Faculty committee: R. L. Obendorf, chair; I. A. Merwin, E. B. Nelson, F. S. Rossi, A. DiTommaso, M. E. Smith-Einarson

Students perform independent scientific research under the guidance of faculty members in the fields of horticultural, agronomic, and soil sciences; plant biology; plant genetics and breeding; and plant pathology. For admission to the program, students must meet college requirements and submit to the Plant Sciences Research Honors Committee a project proposal (two to three pages) that includes a title; a brief background of the problem (justification and literature review); a clear statement of objective(s) and hypotheses to be tested; methodology and experimental plan, necessary space, equipment and supplies; and a project budget. The proposal must be accompanied by a letter from the faculty supervisor stating that he or she has approved the project plan and that its completion within the remainder of the student's undergraduate tenure is feasible.

A brief progress report will be made to the committee usually during the third week of the spring semester. Research presentations are recommended (e.g., Cornell Undergraduate Research Board Spring Forum, department seminars, professional meetings).

Successful completion of the research honors program requires acceptance by the honors committee of two copies of a research report. The report should be written in the format of a research publication in the appropriate scientific field. The acceptable report must have been reviewed and corrected according to the recommendations of the research supervisor before the report is submitted to the honors committee. The report must be received by the honors committee at least two weeks before the last day of classes of the semester in which the degree is sought and must be accompanied by a letter from the research supervisor evaluating the research and, if appropriate, recommending graduation with distinction in research.

The research honors committee will review the report within one week and may accept it or return it to the student with specific recommendations for revisions. A suitably revised version must be submitted to the committee before the second day of the examination period. When the committee accepts an honors report, the chair will recommend to the associate dean and director of academic programs and to the college registrar that the student be graduated with distinction in research. One copy of the accepted report will be returned to the student with review comments from the committee.

Additional guidelines may be found at http://www.css.cornell.edu/Programs/PlantSciHon/.