• BIOL 4900

    Independent Study in Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.82

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Independent study under the direction of a Biology faculty member for students to read and critically assess primary research papers and current reviews in a focused area of the life sciences. Directed readings and discussions can be used to explore how contemporary topics and research areas can be incorporated into other formal courses. Students will have the opportunity to develop both scientific writing and oral presentation skills.

  • BIOL 4910

    Independent Research in the Life Sciences
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.91

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Independent wet-lab or dry-lab research for Biology majors (and other specific majors), under the supervision of a University of Virginia faculty member who does not have primary affiliation with the Biology Department, with emphasis on experimental design, data acquisition, and data interpretation. See Biology Department website for application instructions. Instructor permission required; prior completion of BIOL 3000, BIOL 3010, or BIOL 3020 strongly recommended. 

  • BIOL 4920

    Independent Research in Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.84

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Independent wet-lab or dry-lab research for Biology majors, under the supervision of a University of Virginia faculty member in the Department of Biology, with emphasis on experimental design, data acquisition, and data interpretation. Instructor permission required; prior completion of any one of BIOL 3000, BIOL 3010, or BIOL 3020 strongly recommended.

  • BIOL 4930

    Distinguished Major Thesis Research
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course is the final semester of Independent Research for participants of the Biology Distinguished Majors Program. During this semester, students will complete their laboratory investigations, ultimately presenting the sum of their work in a written thesis. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

  • BIOL 4940

    Capstone Research for the BS in Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course will provide students with essential hands-on experience in experimental design, data collection, analysis, and science communication. Students will have the opportunity to think critically and creatively about biology and to develop research competencies. Students will work with a mentor to develop a project that makes a unique scientific contribution and will communicate their research to a broader audience at the University's Undergraduate Research Symposium or similar.

  • HBIO 4950

    Independent Research for Human Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.94

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Independent research/independent study under the guidance of a primary mentor within the College of Arts and Sciences. Prerequisite: DMP in Human Biology.

  • HBIO 4960

    Independent Research for Human Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.98

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    Independent research/independent study under the guidance of a primary mentor within the College of Arts and Sciences. Prerequisite: DMP in Human Biology.

  • HBIO 4998

    Thesis Research in Human Biology I
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.94

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Independent research/independent study under the guidance of a primary mentor within the College of Arts and Sciences. Research/study forms the basis for the DMP thesis to be submitted at the end of the fourth year. This course must be taken in the first semester of the fourth year and should encompass the majority of the research for the thesis. Prerequisite: First-semester fourth-year DMP in Human Biology.

  • HBIO 4999

    Thesis Research for Human Biology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.94

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course is designed to provide students the opportunity for hands-on learning in experimental sciences leading to a Capstone thesis project and written thesis. Students, working with a primary mentor (and in some cases a secondary mentor), design an original research study or other creative product in self-selected areas of interest, execute the study, analyze the data and report the findings in written form.

  • BIOL 7030

    Computational Evolutionary Biology Lab
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.38

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    The evolutionary history of a population can be studied by examining patterns of genetic variation among individuals from a species. In this lab course, you will learn how to utilize genomic data to make evolutionary inferences. Together, we will learn fundamentals of population genetics, how to conduct bioinformatic research on high-performance computers, how to take raw sequence data and turn it into biological insight, and how to present the results of your research.