Prospective Thesis Writers

Dear Biochemistry/Biophysics Junior Majors,

Commiting yourself to a senior honors project is both an exciting and intimidating process.  Yet it is an opportunity to put into practice your skills and training and to work collaboratively with a thesis advisor to create new knowledge. Our only pre-requisite for thesis work in BCBP is to have a B- average in major courses or the consent of a thesis advisor. A senior thesis project is normally taken on as a single course in the fall, and a double course in the spring.

To better acquaint yourselves with the research possibilities within the Biochemistry/Biophysics Program we ask that you take a look at each of the faculty subpages listed under this page.  Each professor has made a short video and/or uploaded a related scientific.article which describes the research in their lab.  In some cases, the faculty have invited you to meet with them individually to an informational session they will hold in the next few weeks (see individual videos for these invitations.)  After viewing each, we then ask that you complete this application form to indicate your research interests and intentions.  The deadline to complete the survey form is 11:00PM March 9, 2023.  Decisions on lab placements will be communicated to you by early April.  We do our best job to match students with advisors and projects that match their interests but do need to ask you to be flexible.  It is in everyone's best interest not to overcommit the time and resources of one faculty member or lab.

Under rare circumstances, a student may petition the BCBP program with a specific plan for a thesis project under the mentorship of someone who is not part of the BCBP program.  Please discuss this option wth your BCBP Academic Advisor or the BCBP Chair; they can explain the steps involved in making this request.

All thesis writers are given the opportunity to participate in paid senior thesis work in the summer prior to their senior year. In most cases, this work is completed in the labs at Amherst College but in some cases, remote work or work in a collaborators lab may be possible. 

Additional Information: A few BCBP senior majors put together a short video about their thesis experience.