Student-Faculty Research | Ithaca College

Hands-On Research Across Biological Disciplines

Undergraduate participation in original research is a central tenet of our philosophy as a department.

All faculty research labs are a direct collaboration between faculty members and our undergraduate students, giving our students the opportunity to engage in real scientific inquiry in a broad range of disciplines. We provide four different levels of research courses to engage students during the academic year, as well as support summer scholars.

Research Opportunities

student pipetting into a well plate with bright yellow and blue solutions

Elective Research

Get your feet wet in a lab for the first time, or extend your current research pursuits

two students and a faculty look at a gel on the lab bench

Required Research

A core component of our majors, a 3-credit immersive experience mentored in a faculty research lab

student working over a light table while faculty member looks on

Honors Research

A full-year project to graduate with Departmental Honors

three people on a beach looking at equipment and a row of plants

Summer Research-NONE Summer 2024

Paid fellowships to work in a research lab 8-10 weeks over the summer

montage of deer, waterflea, cells, a false-color image of a leaf, a fish tail, and a flower

Areas of Research

With active faculty research labs, we engage in a broad range of biological and biochemical research

Professional Results

Research efforts by majors in the department often result in publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Over the past five years, 40 undergraduates in the program coauthored scientific papers. Ithaca College Biology and Biochemistry students annually participate in national and regional undergraduate conferences, particularly the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and the Eastern Colleges Science Conference, both of which have been hosted by Ithaca College in recent years. Many students also join their mentors to present findings at professional scientific meetings, such as the Society for Neuroscience, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the Animal Behavior Society, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Biology Research Opportunities for Spring 2025

Research in Biology as an academic course is offered at different levels of research:

BIOL-290 level is Introductory / Continuing research (1-2 credits) (for students starting research -or- for students beginning research in a new lab). You can do 290 either before or after having done 302/390. You can take this course multiple times if you are continuing research in a lab.
302 (BIOL) or 390 (BIOCHEM) is the Required semester of research (3 credits), usually taken in the junior year.
401/402 is Advanced Honors research (1-3 credits) after having completed 302 or 390. This can be in the same lab where you did 302/390 or in a new lab. There is a separate process for requesting honors.

Read the project descriptions carefully. Look at the faculty's full web pages for greater details.

If you are interested in any of these, see how you register and are placed you in the appropriate level of research and an appropriate lab.

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NOTE: How to Register for BIOCHEMISTRY Research