Undergraduate Project Courses

Undergraduates...

  • Are you interested in doing scientific research over the summer?           

The Biochemistry Dept. offers...

Project and Program Details...

Summer Honors Research Project (4985E and 4986Y)

The Dept. of Biochemistry also offers the Honors Research Project in the spring/summer term. 

The pre-requisites for the summer Research Project are Biochemistry 3381A, 3382A, and 3380G with a mark of at least 70% in each. Note that you do not have to be in a Biochemistry Honors Specialization module to do the Research Project in the summer and that in all cases, registration in the summer Research Project requires special permission. To register, students should take the following three steps:

1. Find a supervisor.  Students should use the department’s webpage of Research Faculty to identify researchers working in areas that interest them. The decision to carry out the Research Project is made between the student and the supervisor.   Each student should contact potential supervisor(s) (provide a CV and academic record) by the end of March to make arrangements, so they can register for the course by mid-April.

  2. Obtain special permission from Dr. McLachlin.  Due to the limited number of available positions, special permission is required for all students.

  3. Register for the courses.  After you have permission, you can add the courses online like any other course. Note that both 4985E and 4986Y must be taken. These are for-credit courses, and therefore tuition must be paid for the Spring-Summer terms.

The Research Project will begin on or about May 1 and will include most aspects of the fall/winter term Research Project, including safety training, oral presentations, and a written thesis. Because of the shortened time-span (16 weeks versus 24 for the fall/winter project), students are expected to spend approximately 23 hours per week in the laboratory.

Students who complete the Year 4 Research Project in the summer between Years 3 and 4 can elect to continue in a research-intensive stream in Year 4 (see Advanced Research Project), or complete their Year 4 requirements in the fall/winter. Although a full course load in Year 4 is recommended (it may be required for admission to graduate or professional programs), you may elect to take fewer than 5.0 courses if you have 'extra' credits.

Advanced Research Project (4999E)

The Advanced Research Project (Biochemistry 4999E, 1.0 credit) is offered in the fall-winter terms. The Advanced Research Project is intended for students who are enthusiastic about scientific research and would like to gain additional experience and/or proceed to the graduate program immediately after completion of their undergraduate studies (see Accelerated MSc). The Advanced Research Project can be conducted in the same laboratory as the Year 4 Summer Honors Research Project or a different laboratory. An outline of the course is provided below.

This course (1.0 credit) will provide research skills to prepare students for graduate studies in biochemistry. The major component of the course will involve 12 hours per week of independent research. Students must attend several in-person seminars and complete online ethics modules. The student will also undertake a literature review of the research area and a research seminar.