For students with inquiring minds, this program will fuel your passion for research by allowing you to delve deeply into your areas of interest. By the end of the Research Focus, you will be prepared to hit the ground running in a graduate research degree, or you will be able to apply your research, analysis and communication skills to furthering your career in other directions.
Research Focus
The Research Focus provides an immersive experience in which students join a research lab to carry out research during their final two academic years, honing their technical skills while learning how to develop research ideas, design experiments, and analyze and communicate scientific data.
What is the Research Focus?
The Research Focus consists of a suite of five courses in the third and fourth years of study. The third year Research Practicum (BIM 3009 or BIO 3009) and the fourth year Honours Research Project (BIM 4009 or BIO 4009) form the heart of the program. The Research Practicum is a full-year, 6-unit course that combines research in the laboratory of the supervisor with a series of lectures, workshops and seminars designed to introduce the essentials of experimental design. By fourth year, students are ready to take on their own research project, and do so via the Honours research project, a full-year, 9-unit course in which students investigate a research question, reporting their findings in a thesis and as a conference-style poster. Students graduate with an Honours BSc in Biology (Research Focus) or an Honours BSc in Biomedical Science (Research Focus).
Prerequisites
- Successful completion of 54 units (i.e. entering the 3rd year of study) in the Honours BSc in Biology or Honours BSc in Biomedical Science program;
- Minimum CGPA of 8.0;
- A professor from the Faculty of Science must agree to be the supervisor for BIM 3009 or BIO 3009 (the professor’s signature is required on the registration form).
“The ability for students to perform independent research is really important to their development as scientists, and to allow them to make informed decisions about their academic and career paths”
Adam J. Shuhendler
— Assistant Professors, Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences
Courses comprising the Research Focus
Registration
Students considering the Research Focus should discuss with their proposed supervisor, keeping in mind that the heart of the Research Practicum is the time spent with a research group, working in a laboratory (or field) setting to learn about the process of doing research.
To register,
1. Please, complete the registration form:
- BIM research focus registration form (PDF, 89 KB)
- BIO research focus registration form (PDF, 90 KB)
2. Send the completed and signed form by email to [email protected]
3. Applications will be evaluated between June 7th and August 31st inclusively.
Contact Information
Office of Undergraduate Programs
Gendron Hall
30 Marie Curie, room 172
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1N 6N5
Book an appointment online
Email: [email protected]
Kathleen Gilmour
Full Professor and Vice-Dean, Governance and International Relations
Email: [email protected]