Student Involvement in BBH Research
BB H is a research-oriented major. Outstanding undergraduate students are welcome and encouraged to work with faculty on their research projects and to develop their own scholarly ideas. Students who anticipate going on to graduate school or to seek entry into professional degree programs are especially encouraged to seek opportunities to become involved in research.
Here are some tips for becoming involved:
- Become knowledgeable about the research that is being conducted by the various BB H faculty. All faculty in BB H conduct research. Some faculty have research programs that involve working in traditional "wet-lab" laboratory settings involving analyzes of tissue samples. Some faculty collect data using other special purpose research settings (e.g., biomechanical labs, biophysiological labs, etc.). And still other faculty collect, or have access to, data from other sources (e.g., survey data, clinical data, government data, etc.). Your opportunities for involvement are quite broad.
- Prepare a list of several faculty whose interests are similar to yours or whose research programs may be related to your career or post-baccalaureate educational goals.
- Make appointments with the faculty to determine more information. There may or may not be immediate opportunities due to prior commitments to other students, time, space, availability of funding, and many other factors. Be aware that your academic performance is a critical factor in being accepted into a research team. If space is an issue, you might inquire about being accepted as a 296/496 student for scholarly activity that may be done outside the laboratory setting (e.g., library research, analyzes of data, etc.). You should be willing to be flexible regarding the availability of working with any faculty member.
- Be aware that if you are registering for credit (BB H 494, 296/496, etc.) you and the faculty are making mutual "contractual" commitments. You cannot register for these courses over the phone. Registration is handled by Kathy Barefoot in the Department Office. There is a special form required which specifies the nature of the activity and the means of evaluation. You and the faculty member both sign the form. You are making a commitment regarding the time involvement and to be an active participant in the research. You should expect to be involved in the research for 3-4 hours per week for every credit for which you are registered. The faculty member is making a commitment to provide an educational experience. Please note that under normal circumstances, payment for work does not entitle you to also receive credit. The activities and time for which you receive credit should be separate from the activities for which you get paid. It is the policy of BB H that not more than 6 credits of BB H 296/496 or 494 can count towards the major.
BBH Laboratories
There are many other opportunities involving BB H faculty whose research projects involve data obtained from other settings.
Review BBH Laboratories and Research Centers, many of which may be available to you for research experience.