Undergraduate Research Honors Program

Biological Sciences

The Department of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Honors Program

The Undergraduate Honors Research Program (URHP) (formerly Honors-in-Discipline) program in the Department of Biological Sciences will provide YOU with an enhanced program of study for your major in biology (standard, concentration, and biochemistry tracks). The Biology Faculty promise you a challenging and stimulating college experience. The Biology URHP program emphasizes student learning through experience, research and scholarship. Honors students become part of our scholarly community, encouraged to participate in scientific dialogue with peers and faculty. You will gain the knowledge and skills needed to complete a formal research project that you select from the vast array of on-going research disciplines in biology. We seek highly motivated students willing to work with us in learning and discovery.

The Program

Students selected for the program will begin their Honors in Biology with the Honors Launch, a one-credit course designed to introduce new biology honors scholars to our faculty, courses, laboratories and scholarly discourse. Biology Honors Scholars will also participate in our departmental seminars (Honors Seminar credit); take Research Orientation (2 credits) their sophomore year; join a laboratory (Research in Biology credit) and participate in honors-enriched courses of their choice during their junior year; and finally, as seniors, they will receive academic credit to complete their Honors Thesis (Senior Honors Thesis; 3-6 credits). Retention and successful completion require a 3.25 cumulative GPA and 3.6 Biology GPA each semester; a semester of probation is available as a 2nd chance for the occasional tough semester.

Eligibility, Selection, and Scholarship

Incoming Freshmen: You are eligible to apply for Biology Honors if you have a minimum cumulative (overall) High School GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) OR an ACT composite score of 28+ (exclude writing) or SAT score of 1250+ (math and reading only).
Incoming Transfer Students or Current ETSU Students: You are eligible to apply if you have at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA in higher education AND a 3.6 GPA in college biology courses. In most cases, transfer students should expect to spend at least two years to successfully complete their biology major with Honors.
Selection: Selection is competitive. All applications will be evaluated by the Biology Honors Committee (faculty) and the Honors Coordinator. To ensure the quality of the program, only a limited number of spaces are available.
All students selected for the program will receive a $2500 honors scholarship for the academic year ($1250 per semester).

Application

For additional details about the Biology Honors in Discipline program and application form, please contact hidbiology@etsu.edu. Applications will be available in mid-January of each year, with a March 1 deadline for submission. Please click here to apply to the Biology URHP.

Please click here to review the Biology Honors Program of Study and here for frequently asked questions.