Students have several opportunities to do advanced scientific research under the mentorship of our faculty.
The most intensive and rewarding research experiences can be found in select academic departments under research-honors programs. In these programs, students pursue a mentored, independent research project that culminates in their writing and defending an honors thesis. Many students who participate in a research-honors program also graduate with distinction—earning a departmental honors designation on their transcript.
Research-honors programs are distinct from other honors programs at the University. For example, students do not need to be enrolled in UMD’s Honors College to be eligible for this kind of research. While students will need to meet minimum requirements to be considered for a research-honors program, all programs are generally non-competitive.
Department of Biology (BIOL)
DR. ALEXA BELY, Director— abely@umd.edu
Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics (CBMG)
DR. LOUISA WU, Director— louisa@umd.edu
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (CHEM & BCHM)
Chemistry Undergraduate Office— chem-uso@umd.edu
Department of Entomology (ENTM)
DR. KARIN BURGHARDT, Director— kburghar@umd.edu
Each research-honors program has unique experiences, requirements for admission, and requirements for completion. Several aspects, however, are common to all of these research programs. Generally, students are encouraged to gain some research experience before applying to the honors program of their choice, although exceptions to this general expectation are possible.
In a typical scenario a student would find a research mentor in the fall of their sophomore year, apply to the honors program in spring of their sophomore year, and join the honors program fall of their junior year. This allows a full two years of research experience. In all of the research-honors programs, students are required to attend a regular honors seminar where students present and discuss their work and write up a final thesis description of their work. The thesis is also presented orally to a faculty committee, who determine if the thesis is acceptable.
