In any given semester, a dozen or more students conduct original laboratory or field research under the guidance of faculty mentors. A student may use four credits of Research in Biology (Biol 451/452) to satisfy one of the upper-level course requirements in Biology. In addition, some faculty sponsor students for summer research, especially when grant funds are available to pay student stipends. Students have presented their work in a variety of venues, including the Rhodes Symposium and the Rhodes Journal of Biological Sciences on campus, the Tennessee Academy of Sciences regional meeting, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, and a number of field-specific professional meetings and journals. Rhodes Biology students routinely win awards for their presentations.
The first step toward your own research involvement is to explore the research interests of faculty on our Faculty Research page and look through previous student projects and presentations on our Student Research page. Then, contact faculty with interests that match yours to discuss your research opportunities.