Eligibility FAQs
Yes. Bio Sci 199 taken during Summer Session I and/or II counts as one quarter of Bio Sci 199 per session. Students are expected to complete 10 weeks’ worth of research in each 5-week session.
No. EIR is open to students in any major, provided they meet all program requirements.
Please consult your PI. Each student must have their own independent research project, even if the projects are different components of the same overall study. Your PI must approve the arrangement.
Possibly. Please consult the Program Coordinator. Exceptions may be considered if your PI holds a joint appointment with Bio Sci. If approved, we will onboard your PI as an approved Bio Sci 199 faculty sponsor, allowing you to enroll in at least two quarters of Bio Sci 199, with Winter and Spring as the minimum. All previous non-Bio Sci 199 quarters may count toward the minimum requirement.
Yes. However, EIR has its own paper and poster standards, which may be more specific and rigorous than those of other research programs. You must follow all EIR program guidelines. The same research project may be used for EIR and UROP.
You will receive an email after Fall quarter once we verify that you meet the cumulative GPA requirement and have no academic integrity or conduct violations on record.
Yes. Warnings are considered official sanctions under the EIR eligibility requirements. Students with academic integrity or conduct sanctions on record are not eligible for the program.
Establish a clear direction for your research project by November of the year you plan to participate in the program. Share the EIR Packet with your PI and review the requirements together. You can also explore past EIR journal publications for examples of successful projects and to help guide your research.
Dashboard Tasks FAQs
Yes. Electronic signatures are acceptable for all required documents.
No. All required signatures must come from your Faculty of Record – the faculty listed on the Schedule of Classes for your Bio Sci 199 section.
Search for your PI in the Faculty Profile System. The department listed under your PI’s profile determines your EIR department affiliation.
You will be removed from the program. No late submissions, extensions, or exceptions are allowed. Each Dashboard task opens and closes at a designated date and time. Once a deadline passes, the Dashboard will lock, and you will no longer be able to access or submit that task.
Recognition FAQs
Yes. Students who complete all program requirements and earn the “Excellence in Research” designation will receive a graduation cord. In addition, top students from each department will be selected by the Honors Committee to receive the “Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research,” a distinguished researcher recognition.
Yes. Dean’s Award recipients are invited to the School of Biological Sciences Honors Convocation in June and receive a special graduation stole.
Yes. Students may complete the program requirements without earning the “Excellence” designation. The Honors Committee may withhold the designation if the student does not demonstrate a substantive independent and intellectual contribution to the research, or if the final work does not include meaningful presentation or analysis of data. Students must demonstrate clear ownership of and interpretation of their research.
For all Bio Sci majors except Physiology & Exercise Science and Microbiology & Immunology, successful completion of EIR can count as one upper-division (UD) Biology laboratory for the major requirement and the University’s writing requirement. Students in specialized majors should consult their department about petitioning to apply EIR toward their degree requirements. Note: Health professional programs will not recognize EIR as satisfying their biology laboratory requirements.
Scientific Paper FAQs
No. Co-authoring is not permitted. You must independently write your own paper and conduct your own data analysis for the work submitted to the program.
Yes, but review papers should be cited sparingly. Most of your references should be primary research articles or other primary sources. Review papers should not serve as the main sources for your paper.
You may use previously collected data, as long as you re-analyze the data and develop your own hypothesis or research question based on it.
Not necessarily. You are not required to be directly involved in data collection. However, you must show independent intellectual contribution, which includes interpreting, analyzing, and framing the data in the context of your own hypothesis. This model is common in clinical research, particularly in the School of Medicine (SOM), where students may analyze existing datasets.
Undergraduate Research Symposium/Poster Judging Session FAQs
*Bio Sci departments: Posters will be judged by members of the Bio Sci Honors Committee.
*SOM department: Posters will be judged by the SOM Honors Committee, along with additional SOM faculty.
You are responsible for covering the cost of your poster printing. However, you may ask your PI or lab manager, some labs may be able to provide funding.
Yes. You are welcome to invite your lab members, friends, family, or other guests to your poster presentation. However, please remind your guests to be mindful of the judges and allow them priority when speaking with you. Judges are working on a strict timeline to review all participants.
Judges will evaluate your ability to clearly explain and defend your research and demonstrate ownership of your work. You should be prepared to discuss:
- Research question and significance: Can you clearly explain your research question or hypothesis and why it matters?
- Independent contribution: Can you explain your specific intellectual contribution to the project and demonstrate ownership of the work?
- Understanding of methods: Can you explain the methods used and why they were appropriate for your research question?
- Data analysis and interpretation: Can you accurately explain your results, interpret the data, and connect your findings to your research question?
- Critical thinking: Can you discuss the strengths, limitations, implications, and/or future directions of your research?
- Scientific communication: Is your poster clear, organized, and visually effective? Can you communicate your research clearly to judges and answer their questions thoughtfully?
The poster session is not simply an assessment of how polished your poster looks. The primary focus is your understanding of the research and your ability to demonstrate meaningful, independent, and intellectual engagement with the work.