One of the most exciting opportunities biology majors are offered is outside the traditional lecture and laboratory courses; students may participate in an on-going research project with a faculty member. Juniors and seniors are particularly encouraged to learn about the various kinds of research being conducted by professors and to join a research project which interests them.
A student can work in different labs in successive semesters or continue to work in one lab for the entire year. The projects range from botanical and zoological field work to molecular biology. Beyond the course credit and the learning experience you will gain while working on research projects, some students become co-authors of published papers. Some students present their work at campus-wide competitions and at regional or national meetings of groups such as Eastern Colleges Science Conference and the Tri-Beta Annual Conference. In addition to the rewards of doing independent research, it is through the research projects that students often form their closest ties with the faculty and other upperclassmen.
To get an idea about what you might like to do, you may want to see the list of faculty with their scholarly interests. Also you may like to read about some research done recently by some bio students.
The 11th annual SUNY Cortland Scholars' Day was
held on April 18, 2007.
This is a special day when classes are suspended and both students and faculty
report on the research and scholarly projects they have been pursuing. Some
students gave poster presentations and some presented their work in short talks.
Photographs of Scholars' Day Presenters.