Capstone Special Projects
Special projects that may be used as Capstone Experience
Professional School Application
Students applying to the following graduate or professional programs: medicine, pharmacy, optometry, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant programs, occupational therapy, or physical therapy must complete the following items to fulfill the biology capstone requirement:
- A full length (scored) practice exam for the profession they are seeking (GRE, MCAT, OAT, PCAT, DAT), and provide documentation to verify this;
OR
An official professional school entrance examination with documentation that shows score; - A final version of the personal statement to be used in the professional school application;
- A copy of the student’s current résumé or curriculum vitae;
- A copy of the student’s shadowing journal from direct observation of the human/animal health professional related to the selected career with dates, hours, and contact information; and
- A reflective writing piece about the graduate/professional school application process and how the biology coursework was connected to the preparation for graduate/professional school.
Students must have an approved capstone contract completed with Carrie Bentley, Ph.D., the health professions advisor overseeing the experience, and must submit the contract to the capstone coordinator before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone.
Independent Research
Must be arranged with and approved by a biology faculty member willing to direct the research experience. Faculty research interests are listed on their directory profiles. A student interested in this capstone experience should contact a faculty member and discuss the possibility of doing research with them. Students do not have to be enrolled in a course to use faculty-directed research as a capstone experience (RCSA grants, doing research with a faculty member, etc.). However, to get course credit, students will have to enroll in BIO 4930, Individual Study. Students must have an approved capstone contract completed with the faculty member overseeing the experience and must submit the contract to the capstone coordinator before beginning and before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone.
Science Olympiad
Students may apply to be Event Supervisors for STEM events completed by middle and/or high school Science Olympiad teams. Event Supervisors create a minimum of two events (test, lab practical, or building challenge) following the rules of the national Science Olympiad. Supervisors also proctor those events at one or more tournaments, grade the events, and submit scores. Must be arranged with and approved by Science Olympiad directors. Students must have an approved capstone contract completed with Allyson Fenwick, Ph.D., and must submit the contract to the capstone coordinator before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone.
Science Fair
Each spring, the College of Mathematics and Science sponsors the Central Oklahoma Regional Science and Engineering Fair for high school and grade school students. UCO biology students may become involved with the Science Fair and use their involvement as a capstone experience. For additional information please contact Elizabeth Allan, Ph.D. Once a Science Fair capstone project is agreed upon with Dr. Allan, the student must complete a capstone contract with Dr. Allan who will oversee the project and a copy will be provided to the capstone coordinator before beginning and before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone. There are a limited number of Science Fair positions available.
Off-campus service learning partnerships
The UCO Office of Community Engagement and the biology capstone coordinator will assist students with arranging this option for the BIO 4840 Capstone. It will require students to engage in a synthetic biology-related community service project with a community partner. An approved service learning contract must be in place before beginning and before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone. This must be arranged with and approved by the UCO Office of Community Engagement and the capstone coordinator. A criminal history background check might be required for some of these experiences. TRANSPORTATION ISSUES: Students engaging in a community service learning project will have to make arrangements for their own transportation to and from the project. There are a limited number of Service Learning experiences available each semester.
On-campus service learning opportunities
There are a few on-campus service learning opportunities and special projects for students. For these to count for the BIO 4840 Capstone course they must have a synthetic biology content. Contact the UCO Office of Community Engagement for ideas about on-campus service learning projects before discussing them with the capstone coordinator. An approved Service Learning Contract must be in place before beginning and before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone. This must be arranged with and approved by the UCO Office of Community Engagement and the capstone coordinator. There are a limited number of Service Learning experiences available each semester.
Other Equivalent Experiences Approved by Capstone Coordinator
There may be additional capstones experiences that could be used to satisfy the BIO 4840 Capstone course. If a student has any additional ideas, they should discuss the possibility of these with the capstone coordinator, Paul Olson, Ph.D. If agreed upon, the student will then complete the capstone contract with the capstone coordinator before beginning and before the student will be allowed to enroll in BIO 4840 Capstone.