Undergraduate Program :: ZOO 4905

ZOO 4905 - Individual Study in Zoology

What is Individual Study?

ZOO 4905 is a variable credit course (1-4 credits per semester) open to students who have completed the BSC 2010/L and BSC2011/L and have a faculty project supervisor. This course is used to allow a student to conduct life-sciences research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. It may be repeated for full credit. A maximum of six credits can be used to satisfy the 32 hour zoology course requirement. For help in identifying potential laboratories for Individual Study, consult our our list of Research Opportunities in Zoology and our information on Undergraduate Research, which includes a section on how to find a research mentor.

The Application and Proposal Process

ZOO 4905 is a course, and therefore your planned research activities for this course should contribute substantially to your knowledge and skills in zoology and the life sciences in general. To apply for registration in ZOO 4905, you must complete the application form and submit a proposal for your Independent Study course. The proposal should be no more than one page in length, double-spaced. Submit the completed application form and course proposal to the Zoology office for approval by the Zoology Undergraduate Coordinator.

The proposal should be developed with your research mentor and should contain the following components:

1) Background and Significance. Provide relevant background information on what you propose to investigate and why it is important.

2) Hypothesis. Provide a clear, concise hypothesis for your research project.

3) Methods. Briefly explain what specific activities and/or experiments you will perform that will test your hypothesis. Include an estimate of how much time you will spend per week (or over the duration of the semester) on your project. If you will be assisting a graduate student, post-doctoral student, clinical resident or laboratory technician in the research project, it is important that you clarify your specific responsibilities.

Download the Application Form.

Your Final Report

All Individual Study students must submit a final, written report of their research project before the last day of classes during the semester in which they are enrolled. The report length should be at least 750, 1300, 1600 and 1800 words for a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-credit project, respectively. A link to download the 4905 Report form is provided below. The completed report form must be emailed to ugrads@zoology.ufl.edu before 5:00 p.m. on the last day of instruction (i.e., before reading week, and before finals week). The report will then be sent to your faculty project supervisor, who will recommend a semester grade. This 4905 Report requirement will be strictly enforced. Failure to submit the report electronically by the deadline will result in an automatic "NG" ("no grade). A thesis may not be used to replace your final report. The 4905 Report is used to evaluate the quality of your educational experience this semester only, and therefore is distinct from your thesis, which typically includes the results of research spreading across multiple semesters.

Download the ZOO 4905 Report form.

Can I be paid while also receiving course credit?

Yes. If you perform research as part of your employment, for example as an assistant in a campus laboratory or conservation agency or as a technician in a local biotechnology company, your research may qualify as an independent study project and you may be able to receive course credit for it. Such an arrangement requires some additional forms to be completed, and therefore you must contact the Undergraduate Coordinator if you think this applies to you.

Can I perform research off-campus?

Yes. To receive course credit for research performed at a laboratory or field site that is not part of the UF campus, you must contact the Center for Leadership and Service at 352-392-1261 ext 4. They will assist you in completing the appropriate forms.

Information for the faculty member serving as the Project Supervisor

Independent Study students request your supervision on an undergraduate research project that will count as Independent Study credit for the student's major. Please establish the nature of the project and what you expect of the student before signing the Registration Approval form. You should expect the student to work on the project approximately 3 actual hours each week for each credit (i.e., 3 credits would typically require about 9 hours of weekly work). Students who do this work for honors must complete a research thesis, which they submitt to the Zoology Department and to the Academic Advising Center by the end of the semester in which they graduate. They must submit this thesis to you before that time and your obligation is to read and evaluate their work and thesis and assign a grade and an honors rating (High Honors or Highest Honors) based on your assessment of its merit. Your assessment must be submitted to the Zoology Undergraduate Coordinator and, in the case of honors theses, to the CLAS Academic Advising Center by the end of the semester in which the student is to graduate (or earlier, when possible).