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Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Undergraduate students in the Department of Biology are highly encouraged to participate in research projects and opportunities abound! Involvement in research provides a different type of training than experiences in the classroom. These opportunities can be important in defining future career goals and in pursuing certain career tracks or advanced education. Undergraduate research can be on a volunteer basis or to earn credit towards a degree by registering for Biology 4905.  If you are interested in undergraduate research:

  • Identify potential faculty members who do research in areas that are interesting to you and appropriate to your background.
  • Consider Overview of Faculty Research
  • Review pages of individual faculty of interest
  • Make contact with the faculty member of your choice. Describe your background and future plans. Ask about available positions. Be sure to mention why you picked this lab.
  • If the first option doesn't work out, try again - we have lots of labs in the department with lots of projects. Keep in mind, labs may be full, so plan ahead - if you are interested in doing research in a specific semester or over the summer, especially for credit, ask early.
Undergraduates who participate in Biology 4905 are expected to spend 5-8 hours per week in the lab for each credit hour, maintain a lab notebook describing the research protocols and results, and complete a final project. Depending on the lab, this project might be a written research report, an oral presentation in a lab meeting, or a poster presentation during the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

 

undergrad student in field with bird

Gillian O’Neill worked with PhD student John Bender in Guam in the 2023 field season.

 

undergrad looks for tarantula

Jesse Laseter works to capture a tarantula so it can be measured and released.

 

students tag and measure a tarantula

Anderson Spencer and Zachary Pfeiffer tag and measure a tarantula while Missouri Department of Conservation and Department of Natural Resource employees look on.

 

Dr. Aimee Dunlap trains undergraduates Tiffany Dinh and Luke Lauter and master's student (Avery Baker) on bumblebee safety in the lab

Dr. Aimee Dunlap trains undergraduates Tiffany Dinh and Luke Lauter and master's student (Avery Baker) on bumblebee safety in the lab.