Research
in Biology (Biology 451/452) is intended to provide a complete research
experience. As a regular college
course, Research is the equal of any other course at Rhodes in that credit is
earned for accomplishment, and working responsibly and maintaining regular
progress are crucial to success.
However, since Research differs in many ways from other courses, its
independence and individuality present special challenges, and it is important
not to mismanage its independence.
The
Department requires that each Research student meet regularly with his/her
research sponsor, fulfill the time obligations outlined below, and provide a
presentation of the semester’s activities at the end of each semester (e.g.
seminar, poster or written presentation, submission for publication,
etc.). The specifics of these and any
additional requirements (e.g. proposal, notebook, deadlines for completion of
tasks, interim presentations at lab meetings, etc.) and the way in which the
student will be evaluated will vary with each project and will be negotiated
and contracted between student and sponsor during the first weeks of the
semester. Contracts may be reviewed and
revised during the semester.
Rhodes
courses expect a minimum of forty-six hours of work, including outside reading,
experiments, conferences, and writing assignments, for each one hour of
credit. This expectation guides the
minimum time requirements for research courses. For example, if a student enrolls in 4 hours of Biology 451,
he/she commits to at least 13 hours of work per week over the course of 14
weeks. It is the student’s
responsibility under the Honor Code to fulfill this requirement, and it may be
beneficial to keep an accounting of time as a part of the notebook.