Note: Bio 200 offers research experiences to students who have completed less than 60 units of credit at the time of enrollment, whereas Bio 500 provides research experiences in a similar format to students who have completed at least 60 units of credit at the time of enrollment (Please note that clinical research does not qualify for Bio 200/500 and instead should be applied for through Bio 265)
- Fill out the Pre-application. IMPORTANT: You must have a mentor and short description of your project or lab duties to complete the pre-application. The pre-application is designed for students who are beginning their first semester of research for credit, or, if a student is beginning research in a new lab. We use the pre-application to make sure your research is biological, and that your mentor is an approved Bio 200/500 mentor.
When your pre-application is approved, you will receive an email containing a link and password to the full application. Completion of the full application is required for enrollment.
Project Proposal/Description: If this is your first semester in a lab, OR the first time you are applying for Bio 200/500, OR you are beginning a new project in your current lab, a project proposal is due before the end of the application deadline.
The proposal should be written by you, but with input and assistance from your faculty mentor. Please include your name, semester, course number, mentor name and laboratory on the upper left of your proposal. The project proposal should be single spaced and include at least one paragraph on each of the following:
- Project Background: What are the broad biological questions that are being addressed and the specific hypotheses to be tested?
- Project Description: What is your role in the lab? What are your responsibilities? For example: What are the general methods to be used, experimental design, laboratory tools/techniques, etc.
- Project Goals: What are the anticipated outcomes of your project?
Please save your project proposal using the following format and email to biostudentquery@gowustl.onmicrosoft.com: student#.student name.course.# of unit.PDF
Students are required to complete this application process before each semester that they plan to do research. The application deadline applies to all students taking this course, even those who are planning to work in the same lab on the same project. If you are continuing research in the same lab, there is space provided on the full application for you to provide a description of how your research has evolved from the previous semester’s research. You are not required to turn in a full research description.
Please be patient during the registration process. This course is not affected by the drop/add dates. You will be manually enrolled by the Biology Registrar (biostudentquery@gowustl.onmicrosoft.com) once your application/research proposal have been approved. Applications and research proposals are not always reviewed and approved immediately after they are submitted.
Enrollment typically begins during the first and second week of the semester. Students are expected to begin research during the first week of the semester. Do not wait to be enrolled. If this is a problem for the lab you are working in please email biostudentquery@gowustl.onmicrosoft.com.
Deadlines: Fall/Spring Registration Deadline: First Friday of the Semester; Summer Registration Deadline: June 1
If there is a problem with your application or research proposal you will be contacted. Students are given the chance to rewrite their proposals and tailor them to meet course expectations.
You will be notified once you’ve been enrolled. If you have any questions about this process, please email biostudentquery@gowustl.onmicrosoft.com.