Honors Research

Excellent students planning to pursue research after graduation should consider the Honors program in Biology. Typically, students begin working with a faculty member during their sophomore or junior year, well before officially enrolling in Honors research in the fall semester of their senior year. Honors provides a formal research opportunity that is more challenging and demanding than typical supervised research in biology. For many, tackling a rigorous project early on builds confidence and prepares them to set and achieve higher goals in their careers. The program also offers a realistic preview of thesis work in graduate school. Additionally, Honors allows students to demonstrate their originality and ability while balancing a substantial academic workload.

The Departmental Honors program is administered by the Charles Center, which offers excellent guides and advice on its website. Interested students are encouraged to consult the archive of completed Biology Honors projects.

Additional Policies:

• Students interested in Honors research must be Biology majors and have a research advisor or co-advisor who is a W&M Biology Department faculty member.
• If the Honors thesis has a co-advisor who is not a W&M Biology faculty member (an “external” co-advisor), the thesis committee will include the W&M Biology co-advisor, the external co-advisor, a second W&M Biology faculty member, and another external faculty member.
• Proposals for external co-advisors outside of W&M will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Biology Department, including a review of the proposed advisor’s CV.