The Interdepartmental Undergraduate Neuroscience Program of Johns Hopkins University

Students are urged to take advantage of the many opportunities to participate in research projects carried out here at Homewood or at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Supervised research is initiated by an agreement between the student and the faculty member with whom s/he wishes to work. That agreement specifies what the student will do in terms of research, how much time will be spent doing it, when the student is expected to be present, what the student will give the research supervisor (e.g., a certain amount of time, a paper, the results of an experiment, etc.) and what the student will receive (e.g., supervision, readings, guidance in pursuing the project, etc.).

 

When attempting to identify potential research supervisors, it is recommended that students consult departmental web pages and other online information for research being conducted at the Homewood Campus and the Medical Institutions. The research interests of the faculty members in each department are usually listed, along with selected bibliographies of published works. Students are encouraged to read a brief selection of the articles that have been published by the potential supervisors, to ensure that the nature of the research being conducted is understood, and can be intelligently discussed by the student. It is best to contact faculty via e-mail to discuss possible research opportunities, with students being certain to introduce themselves as undergraduate Neuroscience majors, and explaining their interest in working for credit in the faculty member's laboratory. Students are urged to make these arrangements well before the end of the semester prior to which they wish to begin work.

 

If the research supervisor is not a full-time member on the Homewood Campus, students must register under Dr. Linda Gorman as their full-time Homewood faculty advisor. Students working in labs that are not located on the Homewood Campus must also register under Dr. Gorman. Dr. Gorman will determine whether the work is relevant to the Neuroscience major and will agree to serve as that student's sponsor. When registering for independent study or research, students must submit an Undergraduate Research/Independent Study/Internship Supplemental Registration Form that has been signed by the Homewood faculty sponsor and the Dean of Academic Advising. Forms may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar or the Neuroscience Program office in 140 Ames Hall, and must accompany the student's registration or add/drop form.

 

The number of credits earned for supervised research ranges from 1 to 3, and is determined at the end of the semester. Each 40 hours of work is worth one credit. Because the semester is 13 weeks long, each credit requires about 3 hours per week on average. If the student works regularly during the semester, then 3 hours a week will yield 1 credit, 6 hours will yield 2 credits, and 9 hours will yield 3 credits. Students may, of course, work more some days and weeks than others. In all cases, students should keep a record of the number of hours they put in during the semester. Because the number of credits is determined at the end of the semester, students should not indicate any particular number of credits when registering for research. The School of Arts and Sciences stipulates that students may earn no more than 3 credits of research, independent study, or internship per semester, and no more than 6 credits per academic year (Summer/Fall/Intersession/Spring).

 

At the end of the semester, the following items must be handed into the Homewood Faculty Sponsor by 5:00 p.m. on the last day of classes to enable the sponsor to submit a grade to the Office of the Registrar in a timely manner. Unless an alternative arrangement has been made with the sponsor beforehand, late reports will not be accepted and may result in a grade of Unsatisfactory. Extensions will only be granted in rare and urgent cases. All undergraduate research is graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale.

(1) A type written report, about 3-5 double-spaced pages in length, on work accomplished during the semester. The following format should be used.*

• Introduction: Give background information including references to the literature and describe how the work fits into the overall research program of the laboratory (~1 page).
• Methods: Briefly describe experimental methods used in the work. Cite references when appropriate. Step-by-step detailed protocols are not necessary (~1 page).
• Results: Describe results obtained, including graphs, tables, etc. If this is the first semester of work and there are not sufficient results to report, there should be more emphasis on expected results.
• Discussion: Discuss significance of the results and relate them to future plans, if appropriate.

(2) Supervisor's Evaluation of Work: If the student is working under the supervision of a faculty member other than the Homewood Faculty Sponsor, the supervisor should certify that the work described in the report was complete and provide an evaluation of the quality of work. This information must be written in the form of a confidential letter or e-mail.

* It is understood that students may not complete their research by the end of the semester for which s/he is registered. In these cases, the above requirements are still expected on the last day of class. Students should write a report detailing her/his progress to date, following the same guidelines described above.