Departmental Honors

MIMG does NOT place students in labs. Students must independently apply and/or contact labs and faculty directly. MIMG Advisors can meet with students to share guidance and check in about progress as helpful to students. 

Getting Connected to Independent Research: We recommend checking out our MIMG Undergraduate Research Guide for steps and resources to reach out to UCLA labs for the purpose of engaging in undergraduate research.

MIMG Students can only enroll in MIMG 198 coursework if they are accepted into the MIMG Departmental Honors Program. 

There is no “automatic enrollment” in MIMG 198A, 198B, or 198C. Enrollment requires a contract, just like SRP-99 and MIMG 199 courses. Contracts are available at MyUCLA, under “Contract Courses”. 

198A Enrollment Steps (Once Approved to Pursure Honors by Dr. Miller):

1. Obtain PI approval to apply to MIMG Departmental Honors. 
2. Draft a research proposal to submit with the guidance of your PI/faculty mentor. All 198 contracts must include a thoughtful and well-described proposal for research, to be approved by the Department. The proposal is written by the student with the guidance of the mentor.
3. Create a "contract" via MyUCLA. Go to "Contract Courses", then follow steps to create a 4-unit contract for MIMG 198A, selecting your PI/Facutly mentor. After completion, you will have a PDF document of your contract that includes your research proposal
4. After generating the PDF contract, please ask your PI/faculty mentor to sign. The Departmental Chair Does Not Need to Sign the Contracts (Unless the Departemntal Chair is the Student's Faculty Mentor).
5. Uploaded and submitted with the MIMG Departmental Honors Application.

198B/198C Enrollment Steps (for Approved Honors Students):

1. Draft a research proposal to submit with the guidance of your PI/faculty mentor. All 198 contracts must include a thoughtful and well-described proposal for research, to be approved by the Department. The proposal is written by the student with the guidance of the mentor.
2. Create a "contract" via MyUCLA. Go to "Contract Courses", then follow steps to create a 4-unit contract for MIMG 198B or 198C, selecting your PI/Facutly mentor. After completion, you will have a PDF document of your contract that includes your research proposal
3. After generating the PDF contract, please ask your PI/faculty mentor to sign. The Departmental Chair Does Not Need to Sign the Contracts (Unless the Departemntal Chair is the Student's Faculty Mentor).
4. Please send Dr. Fonseca (undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu) a signed contract by Noon/12:00 PM on Friday of Week 2.

• For MIMG 198A and MIMG 198B, a progress report, in the form of a rough draft/working draft of the thesis (see below), must be submitted to the mentor and to the MIMG Advising Office (undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu) by Friday of Finals week. No such report is needed at the end of MIMG 198C, to allow the student to work on the thesis. 
• The faculty mentor grades the research (MIMG 198A, MIMG 198B, MIMG 198C) of the student. Whether or not the mentor uses the report as basis for a grade is at the mentor's discretion. The student should inquire about this before starting 198A.
• The final thesis must be approved by the Faculty Honors Advisor and submitted via email in a timely manner. 
  • If students began research in the Spring, the thesis is due the following year on May 15th. If students began in the Fall, the thesis is due Friday of Week 9 of Spring quarter. 

If students are enrolled in an MIMG 198A or 198B MIMG Departmental Honors course, students must submit a copy of the research progress report to the MIMG Department quarterly. This is a departmental copy only, as 198A/198B grades and report copies are graded by PI/faculty mentors. Faculty mentors must sign an MIMG Faculty Acknowledgement Form to verify that they have reviewed and approve of the research progress report. 198A and 198B students will receive instructions via email to submit the 198A/198B progress report quarterly. Submissions, including the signed MIMG Faculty Acknowledgement Form, are due no later than 5:00 PM Friday of Finals Week. 

198C students are NOT required to submit a progress report. 198C students are required to submit their MIMG Departmental Honors Thesis according to instructions from Dr. Miller (MIMG Honors Faculty Advisor). 

For any questions or clarifications, students should please email MIMG advisors at undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu. 

MIMG 181H - Honors Research Seminar is a 2-unit seminar course that admitted MIMG Departmental Honors students must take in the Winter quarter of their final year at UCLA. This course is taught by Dr. Jeffrey H. Miller, the MIMG Faculty Honors Advisor.

This honors seminar course explores the intersection of cutting-edge research in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics with critical bioethical issues emerging in biomedicine. Topics vary but may include include germline gene editing, artificial intelligence in healthcare, stem cell research, medical resource allocation, animal research ethics, biosecurity, genetically modified organisms, biohacking, gene patenting, de-extinction, and genetic testing.

Each student will research, prepare, and deliver two 45-minute presentations on a selected topics, facilitating an interactive discussion throughout, with the goal to foster in-depth dialogue. Through this course, students will develop a sophisticated understanding of the ethical challenges arising from advances in biomedical science, while honing skills in scientific communication, critical analysis, and discussion leadership.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Analyze and critically evaluate ethical dilemmas related to contemporary topics in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics.
2. Synthesize scientific literature and ethical frameworks to construct well-informed, balanced arguments on bioethical issues.
3. Prepare and deliver clear, engaging oral presentations that effectively communicate complex scientific and ethical content to a peer audience. Improve ability to prepare and supervise discussion of these topics.
4. Lead and facilitate group discussions that encourage critical thinking and respectful debate on contentious biomedical topics.
5. Reflect on the societal, legal, and moral implications of emerging biomedical technologies and research practices.
6. Collaborate with peers to explore diverse perspectives and develop a nuanced understanding of ethics in biomedicine.
7. Understand conflicts that arise from some advances in biomedicine.

