Undergraduate Honors Program in Biological Sciences

The Department of Biological Sciences (DBS) Honors Program requires students to design a challenging program of advanced study, including 8 credits of honors coursework in biology and at least two semesters of research or teaching scholarship. Participants are required to present their scholarly work at a local, regional, or national meeting. A written honors thesis is also required. Invitations to join the DBS Honors Program are sent in the first 3 weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters, based on GPA and number of credit hours completed at NC State, as described in the Admissions Requirements. More information on the program is found here.

Plan Requirements

• BSC 497 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1 and BSC 498 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 2
  • two semesters of mentored research or teaching scholarship in biology
  • includes written project proposal (BSC 497 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1), and a draft of the honors thesis (BSC 498 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 2)
  • includes completion of reflection prompts posted on Moodle
  • enrollment requires a completed contract with the mentor, approved by the DBS Honors Program Committee
• BSC 499 Honors Thesis in Biological Sciences
  • requires several forms of oral and visual/written presentation of work completed in BSC 497 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1 & BSC 498 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 2
  • requires final written honors thesis on the work completed in BSC 497 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1 & BSC 498 Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 2 
  • the honors thesis will be submitted mid-way through the semester for evaluation and to allow time for revisions
  • the honors thesis must be approved by the mentor and by the DBS Honors Program Committee

Honors Coursework (8 credits)

• courses must be completed with a B- or higher
• courses must be numbered 300 or higher
• courses must focus on a topic in biology
• eligible courses include: (1) any course designated as an honors course by the DBS Honors Program Committee, (2) any course for which an honors contract is approved by the DBS Honors Program Committee, and (3) any Study Abroad course approved by the DBS Honors Program Committee.

Admissions Requirement

Students in any major offered by the Department of Biological Sciences who have earned an overall GPA of 3.60 after completing 30 (but fewer than 65) credit hours at NC State will receive an invitation to join the DBS Honors Program.

Transfer Students in any major offered by the Department of Biological Sciences who have earned an overall GPA of 3.60 after completing 15 credit hours at NC State (and a total of 30 credit hours of college coursework), will receive an invitation to join the DBS Honors Program.

Graduation Requirements

• complete the Program Requirements described above
• maintain an overall GPA of 3.40 or higher
• complete the graduation requirements for an undergraduate degree program offered by the Department of Biological Sciences

Program Director

Dr. Brian Langerhans
246 David Clark Labs
919.515.3514