About MCDB 198 ABCD
Honors Research in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology


General Information


  • 198A-B-C (but not 198D) are required in order to be eligible for Departmental Honors and Highest Departmental Honors.

  • MCDB 198 work must be experimental laboratory research and not a literature search, literature evaluation, or survey work. Familiarity with the scientific literature is essential and is part of the thesis. It must be part of any independent research, but it should not be the only part. We expect direct, hands-on laboratory exposure.

  • Students may enroll in a maximum of four units of MCDB 198 per quarter. However, honors projects tend to be more demanding than the twelve hours of work per week which would strictly correspond to four units of credit. You should therefore anticipate putting in time and effort in proportion to what your honors research project demands (a good thing to discuss in advance with your research sponsor), but 12 hours of work per week is the minimum you should expect to spend.

  • Enrollment in MCDB 198 courses is not offered for summer.

MCDB 198A-B


  • must be taken for at least two consecutive quarters and for a total of at least eight units.

  • has "In Progress" grading over two quarters. Students must enroll in MCDB 198A, and then in 198B the following quarter. The two-quarter course can be initiated in Fall or Winter, but not in Spring. If you enroll in MCDB 198A in Fall or Winter, plan to enroll in 198B in the next successive quarter. Unit credit and grades are given upon completion of 198B (not before the end of the second quarter). Your transcript will always show an IP (in progress) grade for MCDB 198A and eight units of the grade assigned for the 198B entry.

  • A research paper must be presented to both the MCDB Student Affairs Office and your research sponsor each quarter, while you are enrolled in MCDB 198A-B. These papers should build toward the Honors Thesis. In the 198A quarter, students are expected to turn in their introduction, including the literature review, and methods section (experimental design). In the 198B quarter, these sections should be refined and expanded. Preliminary results are to be included as available.

MCDB 198C and 198D


  • are each for a single quarter, but should be encompassed in the original project proposal written for honors research (MCDB 198A-B-C). Enrollment in MCDB 198C or 198D is not permitted unless 198A-B has been satisfactorily completed.

  • In the 198C quarter, you will not be required to turn in a draft to MCDB Office. However, you must turn in a final version of your complete thesis by 5 PM on WEDNESDAY of 9th week.