COURSE HISTORY
This course was first offered in 1974 under the title of "Projects in Biology". The course was re-labeled the Honours Thesis Course in 2001. Since 1974 almost 450 students have experienced its demands and rewards. Roughly 10% of these students completed or contributed to research that has been worthy of publication in national and international peer-reviewed journals and presentation at major conferences. The success and reputation of the course is such that it has become a model used by other departments at this and other universities in Canada. Many students and faculty perceive the course as designed for students intending to carry on to graduate studies or professional degrees. The course certainly provides an excellent background for such students: Undertaking a real research project, presenting the results, and writing a thesis reveals the true nature of research and provides an exposure to research that can never be matched by reading or taking lectures on the subject. Many students have taken this course and gone on to research careers and earn higher degrees in the life sciences. Former Honours Thesis students have earned international (Rhodes), national (NSERC) scholarships, and other prestigious awards. At the 2002 Canadian Society of Zoologists' annual meeting, Christine Mesa, Class of 2000, won the competition for best student poster. Obi Griffith, Class of 2001, was a coauthor of the paper which announced the genome sequence of the SARS virus. Mike Wiwchar, Class of 2004, won the James S. McGoey Student Research Award from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the St. Boniface Research Centre and took second place at the 7th Annual Alpine Student Research Forum sponsored by the Universities of Manitoba and Calgary. Lee Hrenchuk, Class of 2006, starts graduate research in Antarctica in 2007.Many former thesis students are employed at the Health Sciences Centre, the National Microbiology Laboratory, other government research agencies, and universities. However, not all students take the course as preparation for a future career in research: Richard Hechter, Class of 1997, and now a University of Winnipeg Collegiate teacher, received The Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence for 2000-2001. An earlier thesis course student, Dr. Sheppy Coodin won the 2006 BIOTECanada - Biogen Idec Teaching Excellence Award and founded BioTrek. Whatever their objective, students describe the course experience as something that gave them a great sense of personal accomplishment, as one of the few courses they took which prepared them for, and gave them confidence in their ability to speak in front of a large audience, as a time when they finally felt a part of the university, and when they "bonded" with other students and formed long-lasting friendships with class-mates and professors. This is a course which by-passes the usual "lecturer-class" relationship and allows students to get to know professors as people and vice versa. All the members of the Biology Department hope you find it the high-point of your major.
