Undergraduate Research Course Memo
Dear Chairs and Directors,
The Colleges of the Arts and Sciences has established a standardized generic course number, 699 Undergraduate Research in [major], parallel to 999 at the graduate level. The number is available for use by departments and schools from across the Arts and Sciences. We believe that the use of this common research number can offer some advantages for departments that elect to utilize it for their undergraduate majors. Utilizing the 699 number can serve to:
- acknowledge more clearly student participation in research on student transcripts
- highlight the role of undergraduate research from a curricular perspective
- provide a curricular vehicle for acknowledging student participation that is separate from the honors thesis distinction process
- allow for more accurate assessment of the number of undergraduates engaged in research.
It is hoped that your academic unit will consider the adoption of this number in your department or school. I ask that your undergraduate curriculum committee in your department discuss the possibility of adopting this number. Information on submitting this curricular request as well as a link to the form for the new 699 course is found below. The generic course is standardized, but your unit will need to discuss any possible modifications you will wish to include so that the course best fits the specific requirements of undergraduate research in your department.
In order to ensure that the course will most effectively relate to research opportunities for your undergraduate population, the following are issues that your departmental curriculum committee may need to discuss in advance of submitting the course request to the ASC Curriculum Office:
- Title. The generic course calls for the course to be titled “Undergraduate Research in XXX.” Units within the College of the Arts may opt to use the title “Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities in XXX” to parallel language used in other settings.
- Credit hours. The generic course allows for variable credit hours of 1-15 credits. Do you wish to modify this? Would it benefit your students to have a “0” credit option? Do you want to limit the number of credits?
- Repeatability. What is the maximum number of credit hours students can take within your unit’s course? The generic course suggests 15 hours; do you want to increase the repeatability?
- Grading. The generic course is graded S/U. Units wanting to use a letter grading scheme in their course will need to request this modification.
- Prerequisites. The generic course requires instructor permission. Academic units may want to add additional coursework or may choose not to enforce the instructor permission. Similar to 693 and 999, departments may or may not display the call numbers within the Master Schedule.
- Honors version. Does your unit see a need for an honors version?
- Curricular Framework. How will this course apply towards major or minor requirements? Will only a limited number of credits count? Does your major limit the number of S/U courses that can count toward the major?
If your academic unit chooses to propose a new 699 course within your unit, you will need to fill out a new course form which can be found at:
The generic version of the form can be found at:
and submit it to the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Office at asccurrofc@osu.edu. Instructions on how to submit a new course are also online. If you wish to be part of this proposal, we ask that you submit your department’s course request by February 15, 2006. If you have any questions regarding this initiative, please contact Assistant Executive Dean Linda Schoen at (614) 247-8277, schoen.16@osu.edu.
Many thanks for considering this new option for identifying undergraduate research activity in your department.
Sincerely,
Ed Adelson
Associate Executive Dean
