The Honors Research Program
Human Biology, Health & Society (HBHS)
Nutrition, Food & Agriculture (NFA)
Nutritional Sciences (NS)
What is This Program About?
The Honors Research Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences is designed
to challenge the research-oriented NS, HBHS, or NFA major. This structured research
experience involves:
- a course in research (NS 398 - Honors in Nutritional
Sciences),
- the conduct of a research project through which the student becomes intellectually
engaged in the whole research process,
- the completion of a written thesis that reports the research, and
- an oral presentation of the project at the Undergraduate Honors Symposium.
Students in the College of Human Ecology completing the program receive a "bachelor's
degree with honors." Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
completing the program receive a "bachelor's degree with distinction in
research."
Who Should Consider the Honors Research Program?
The Honors Research Program is an excellent opportunity for students who are
highly interested in research and wish to commit substantial time and intellectual
energy to a project that will span at least 4 semesters of their undergraduate
experience. Honors students experience the excitement of designing a project
to generate new knowledge on a topic that interests them and reporting the project
findings. By working with faculty mentors and other researchers, they develop
skills in research methods and data analysis. Students also learn that research
projects are labor intensive and that writing research reports, such as the
honors thesis, is a vital, but time-consuming aspect of the research process.
This intensive research experience is not suitable for all students, and those
who wish a less intensive research experience may conduct research with a faculty
member under NS 401 (Empirical Research).
How Do You Apply to the Program?
After the sophomore year, NS, HBHS, and NFA students demonstrating scholastic
achievement in the sciences and courses for their majors as well as satisfactory
progress toward their degree requirements are invited to apply to the program.
Students interested in the program submit the first part of the application
in the fall of their junior year. Final acceptance into the honors research
program occurs when the student:
- is accepted into a faculty member's research program, and
- submits a research proposal abstract that is approved by the directors of
the honors research program.
Students may apply to the program at any time, provided that they can fulfill
all program requirements
What Are the Program Requirements?
- NS 398 Research in Human Nutrition and Health.
1 credit, S/U grade only, Fall (some Spring semesters)
Students are advised to complete NS 398 by the fall of the junior year, but
may complete NS 398 at any time.
This lecture course focuses on the structures and practice of professional
research conducted in human nutrition and health, a field that encompasses
a wide range of questions ranging from subcellular components to population
level issues. The course introduces the various approaches and methods used
by researchers, and addresses the topics of ethics and research controls.
The course describes the structure of the scientific literature, preparation
of research proposals, roles of scientific organizations, and funding sources.
Students are required to attend research seminars on campus and submit a report
at the end of the term.
- Be accepted into a faculty member's research program.
Students spend the spring sophomore and fall junior term exploring honors
project opportunities with prospective faculty mentors. Students are responsible
for contacting faculty members and applying to their research programs, although
some guidance in this process will be provided in NS 398. By the fall of the
junior year, the student is expected to have identified their faculty member
and be working with them on a proposal abstract, which is due early in the
spring junior term.
- Complete 6 credits of NS 499 Honors Problem.
Students receive academic credit for work on their honors project under NS
499. The 6 required credits may be taken over several semesters. How much
time is spent on the project each term will be the decision of the student
and the faculty mentor. For each 3-4 hours of work, the faculty mentor usually
will assign one hour of academic credit. This applies to the preparation of
the research plan and necessary library research (usually completed during
the junior year) as well as the carrying out of the research itself and preparation
of the thesis.
The student may complete more than 6 credits of NS 499 as desired.
- Complete an honors thesis & present at Honors Student Symposium.
The honors research project comprises the major component of the honors research
program. It should be well defined and sufficiently circumscribed to give
the student the opportunity to develop the research plan, execute the research
and write an acceptable thesis within the limited time available to students
carrying full academic loads. Typically, the project is designed early in
the junior year, conducted in the spring junior term and fall senior term.
Students may arrange with their faculty mentor to work on the project during
the summer. The spring senior term is usually devoted to writing the thesis
(an original research report of at least 25 pages). The student works with
the faculty mentor to prepare a draft of the thesis, which is submitted by
spring break to a second faculty member for evaluation. When comments are
received from the reader, the student must revise the thesis to meet the criteria
for acceptance. The student presents the thesis at the Honors Student Symposium
at the end of the term.
- Achieve satisfactory GPA for Honors Research Program. To graduate
with honors, the student must maintain the minimum GPA required for the Honors
Research Program. Students accepted into the program will be informed of the
specific GPA that is required.
- Meet all program requirements and deadlines. To graduate with honors,
the student must meet all program requirements and deadlines as set by the
faculty directors of the program. Students who do not meet all program requirements
may receive academic credit for research work under NS 499 if recommended
by the student's faculty mentor.
Honors Research Projects in 2004
Nida Chaudhary. Factors Affecting the Duration of Breastfeeding in the
Population Served by Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown NY: Why Are Women Stopping
Early? Advised by K. Rasmussen.
Jessica Garay. Preventing Weight Gain in Freshmen Female College Students.
Advised by D. Levitsky.
Samerah Ghorbani. What Youth Learn in a Nutrition Education and Youth Development
Program: The Evaluation of Cooking Up Fun! Advised by C. Bisogni.
Lindsey Giserman. Food Choice Events and Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables
among Working Adults. Advised by C. Bisogni.
Dan Hart. The Baringo Nutrition Study. Advised by M. Latham.
Daria Homenko. Analysis of Estrogen Receptor alpha Acetylation by p300.
Advised by WL Krauss.
Joann Kang. The Expression and Purification of Glutamate Cysteine Ligase
(GCL) to Generate Antibody for the Study of the Nutrient-Induced Regulation
of GCL and the Role of Cysteine Status. Advised by M. Stipanuk.
Shimene Lee. Assessment of Training Needs of New York State Nutrition Teaching
Assistants. Advised by J. Dollahite.
Anne Milman. Understanding Differential Improvement Among Countries in Child
Stunting. Advised by E.A. Frongillo.
Corinne Postle. Body Satisfaction of College Students. Advised by C.
Devine.
Jyoti Sharma. Effects of Pyridoxal 5’- Phosphate on Cytoplasmic Serine
Hydroxymethyltransferase Stability. Advised by P. Stover.
Irving Zamora. Infectious Causes of Anemia in Young African Children.
Advised by R.. Stoltzfus.
DNS Honors Program, Directors:
Professor Tom Brenna and Professor
Carole A. Bisogni
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Webmaster Gail Canterbury
Updated July 6, 2004