Hi,

I was wondering if Biochemistry Students (core) are required to complete a senior thesis? According to http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...nt/pg1513.html :
Level IV: 30 units

6 units BIOCHEM 4E03, 4N03 3 units from BIOCHEM 3A03, 4C03 3 units Levels III, IV Biochemistry 6 units Levels III, IV Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, BIOLOGY 3O03, 4V03, HTH SCI 3I03, 3K03, 4II3, 4O03, MOL BIOL 3O03, 4H03 12 units Electives
I don't see a thesis required here. Am I misreading something?

Hmm, seems like it's not required. However, Biochem 3A03 is a research practice, so it's a mini-thesis or just a project. Same thing with 3R06. It seems like a thesis might be optional then, hmm, I didn;t think it would be. But anyway, there's 4B06 and 4P03, a senior project, compared to a senior thesis with 4F12 and 4F09.
http://www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/biochem/d...overvie w.pdf

And I presume that the optional units can be anything, not just in the Biochemistry course list?

Originally Posted by hatorade

And I presume that the optional units can be anything, not just in the Biochemistry course list?

As long as you cover the required courses and pick from the given courses, the remaining units/electives can be from any department .

Nope, students in Biochemistry Core do NOT have to do a thesis. But as Sara said, Biochem 3A03 is a research project with a professor. If you want to a thesis you would have to talk to Michelle McDonald, the undergrad coordinator for Biochem..but it's highly unlikely that you will get one, they usually give core students 2nd priority for a thesis, the specialization students get first priority.

What exactly is the difference between the 9 and 12 unit thesis other than the required CA? Do you get rewarded another 3 units because you had a 0.5 higher CA or what?

no real difference..you just get 3 more units...they advise that if your CA permits, do the 12 instead of 9. I think I've also heard that 12 expects a few more hours/week in lab, but regardless, all thesis courses require lots of time in lab.

Originally Posted by biochemer

Nope, students in Biochemistry Core do NOT have to do a thesis. But as Sara said, Biochem 3A03 is a research project with a professor. If you want to a thesis you would have to talk to Michelle McDonald, the undergrad coordinator for Biochem..but it's highly unlikely that you will get one, they usually give core students 2nd priority for a thesis, the specialization students get first priority.

Hmm, that's interesting. What's the reason for that :/ ?

Originally Posted by DarkHalo

What exactly is the difference between the 9 and 12 unit thesis other than the required CA? Do you get rewarded another 3 units because you had a 0.5 higher CA or what?

From what I know, it's for you to have a more in-depth and extensive research project, since you'd be taking 1 less course for one term, which gives you more time to focus on your thesis. I assume the expectations are higher as well.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

From what I know, it's for you to have a more in-depth and extensive research project, since you'd be taking 1 less course for one term, which gives you more time to focus on your thesis. I assume the expectations are higher as well.

Profs don't give "harder" projects to 12 unit students and the course expectations for both the 12 unit and 9 unit course is exactly the same: 2 presentations and a thesis writeup. The prof's evaluation constitutes half of your mark. Like Dhruv said, 12 unit students technically are expected to be in the lab more than 9 units (21 hrs/week vs 18 hrs/week), but every thesis student (6 units to 12 units) puts in way over 30 hours week, especially towards the tail end in second term.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Hmm, that's interesting. What's the reason for that :/ ?

I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's because specialization students require a thesis, whereas those in core do not. So i'm guessing they would approve for a student in core taking a thesis, only after all of those in the specializations (about 65-80 students) have all selected who they're doing their thesis with. If there are still positions available, then they allow the core students. I'm not totally positive that this is how it is.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Hmm, that's interesting. What's the reason for that :/ ?

Specializations require a thesis/research project in order to graduate.

Ohh makes sense. I assumed that the Biochem specializations had the thesis/project as optional as well.