4 YEAR GUIDE
Regardless of your class status, this 4 Year Guide is a useful tool towards graduating with honors in physiology and preparing yourself for post-graduate programs. This guide is not a “key” to success. It will not automatically ensure that you graduate with Honors or that you will get into a graduate program. Remember that the key to being a strong applicant is not that you did x,y,z, but that you understand why you did those things, and why they were meaningful to you.**
Check out the Undergraduate Physiology Website for info on required classes.
(Compiled by student advisers of the Physiology Honors Academy, under the guidance of Dr. Cindy Rankin).
Check out the Undergraduate Physiology Website for info on required classes.
(Compiled by student advisers of the Physiology Honors Academy, under the guidance of Dr. Cindy Rankin).
FRESHMAN YEAR
- Registration. Sign up for honors courses – begin to decide if the “Honors track” is meant for you.
- Feel at Home. Familiarize yourself with the Honors College, its advisers, and its requirements.
- Network. Interact with Physiology professors at any Physiology Club socials or lab tours, so that you can begin to make yourself known to them. Don't hesitate to build a rapport with your professors. It helps them to know you, and can be favorable when you are in need of recommendation letters. You never know what opportunities could be thrown your way.
- Get Involved. volunteering at a hospital, joining pre-Health clubs, etc. Understanding what your interests are will greatly help you with your thesis work and your future career.
- Find Your Interests. If you know you are interested in doing research, attend our Research Matchmaking Event to help pinpoint your interests and find a lab that suits you. Contact faculty members to tour their lab and determine if you’d like to work there. Then, “interview” for the spot.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
- Develop Your Areas of Interest. Start to decide which areas of physiology interest you when taking PSIO 201/202. This will help you decide which research lab best suits you. Continue developing your interests with extracurricular activities. Keep in mind that any experiences you have can lead to an interesting Thesis and, if they were meaningful to you, can strengthen your application to graduate programs
- Register for Physiology Honors Colloquium course (PSIO 295H). This class is offered in the Spring to educate Freshman and Sophomore Physiology Honors students about the Honors process. It also includes an in-depth look at writing the Honors Thesis and how to find research opportunities.
JUNIOR YEAR
- Honors Thesis Preparation. You should be involved in some sort of academic research, extracurricular activity, or experience that can lend toward the information for your Senior Honors Thesis, or toward your application to graduate programs.
- Find a Thesis Mentor. You should be developing (or have developed) faculty relationships so that you can locate a suitable mentor for your Honors Senior Thesis. This will also be helpful to you if you need recommendation letters for graduate programs, which you should request several months before applications are due.
- Submit Your Honors Thesis Prospectus. You must complete and submit the Honors Thesis Prospectus to the Honors College by the end of the Spring semester of your Junior year. Both you and your Thesis Mentor need to sign it.
- Graduate School Applications. Begin pinpointing the graduate programs you wish to apply to and apply the summer between your Junior and Senior year for the early application process (if the program allows). The earlier the application, the less stress!
SENIOR YEAR
- Register for Senior Honors Thesis Credits (PSIO498H). Ensure that you are enrolled within the department in which you are doing your Thesis. 3 units of 498H per semester of your senior year, for a total of six Honors Thesis units).
- Register for Senior Honors Thesis Prep Colloquim (PSIO 495T). This class is offered in the Fall to help you prepare your thesis during your senior year.
- Data Acquisition. Be diligent with your project. Actively acquire your data (whether from a lab, from research on the internet, or from your own personal experiences) to synthesize a Thesis.
- Never Slack Off. Graduate programs take all of your undergraduate coursework into consideration. Some take your last 60 units into high regard.
- Graduate (with Honors). Celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next chapter in your life!