Dec 22, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Biology Research Certificate


Program: Research Certificate
Department of Biological Sciences   
College of Science

Science Building 330 ~ 260-481-6305


Pursuing a research certificate provides opportunities to engage in active learning situations integrating original research and the undergraduate curricula.  You will learn research methods and tools appropriate to your discipline, and research interests within the discipline; the foundations of research relating to the history, philosophy, and theory of the discipline; and advanced communications skills.  You will apply knowledge learned by designing and executing a research study or project and communicating the results to others.  The certificate can be earned and awarded independent of other degree(s).


Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this certificate, students will:

  • have been provided significant hands-on experience and training in the use of scientific methods to test hypotheses and to answer questions.

Declaring this Certificate:

  • Declare this certificate within the Department of Biological Sciences or through your major department if you are pursuing another degree.

Program Requirements:

  • A minimum GPA of 2.00 or higher is required for graduation.
  • The minimum grade for all courses used to complete the certificate is C- or higher.
  • At least 15 credits must be earned as resident credit.
  • Students earning the Departmental Honors Degree in Biology are not eligible for the Biology Research Certificate.

To earn the Biology Research Certificate, you must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those noted above:

College Scorecard


The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs.  The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings.  Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program.  That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?151102-Purdue-University-Fort-Wayne&fos_code=2601&fos_credential=1

Research Writing: Credits 3


Cognate Research Tools: Credits 3


Research Methods and Supervised Individual Research: Credits 6


  • The BIOL 29500/59500 course/s taken must contain a prefix in the title to signify laboratory or fieldwork involving the design of an original project and collection and analysis of data.

Total Credits: 31


Student Responsibility


You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program.  Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career.  If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.