Departmental Honors

No. Students must already have experience in the lab they are proposing to do their honors thesis in (i.e. SRP 99, MIMG 196, MIMG 199, or volunteer experience). Students must also have their current faculty mentor's consent to conduct honors research in their lab.

If you need support getting connected to independent research, check out the Undergraduate Research Center's "Find a Lab" tips or reach out to the MIMG Advising Team for tips and guidance (undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu). 

Before beginning the first quarter of MIMG 198, the student must:

• Have experience in the lab of an MIMG faculty member (non-MIMG faculty are not allowed, no exceptions).  Experience consists of SRP 99, MIMG 99, MIMG 199, or from volunteer work.
• Have a GPA of 3.2+ in pre-major courses and at least 3.5 in the major, upper division courses.
• Ask their current faculty mentor to email the Faculty Honors Advisor (above) to confirm their consent to the student conducting honors research in their lab.
• Email the Faculty Honors Advisor (see above) to share a research project proposal. 
• Receive approval from the Faculty Honors Advisor (see above).

• Enrollment requires a contract, just like SRP and MIMG 199.  Contracts can be generated through MyUCLA, under “Contract Courses”.
• Contracts must be filled out, signed by the mentor, and submitted to the Student Affairs Officer via email for every quarter of 198.  There is no “automatic enrollment”.
• The Department Chair does not need to sign the contract, ever. 
• Contracts are due by Friday of the second week of classes at noon. 
• 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.
• When submitting the 198A contract, the student must also include the Honors Application, signed by Dr. Miller, and a current degree audit report signed by the mentor.

• 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 Student Affairs Officer by Friday of Finals week.  No such report is needed at the end of 198C, to allow the student to work on the thesis.
• The mentor grades the research (198A, B, C) of the student.  Whether or not the mentor uses the report as basis for a grade is at his/her 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 Week 10 of Spring quarter). 

MIMG 191H is a seminar course that involves reading, discussion, and presentation of current research topics. The Faculty Honors Advisor, Dr. Jeffrey H. Miller, teaches MIMG 191H. Students must be in their senior (last) year to enroll in 191H.

• 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 Faculty Undergraduate Advisor.

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 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. 
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.

Path I:

At least 4 units of research and 2 units from MIMG 191H. Units may be applied toward MIMG General Elective Requirement. 

Path II:

At least 8 units of research and 2 units from MIMG 191H. Units may be applied toward MIMG General Elective Requirement. 

Students who are in Path 2, or enter Path 2, while doing Departmental Honors should enroll in the 198 series (not 196) so that their transcripts reflect the Honors research.

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. 

• Students who are in Path 2, or enter Path 2, while doing Departmental Honors should enroll in the 198 series (not 196) so that their transcripts reflect the Honors research.
• Please contact Dr. Fonseca, MIMG Advisor for more information (undergrad@microbio.ucla.edu).