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Academics & Research

Physical Sciences

Faculty committee:  S. J. Mulvaney, chair

The research honors program in physical sciences provides outstanding students with an opportunity to do independent research under the supervision of a faculty member in the Departments of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Food Science, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, or Biological Statistics and Computational Biology.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES

In addition to meeting the requirements of the college, students interested in applying to the Physical Sciences Research Honors Program are expected to:

  • Identify a thesis advisor and thesis topic before the end of the junior year.
  • Work with the thesis advisor to prepare a budget, short research proposal (2–3 pages), and application form. These materials must be received by the Physical Sciences committee chair by the end of the third week of senior year.

HONORS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Students who are accepted into the Physical Sciences Research Honors Program must complete the following in order to graduate with Distinction in Research:

  • Enroll in the program for a minimum of two semesters.
  • Enroll in the appropriate departmental undergraduate research course for a total of at least 6 credits.
  • Submit an outline of the thesis to the chair of the committee by the end of January (for a May graduation).
  • Submit a draft of the thesis to the thesis advisor with sufficient lead-time for revisions to be incorporated. There is no required format, but the thesis is usually written in the form of a research journal article or a master's thesis.
  • Submit three copies of the thesis and names of recommended reviewers to the chair of the honors committee at least four weeks prior to the end of classes during the semester in which graduation is expected.
  • Students may volunteer to publish their final, approved thesis at eCommons Cornell University Library, as long as doing so does not interfere with other plans, such as patenting or publishing in another journal. A permission form can be obtained from the honors committee chair.
  • Each summer, in recognition of the research performed by honors students and their faculty mentors, a compilation of honors thesis abstracts is published in the CALS Research Honors Abstracts. Students are required to submit their thesis title, research advisor’s name, and abstract (in Word format) to the honors committee chair for inclusion in this publication. Students should be advised of the abstract publication instructions and deadlines for submission.

Further details regarding the research honors program can be obtained from the chair of the Physical Sciences Research Honors Committee.