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Biology at
Washington & Jefferson College
PHI
SIGMA BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE HONORARY
Students who will have
completed at least four biology courses by the
end of their sophomore year with at least a 3.0
GPA in these courses and overall may wish to
affiliate with Nu Chapter of Phi Sigma
Biological Science Honorary. In addition to the
academic standing requirement, membership in Phi
Sigma requires evidence of research interest in
the biological sciences. This may be satisfied
by successful completion of an Independent Study
research project or Biology Seminar.
Students who are eligible
for Biology Seminar and who have declared
biology as their major will be notified by mail
during the spring of their sophomore year. If
you believe that you are eligible for Seminar
but did not receive notification, you should
contact Dr. DeBerry or Dr. Longbrake. If you do not qualify by
the spring of your sophomore year but believe
that you can remedy the problem by the end of
the fall of your junior year, you may be allowed
to participate in Seminar; again, see Dr. DeBerry
or Dr. Longbrake.
Participation in Biology
Seminar involves the presentation of two
research articles to the biology faculty and
your peers. Your first presentation will last
up to 10 minutes and will be on a short
scientific paper, while your second presentation
will be 20 minutes and on a longer scientific
article. You will also have the opportunity to
answer questions from faculty members and your
peers. In addition, a one page abstract of the
paper is due the Friday before your
presentation.
Phi Sigma is a research
honorary. Therefore, we must see evidence of
your having performed research in order to
induct you into Phi Sigma. This can be
accomplished by library research on the subject
of your paper. The biology faculty is
especially interested in how you have updated
your paper; for instance, what work has been
done on this topic since the publication of your
paper? Failure to include papers that were
published after the paper that you present will
preclude you from being inducted into Phi Sigma.
After you have received
notification of your eligibility to participate
in Seminar, you will attend an informational
meeting. At this meeting, you will select your
two papers for presentation. The papers will be
on a similar topic. Students are strongly
encouraged to work on at least their first
presentation during the summer.
Your grade in Seminar is determined by the
biology faculty. Each faculty member will
assign you a grade on each presentation; these
grades are then averaged. If you receive an
average grade of 3.0, you have met the research
requirement for induction into Phi Sigma. Your
grade will be based on the quality of your
presentation, the quality of your research, and
your participation during Seminar.
Phi
Sigma Homepage
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