BIO 199 Freshman & Sophomore Research

Research Opportunities for Freshmen and Sophomores

  • ​BIO 199 is designed to provide beginning students an opportunity to participate in research projects and to gain research experience in biology while working with faculty members in the Biology department or other life sciences departments such as those in the colleges of medicine, dentistry, agriculture, engineering, and pharmacy, as well as departments in A&S such as chemistry and psychology.
  • It is the responsibility of the student to contact a faculty member (Biology faculty) and arrange the conditions of the research project. Prior to beginning work, a BIO 199 Research Contract (web form) must be completed. This webform is the student portion of the contract.
  • Once the student portion is completed and submitted, an email with the information you entered will be sent to your research mentor to approve. The email will also contain a link for the faculty portion of the contract. Once completed and submitted by your faculty mentor, your contract will be received by the Biology Department.
  • You will receive email confirmation and instructions for registration if your project is approved. At that time, you will need to register for the course in myUK. If the contract is not approved, we will contact you or your research mentor.
independent research steps
  • BIO 199 is designed to allow students to begin research early in their academic careers and to enjoy the benefits of this experience in preparation for more-advanced research work later in BIO 395.
  • As this experience is viewed as part of the learning process leading to later independent work, carries only 0 to 1 hours of academic credit. Please note that this is a Pass/Fail course.
  • The UK-Undergraduate Research Program facilitates entry of new students into research labs and offers opportunities for seminars and discussions among participating students. UK-URP is an excellent way to get into basic research nearly as soon as you arrive on campus.

If additional information is needed about any of these opportunites, please contact us via the biology resource email, biology@uky.edu and we will get back to you as soon as we can.