BIOL 298

Application

Click HERE for the application.

How to Apply

  1. The application form will be completed through the Google Form above.
  2. If you are looking for potential supervisors to list, click HERE.

 

Guidelines     

BIOL 298 is a one-term, non-repeatable, *3 course that introduces students to the fundamentals of research in the biological sciences. Students conduct a lab-based research project under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences, often with a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow providing direct guidance and mentorship. The course also has a classroom component, which includes lectures on the theory and practice of biological research, guest lectures by biologists, presentations by students on their research projects, and more. BIOL 298 prepares students for more advanced project-based courses (BIOL 398, 399, 490, 498 and 499) by equipping them with a basic tool kit of research and critical thinking skills, and introduces them to the diverse research taking place in the Department of Biological Sciences.

BIOL 298 is normally capped at 16 students per term. Interested students must complete the online application form by midnight on August 1 if applying for the Fall term, and by midnight on November 1 if applying for the Winter term. The application form gives students the opportunity to indicate their main area(s) of research interest, and to specify three potential supervisors with whom they would like to work. However, students may be matched with other supervisors if their preferred ones are not available.

Based on their research projects, students will write a final report in the style of a journal article, create a final poster, and give a final oral presentation. The final written report and poster will be due at the end of the term, and the final oral presentation will take place in the last few days of classes. The final poster and final report will be evaluated both by the course professor (assisted by the TA) and by the supervising faculty member, who will also assign a grade for lab participation. Other graded work in BIOL 298 (final and preliminary presentations, report drafts, assignments arising from guest lectures, and classroom participation) will be graded by the course professor and/or TA alone. There are no exams in BIOL 298.

BIOL 298 is required for the Research Certificate in Science (Biological Sciences).