• Three consecutive quarters of honors research must be completed in the same sponsor’s lab. Spring and Fall are considered consecutive quarters. Summer quarter does not count (but optional if the faculty agrees).
• Students are expected to work in the lab 12-16 hours per week, per quarter. The student and mentor will decide upon a schedule that works for both of them.
• Students are not allowed to enroll in 198 in the same research laboratory in which they are working for pay. Exceptions to this rule require prior approval by the Vice Chair of Undergraduate Education. 

The Honors Thesis should adequately describe the research carried out during the three quarters of honors work.  The paper should be in the format of a journal paper, please use the format of the Journal of Molecular Biology.  

The Honors Thesis must include following sections:

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction: A short review of the field of study that should represent a mini-review of the topic of the paper. Minimum of 1500 words.
4. Experimental Design: Should demonstrate an understanding of the experimental system.
5. Results: Should include figures, tables, and legends as appropriate.
6. Discussion: Should demonstrate a knowledge of the larger field, and represent a mini-review of the topic of the paper. Combined with the Future Experiments section, minimum of 1500 words.Yes, 1500 words minimum is correct.
7. Materials and Methods
8. Future Experiments: Should demonstrate an understanding of the experimental system. Combined with the discussion section, minimum of 1500 words.
9. References: Must include the names of all authors, the journal, beginning and end pages, and the full titles of the articles.

Additional Notes:

• The paper should reflect only the student’s own experiments and should be written completely by the student (a copy of a multi-authored publication or paper submitted for publication cannot substitute for an honors Thesis).
• It is not a requirement that experiments work or yield a publishable result.  It is important to analyze the experiments, and particularly in the case where few results were obtained, to suggest future experiments that might shed light on the problem.  

The Thesis must be signed and approved from the Faculty Honors Advisor, Dr. Miller for the student to receive departmental honors. Please feel free to discuss your honors thesis with Dr. Miller at any time.

Honors Thesis Submission Steps: 

• Have your final thesis signed by your Faculty Mentor (they can sign your Title Page or another page at the beginning of your thesis)
• Submit your thesis to Faculty Honors Advisor Dr. Jeffrey H. Miller (jhmiller@microbio.ucla.edu)
• After Dr. Miller's approval, you must also submit a copy to the MIMG Department through the MIMG Departmental Honors Thesis Submission Link (26-27)

All signed theses must be submitted to the Faculty Honors Advisor, Dr. Jeffrey H. Miller, no later than MAY 15th of the final year. Unless the student began honors research the fall quarter of their final year, in which case their thesis is due by Friday of Week 9 of the final year.

Have your final thesis signed by your Faculty Mentor. Submit your thesis to Faculty Honors Advisor Dr. Jeffrey H. Miller (jhmiller@microbio.ucla.edu). After Dr. Miller's approval, you must also submit a copy to the MIMG Department through the MIMG Departmental Honors Thesis Submission portal. 

Path 1:

• MIMG 198C and/or MIMG 181H can fulfill the MIMG General Elective Requirement. 

Path 2:

• MIMG 198C and/or MIMG 181H can fulfill the MIMG General Elective Requirement. 
• If admitted to Path 2, the research/contract courses (i.e. 198 A/B/C from Honors and 196A/B from Path 2) can potentially overlap. For example, if you begin Honors and Path 2 at the same time, you would enroll in MIMG 198A + MIMG 180A the first quarter. The 198A would "replace" 196A for Path 2. Please see Path 2 application information here.
• Students who began Path 2 before being accepted into Departmental Honors should contact Dr. Fonseca to confirm the title of their upcoming contract.

For inquiries about course planning, please contact the MIMG Advising team at undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu with your UID. 

Path 2:

• Path 2 and MIMG Dpt. Honors are separate programs. Students must apply and be admitted to both programs separately if interested in both.
• MIMG Dpt. Honors does NOT replace Path 2.
• If admitted to Path 2, the contract courses can potentially overlap. Contract courses are the academic credit for the research itself (198 A/B/C from Honors, 196A/B from Path 2). For example, if you begin Honors and Path 2 at the same time, you would enroll in MIMG 198A + MIMG 180A the first quarter. The 198A would "replace" 196A for Path 2. It would NOT be possible to enroll in two contract courses in the same quarter (i.e. cannot enroll in MIMG 198B and 196B in same quarter), as that would be double-counting the same research.Please see Path 2 application information here.
• Students who began Path 2 before being accepted into Departmental Honors should contact Dr. Fonseca at undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu with their UID to confirm the title of their upcoming contract.

For inquiries about course planning, please contact the MIMG Advising team at undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu with your UID.