Application and Deadlines for Dec '12 and May '13
1. Monday, October 1st, 2012 - Online Application Due.The Application Form can be found online here. Your Research Supervisor will receive an emailed copy of the application with a request for an endorsement, and his/her email reply will serve as an electronic signature of approval for the application. This research supervisor approval is due by by Monday, October 8th, 2012. The Principal Investigator or faculty member most closely associated with your project should be listed as the research supervisor. Any Duke faculty member in a biological sciences department (including the Duke University Medical Center) may be a Research Supervisor.
Approval of the application by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) indicates that the student may proceed with the completion of the written thesis, and students will be asked to enroll in a special group on Sakai. Each student will be matched with a Reader from the Biology Faculty.
Students accepted as candidates for Distinction will be eligible to register for a special 1.0 cc course, Writing in Biology, BIO 495 (299), in the spring. This course will be an intensive training in the principles of scientific writing, with a focus on the preparation of the honors thesis. This class is recommended, but not required and carries a W designation.
2. Friday, Feb 8, 2013 - Last date to meet with Biology Faculty Reader.
You should either meet or begin correspondence as early as possible with your Faculty Reader. By Friday, Feb 8 you should have been in contact with your assigned Biology Faculty Reader to discuss the criteria, format and general expectations for the writing of your thesis. Be sure to have read through the information about the format of the thesis before meeting with your reader.
3. Friday, March 1, 2013 - Submit first draft of your Introduction to your Biology Faculty Reader.
Even if you are still collecting and analyzing data, you should prepare an introduction as described in the Thesis Guidelines. Be sure to include a clear statement of hypothesis, a review of the relevant literature, and an explanation of the rationale for your specific experimental approach. Your research supervisor must review your introduction, and you should have incorporated feedback from your supervisor, before you submit the draft to your reader.
4. Friday, March 22, 2013 - Submit first draft of the entire thesis to your Biology Faculty Reader.
The Research Supervisor must review and approve the thesis draft before submission of the the first draft. Feedback from the Research Supervisor is crucial and it is wise to anticipate one or two rounds of revision before the March 22 deadline. After submitting the draft to the Faculty Reader, students should contact their Reader individually to discuss the thesis draft. It maybe best to include your supervisor in that meeting. After the Mar 22 deadline, students may still submit a final thesis for approval, but without opportunity for feedback or revision. However, note that a thesis submitted without feedback is likely to be declined for distinction.
5. Friday, April 12, 2013 - Electronic Submission of Thesis Title & Abstract
Abstracts shoudl be ~ 250 words, single paragraph, no references. There is no minimum word requirement. Please submit via this webform: https://duke.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2f5orrD1yTp1wVv
6. Friday, April 19, 2013- Present research results and conclusions as a poster (3:00-5:00/Location TBA)
A poster summarizing the results and conclusions of your project will be presented at the Poster Symposium as an oral defense of your thesis. Students should be available to answer questions from 3:00-5:00 PM. It is important to meet with your Faculty Reader at the Poster Symposium to discuss your poster- you may want to contact your reader in advance in order to arrange a time. All candidates for distinction must present a poster, but presentation does not guarantee the award of distinction. The design and preparation of your poster should follow the "Guidelines for the Preparation of an Honors Poster."
It is the responsibility of the student to meet all requirements and deadlines. Awards of Distinction will be announced at the time of graduation and appear on the final transcript.
7. Monday, April 22, 2013 - Submit final thesis to DUS-Biology Office by 12:00 pm.
The signature of the Research Supervisor is required for consideration of your final thesis and indicates that the work is complete and is nominated for distinction. An original thesis and one copy should be submitted in the format described here. An honors committee consisting of the DUS and the Faculty Reader appointed by the DUS will evaluate the thesis for distinction. The committee will evaluate the thesis in its final form and revisions will not be considered.
DECEMBER 2012 GRADUATION WITH DISTINCTION DEADLINES:
December graduates should follow the same procedures and guidelines outlined above, using the following deadlines:
Friday, October 26, 2012: Last date to have met with Biology Faculty Reader
Tuesday, Dec 4, 2012: Submit 2 copies of the final thesis to DUS-Biology Office (with approval of research supervisor)
Poster Presentation: To be held no later than Friday, December 7.
Duke Biology Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708 Phone: 919-660-7372 Fax: 919-660-7293