How to enroll in a research class?

With the exception of BIOL 211, you do not register to the Biology research classes through Connect Carolina. Instead, you first need to identify a faculty mentor (also known as a principle investigator, or PI) that will mentor you in your research. Only then you can fill an application form through the Biology Student Services Specialist, Summer Montgomery in 213 Coker Hall.  Once approved, Summer will enroll you in the the proper research section assigned to a Biology faculty member, who will assign your final grade.

Identify a faculty mentor

The first step to doing undergraduate research is to find a faculty mentor. Choosing the right mentor and laboratory will have a large impact on your research experience and deserves serious effort and preparation on your part. Faculty do not generally advertise undergraduate research positions and, therefore, you will have to actively seek out a mentor. You do not need to have a particular research project in mind, just the desire to do research. Your faculty mentor can be someone from the Department of Biology or someone in a related discipline outside the department. If you plan to do research for Biology 395/396 course credit and you choose a mentor outside the Department of Biology you will also need a faculty “sponsor” within the Department, who will be willing to meet with you on a regular basis and keep track of what you are accomplishing in your mentor’s laboratory (see below).

To identify a potential faculty mentor we suggest talking to professors from whom you have taken classes and scanning individual faculty web pages to identify a research program in an area of particular interest to you. (See these listings of faculty on the Research Areas page.) Ideally, you will identify several possible mentors. Contact the individual faculty member(s) in person, by phone, or by e-mail to set up an appointment to talk about the possibility of undertaking an undergraduate research project in their laboratories. Professors are generally more than willing to talk with students about their research programs. However, students should recognize that not all faculty have the space, time, or resources to mentor every interested undergraduate, and some faculty may not able to consider you for a position in their laboratories. Therefore, it is advisable to consider multiple faculty members. Perseverance in finding a mentor will almost always be rewarded. We suggest that you start looking for a mentor one semester before you would like to begin a research project.