Typically Offered: Fall term (as 11:067:493), Spring term (as 11:067:494), and Summer session (as 11:067:493/494). Faculty in the Department of Animal Science, listed as individual section, supervise students conducting research projects.
Prerequisites and Other Registration Restrictions: Open to all except freshman first semester students. Requires approval of the faculty member who will supervise and submit a letter grade for the research project. Once approval is acquired, the faculty member issues the student a special permission number.
Format: The student may be required to conduct independent research, attend meetings (i.e. laboratory discussion groups, seminars, and/or research supervisor), and prepare reports.
Description: The student, under the guidance of a faculty member, conducts independent research/study projects. Occasionally, the faculty member may engage the student in some aspect of a research project that the faculty member is pursuing. However, the student may also identify his/her own project.
Examinations: Grading may be based on participation, laboratory techniques acquired reports, etc. The faculty member overseeing the research project is required to complete a syllabus or Learning Contract that includes assessment of the student's performance in the laboratory. Templates of the syllabus and Learning Contract are provided below.
Other Requirements: The specific requirements for the course are determined in the negotiations between the student and the faculty supervisor. Since the credits are "by arrangement" (i.e., 1-6 credits), the quantity of time to do the research and complete the related assignments and the quality of work should be comparable to that required for any other course at the level of credits specified (i.e., if the project is for three credits, the workload should be comparable to a regular three-credit course).
Additional Information: See the departmental website for information on faculty research interests, email addresses, phone numbers, and building/office locations.
Template Syllabus (189k PDF) (may be subject to change)
Template Learning Contract (189k PDF) (may be subject to change)