Senior Project

Capstone in Biology, Society, & Environment

The Capstone requirements for a BSE major are determined by when the student declared the major.

For Students who declared the Major Fall 2020 or after

To complete the capstone, students must take BSE 3991. This is a 1 credit, asycnchronous, online, pass/fail course. It is designed to help students identify the skills and capacities they have developed as a Biology, Society, and the Environment majors and articulate those to future employers and graduate programs.

For Students who declared the major before Fall of 2020.

There are a number of options available. Students who choose an option other than BSE 3991 should meet with the BSE adviser to talk over the process.

  • Students may choose to redeclare the major and take BSE 3991 to fulfill their capstone.
  • Students may find an internship related to biology, health, ecology, or the environment and take CLA 3896: Internship reflection course. Students will need to have thier internship approved by the BSE advisor and then coordinate with the College to sign up for the course. For more information on Intership for Credit in CLA, you can follow this link.
  • Students may do a 2 credit add on to one of their science and society courses. This involves a deeper dive into the course material and often involves writing a longer paper for the course. What exactly the extra work looks like is negotiated between the student and the instructor. Students are responsible for finding an instructor who is willing and able to supervise the add-on; this option is available only at an instructor's discretion. The supervising instructor must be a tenure stream faculty member. Students will sign up for 2 credits of directed study in the department of the course that they are adding on to.
  • Students may choose to do 3 credits of directed research with a supervising faculty member. This can involved working with a faculty member on an existing project that the faculty member is running or proposing a project of the student's design to a faculty member. Students must find someone who is willing and able to work with them. Students will enroll in 3 credits of directed study in the department of their supervisor. The exception to this is students who work with faculty in the Medical and Dental school. Students will sign up for 3 credits of BSE 3996, if the work with any faculty in the Allied Health Services.

Senior Thesis

  • Honors Students should consult their honors adviser for additional honors thesis requirements.