BIO-BS - Biology (BS)

Course Requirements:

1. 10 units of course or course (must submit BIO 199X petition) from your Honors lab completed during your junior and senior years only. 7 of the 10 units of BIO 199 or BIO 199X can double count toward additional electives requirement.

   1. If this poses a challenge, we will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis for students who have completed comparable experience through federal work study, paid research experience, etc.

2. 3 units of course. Fulfills WIM. BIO 199W can double count toward additional electives requirement.

To graduate with departmental honors, a student must conduct an independent research project during their junior and senior years. Research must be done in a Biology Department lab or a lab in another department for which the student has obtained prior approval.

Administrative steps include:

1. Submit an approved honors proposal during the winter quarter of junior year.

2. Complete at least ten units of an approved research project from the same lab. Students conducting research in a lab outside of the Department of Biology must submit an Out of Department Research Petition either before they start their research or, if the research was started before declaring the Biology major, as soon as their major declaration is approved. Only research units from BIO are counted toward the ten-unit requirement.

3. Obtain at least a 3.0 (B) grade point average (GPA) in all Biology major requirements taken at Stanford (foundational, breadth, and elective courses). Grades earned from these teaching and research are not computed into this GPA: BIO 198, BIO 198X, BIO 199, BIO 199X, BIO 290, BIO 291, BIO 296.

4. Participate in the annual Achauer Undergraduate Biology Honors Symposium by presenting a poster or giving an oral presentation. The symposium is typically held in mid-May.

5. Complete and, by the published deadline during the spring quarter of senior year, submit online an honors thesis approved by at least two readers. At least one reader must be from the faculty of the Department of Biology, and both readers must be Academic Council members. The title page of the honors thesis must include the student name, thesis title, name and department of research sponsor, and name and department of the second reader. Students must submit this page with original ink signatures to the student services office by the published deadline for the quarter in which graduation is expected.

 Honors Program and Undergraduate Research in Biology for further information on the honors program.

Students who wish to complete an independent capstone project must enroll in the Independent Capstone in Biology course series. Such projects might involve creative works, research or business internships, travel-based study, teaching, or community service. Examples include the production of a teaching or business plan, a film or podcast, or a public education campaign.

Students will enroll in Bio 199A and Bio 199B to complete the capstone requirement. Students will have two opportunities to enroll in the Independent Capstone requirement (one starting in spring of junior year and the later cohort starting in winter of senior year).

• course–3 units

  • Cohort A: enroll during spring quarter of the junior year

  • Cohort B: enroll during winter quarter of senior year

• course–3 units

  • Cohort A: enroll during autumn quarter of senior year

  • Cohort B: enroll during spring quarter of senior year

No preliminary materials are required to enroll in Bio 199A, as the proposal will be generated during the course, with support from advisors, mentors, and instructors.

Contact Dr. Ashby Morrison at ashbym@stanford.edu and Dr. David Armenta at darmenta@stanford.edu, with further questions.

Students can complete one of the following approved out-of-department Capstone options. They are responsible for fulfilling all program requirements and staying on top of deadlines.

• Notation in Science Communication -

The Notation in Science Communication (NSC) provides undergraduates with a new opportunity to develop their ability to communicate technical information to a variety of audiences using multiple genres and modes. Through a combination of coursework, advising and reflection, selected students can earn a special designation on their official transcripts that indicates their advanced work in science communication.

Questions? Reach out to the NSC team (notationsc@stanford.edu) for more information.

• Science, Technology, and Society Honors program

Each year since the program was launched in 1978, STS Honors students have completed innovative projects culminating in a thesis. In a year-long process of research and writing, Honors students become experts in a specialized field of interest. The Honors designation signifies intellectual independence, analytical rigor, organizational skills, discipline, and perseverance – skills and attributes that serve individuals well after graduation. Students have capitalized on their projects as springboards to graduate studies and to careers in information technology, entrepreneurship, finance, public policy, media, education, law, medicine and the nonprofit sector. Honors students present their research theses at an annual Honors Symposium.

Questions? Reach out to the STS Honors Program Director (kyokos@stanford.edu) for more information.

• Interdisciplinary Honors in the Arts

The Stanford Arts Institute offers an interdisciplinary Honors in the Arts program, open to undergraduates in any major. Over the course of their senior year, Honors in the Arts students develop a creative thesis project that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of their major. The program supports collaborative or individual projects that center research creation, combine two or more kinds of art practice, or blend art and research in some creative yet rigorous way. All students will work with a faculty advisor, a grad student mentor, and participate in a weekly workshop with a cohort of interdisciplinary peers.

We are particularly interested in experimental work that engages new forms of expression for a 21st-century audience. Additionally, we are committed to building a cohort that reflects a diversity of identities, experiences, educational backgrounds, and artistic and scholarly interests. Such diversity only enhances our interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavors.

Questions? Reach out to the Stanford Arts Institute (artsinstitute@stanford.edu) for more information.

• Undergraduate Honors in Education

The honors program in education provides undergraduate students the opportunity to supplement their declared majors with a research project inspired by their interest in education. This program enables qualified undergraduates at Stanford to extend the learning in their major field of study by pursuing education courses and undertaking a supervised research thesis.

Honors students pursue a wide range of thesis projects with intellectual tools from a variety of academic disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. They often engage directly with communities of practice, working alongside educators and reformers on and off campus.

Questions? Reach out to the Director, Undergraduate Honors Program (aykelman@stanford.edu) for more information.