Summer undergraduate research opportunities in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College, an undergraduate college for women, will be offered for three summers. Participants will be selected from Biology, Biological Chemistry or Psychobiology majors who have serious purpose and definite interest in independent work, have sufficient course preparation and have shown ability to think imaginatively and independently. Participants will be selected by the project director and faculty committee after evaluation of application forms designed to recruit the most qualified student. The student will participate in all aspects of the investigation, from pursuing a literature review to carrying out experimental procedures and observations, continuing to analysis of data and determination of conclusions. The student will formally and informally discuss the work with her advisor, and also will prepare discussions with all participants, both student and faculty, for weekly group seminars. This will encourage both experience with oral presentations and exposure to suggestions and criticism of other researchers. A poster session will end the summer's work. Throughout the summer, seminars and workshops will be presented by women scientists in graduate school and in research careers; field trips to biotechnology and chemical companies will be taken. An ethics component will be shared with REU students from Boston University, and joint seminars and field trips have been planned with this regional institution and with the University of Massachusetts Boston campus.
