exit exam requirement
All majors will take a standardized exit exam on the Saturday after fall break or spring break in the senior year. The score on this exam will be used by the Faculty to decide whether Degree Program Honors are awarded, in addition to the requirements listed under “Degree Program Honors” under “Schmid College of Science and Technology.” The exit exam can only be taken once.
capstone requirement
Students are required to complete a capstone project before graduation. Students cannot graduate until the capstone project has been successfully completed and the faculty advisor has notified the Office of the University Registrar that the capstone requirement has been fulfilled. This requirement shall be fulfilled by completing one of the listed options. Students seeking honors must complete option one, two or four.
Option one: Successful completion of undergraduate research experience in between junior and senior year funded by the National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, Chapman SURF or other national research agency that sponsors undergraduate research. The research experience must be at least eight weeks long, require full-time work in a laboratory setting and lead to the completion of a well-defined research project. A student selecting this option will submit a formal research paper modeled after a formal lab report to the academic advisor by end of the final semester of the senior year and present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will also give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.
Option two: Successful completion of a pre-approved research internship immediately preceding or during senior year that results in the completion of a research project. The student must register for three credits of BCHM 490 and work with a faculty member and research supervisor to identify the student’s research project. A student selecting this option will submit a formal research paper modeled after a formal lab report to the faculty internship supervisor by end of the final semester of the senior year and present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will also give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.
Option three: Successful completion of a significant review of the literature. The student must register for two credits of BCHM 491 or BCHM 499 in the fall semester of their senior year to begin work on this project and one credit in the spring semester of their senior year. The student shall expect to invest considerable time and effort researching and writing this review, which will be 30 to 40 pages in length and appropriately cited. The review is due to the faculty mentor at the end of the final semester of the senior year and the student must present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will give an oral presentation of their paper to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.
Option four: Successful completion of independent research overseen by a faculty member in the sciences (this will satisfy chemistry in-depth course requirements). The student will register for BCHM 491 or BCHM 499 for a minimum of three credits over two consecutive semesters (or one semester with approval of the program director) in their senior year and complete a faculty-mentored student research project. The student will write a formal research paper modeled after the formal lab report and will present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. The report is due at the end of the final semester of the senior year. When appropriate, a faculty member may substitute a team research project for an individual research project. When a team project is substituted, all members of the team must write a research paper modeled after the formal lab report. The team will present this project in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.