan to enroll in BIOS 399 again in the following fall semester

 

Students will not be permitted to enroll in BIOS 399 for the summer if it’s their first time and they plan to graduate that term.

BIOS 399 Student Handbook