Biochemistry Honors

Important Dates (2026-2027 Academic Year)

Schedule of biochemistry-relevant seminars

Guidelines for Biochemistry Majors pursuing Honors Research

Course Description

Good luck in your work towards graduation with honors in Biochemistry! Honors is designed to provide a capstone experience that will draw upon your scientific background, develop your ability to explore scientific questions independently, and provide you opportunities to present your findings. In this research experience you will learn alongside your advisors and your peers. An additional goal of this experience is to strengthen the peer group that exists among seniors conducting research.

Course Philosophy

We believe that all students can grow through their research experiences. We encourage students to be active researchers, have a growth mindset, and support their peers.
Objectives: In the course of your research experience, you will:

• Develop research goals and objectives
• Perform a comprehensive literature review of your research area
• Design appropriate experiments to reach your goals and objectives
• Conduct well-planned experiments
• Analyze your data to understand and interpret your results
• Present your findings in poster, oral and written format
• Thoughtfully critique the work of your peers
• Stay current with developments in the field by attending weekly seminars featuring invited speakers who will present current and on-going research

Time commitment

Pursuit of honors requires a strong commitment to your scholarship and the conscientiousness necessary to complete an “unstructured” course. You should expect to dedicate an average of 12-15 hours a week to honors.

Safety training

To perform laboratory-based advanced independent study, you will need to take the lab safety training and hazardous waste training prior to starting experiments. Ensure that your training is up-to-date if you were trained in the past. See the Office of Laboratory Safety for information on training: https://bowdoin.instructure.com/enroll/RATJ7F. Your safety is more important than any experiment, so take the time to plan accordingly and ensure that you have a safety buddy (someone in the building who knows what you’re doing and checks in on you) during non-standard work hours. 

Plan Ahead

You will iterate several drafts of your oral and written presentations with your advisors. Expect more than 24 hours or at most a week’s wait for feedback. Plan ahead and collaborate with your advisors to develop timelines that are workable for both of you.

Evaluation

The biochemistry faculty has high expectations of the quality of work produced by all senior research students, and these expectations are elevated for those working toward Honors. Your grade on your independent study project will reflect your efforts in all elements of the research experience documented above and your active participation in the biochemistry research community. Your progress toward achieving the stated objectives of the research experience will be formally evaluated by the biochemistry faculty at the mid-year point to ensure that you may continue in your pursuit of honors, and then again at the end of the year to determine if honors will be awarded. At these points, the biochemistry faculty will identify strengths and limitations in your progress and performance and either your advisor or a representative biochemistry faculty member will provide recommendations for addressing any concerns in progress. The following criteria will be used to evaluate your performance and progress: (i) your engagement in the project; (ii) independence in laboratory and analysis (which we expect will be enhanced over the two semesters); (iii) your ability to incorporate feedback from your advisor in written and oral assignments; (iv) the final quality of your written and oral assignments. See mid-year feedback form at the end of this document.