If you’re working in a laboratory and would like to get Directed Research credit for your work, you will first need to obtain the permission of your research supervisor, and of the DUS. More information can be found on the Directed Research Form, which must submitted (with signatures from your Directed Reading advisor and from the DUS) before you will be able to register for these coures. This form asks you to include:
- The name and contact information of your research supervisor
- A 1-paragraph description of the research project itself
- A 1-paragraph description of the role(s) you will play in this project
- A description of how your activities will be assessed, including some form of midterm evaluation
The course itself will then be managed by your research supervisor – though the DUS may contact them halfway through the semester, to ensure that you are making regular and significant progress.
Many – but not all – research activities will be appropriate candidates for academic credit. Those that aren’t appropriate typically involve little intellectual engagement with the research – e.g. just running subjects for a professor on a ‘pre-packaged’ project. The most common assessment tool at the end of a semester will be a final writeup of the research, to be assessed by the research supervisor; if you’re opting for this manner of assessment, be sure to state how long the paper will be, etc. Finally, remember that Directed Research courses (like Directed Reading courses) can be used to satisfy course requirements for the major, but only for the depth requirement and with permission of the DUS.