Undergraduate student research projects

Welcome to the Centre for Science undergraduate research projects page. We offer students the opportunity to participate in research projects in the general science (SCIE) category and within various disciplines that include biology (BIOL), microbiology (BIOL), chemistry (CHEM), geology (GEOL), nutrition (NUTR), environmental science (ENSC), physics (PHYS), astronomy (ASTR), geography (GEOG), and mathematics (MATH). See the table below for examples of completed undergraduate research projects. The 495 and 496 courses are senior-level courses that require some prerequisite science courses, which can be evaluated in the proposal.

Research projects can be performed in a lab, field study setting, or at home using computational approaches or lab kits. We also accept literature review projects that do not involve experimentation but require an in-depth study of a select topic. These types of literature review projects are only an option for a 495 course, and if a student wishes to take a second project course, it must be an experimental project at the 496 level. There are no additional student fees, and the project supervisor will cover all research costs, if applicable.

The purpose of these research project courses is to gain experience in developing a testable hypothesis to address a specific research problem, develop scientific writing skills, learn the basic scientific method for designing experiments, analyzing and interpreting data, and make conclusions based on the results. Students will also gain experience writing basic research or grant proposals and final reports, which are essential to publishing peer-reviewed science manuscripts. In addition, there are opportunities to communicate their findings in an oral presentation or possibly to publish in peer-reviewed and undergraduate research journals.

Process of organizing a research project

1. A student learns that a project course is available at Athabasca University and wishes to know more.
2. The student reads the information provided on this website (Undergraduate Research Projects) and the AU science project course syllabus and description.
3. The student completes the project proposal to the best of their ability, identifying a possible project topic and potential supervisor from within or outside of AU. A list of AU faculty who can serve as supervisors and their research areas is listed here.
4. The student emails the project proposal to the appropriate course coordinator, who will assist in organizing the research project, and identifying supervisors. If no AU expert is available, the student and supervisor will discuss an external expert. Submit your application at least 1 month before you plan to start the project or earlier if financial aid is involved.
5. The course coordinator reads the proposal and contacts the proposed project supervisor. The coordinator and supervisor determine if the project is feasible and is worth 3 senior-level science credits, and if the student has the necessary background course requirements to successfully complete the project.
6. The course coordinator informs the student to register in Athabasca University and to pay the tuition fees for the specified project course.
7. After successful registration, the student and supervisor meet at the start of the course to agree on a learning contract, which states the project's objectives, research activities, outcomes, evaluation procedure, scheduling of regular progress meetings, and timelines. The course orientation contains additional information about establishing the learning contract.
8. The student and supervisor will negotiate and eventually agree on the learning contract, and the student can begin the research project.
9. The student submits all assessments and reports to the project supervisor by the deadlines agreed upon. For written submissions, the supervisor provides feedback to the student before determining the final grade.

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Project area coordinators