“Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue.” — Robert K. Merton

Extramural Research

Links

Many Biology students who participate in research do so with members of Creighton's biomedical faculty, or with faculty at other institutions, such as UNMC. These students are still eligible to receive course credit for their work, but the administration is different than for students working with Biology faculty.

Extramural research opportunities

Departments with faculty that regularly sponsor undergraduate research include:

The listing of student research presentations from previous years may be helpful in identifying faculty with a history of supporting undergraduate students.

Extramural research administration

Students doing extramural work will normally register for BIO 397 and be graded on the SA/UN system. Registration and grading take place through the department's Extramural Research Coordinator, Dr. Mackenzie Taylor (MackenzieTaylor@creighton.edu, 402-280-2157).

Registration

Students should have discussed the specifics of their research experience with their mentor before registering for the course. The student and the mentor should have agreed on work and productivity expectations, grading standards and the number of credit hours of BIO 397 the student will receive.

In order to enroll in BIO 397, students must have a completed a BIO 397 Enrollment Form, signed by both the student and mentor. There are two different versions of the form, depending on whether the research work is being conducted on-campus (i.e., with a Creighton faculty member outside the Department of Biology) or off-campus.

Students will also need to complete the online Lab Safety Training to work in a research lab on campus.

Grading

The Extramural Research Coordinator will contact mentors at midterm and the end of the semester to determine if each student's work has been satisfactory or unsatisfactory, based on the expectations agreed to. At the end of the semester, students are also required to provide the Coordinator with one of the following to receive a grade of SA:

  • A one-to-two page summary of the work done during the semester, or
  • A (letter-sized) copy of the poster or other materials used to present the work as part of a scientific meeting or colloquium