BISC 290/490 Application Instructions

These instructions apply to students seeking research credit through BISC 290 (Introduction to Biological Research) or BISC 490 (Directed Research). Review the eligibility and application requirements below, then return to the main Directed Research page to download your course application, use the Science GPA Calculator, and submit your completed materials.

BISC 290 is an introductory research-for-credit course intended for students with sophomore standing. Students must have completed BISC 120/121L and BISC 220/221L, as well as CHEM 105a and 105b. BISC 290 units do not count toward the upper-division elective requirement in Biological Sciences.

BISC 490 is for students with junior or higher standing (at least 64 units). Up to four BISC 490 units may count toward upper-division Biological Sciences elective credit, subject to the requirements of your degree and advising review.

Each course application coversheet offers 2 or 4 units per semester. A new application is required for each semester of research-for-credit enrollment, including when work continues with the same faculty sponsor.

The minimum required science GPA and cumulative GPA are each 3.0. Enter your courses and grades accurately and include the supporting academic record requested on the application.

• List the relevant preparatory and science courses on your BISC 290 or BISC 490 application coversheet, including courses completed at other institutions.
• For courses transferred to USC, write TR in the grade field on the coversheet. Those courses may satisfy subject-course requirements, but do not include their transferred grades in your science GPA recalculation.
• Report your USC science and cumulative GPA, using the Science GPA Calculator as a guide for the science GPA portion.
• Include a current STARS report. Course grades on the application will be checked against this report. Incorrect or misreported information may affect approval.

Your research must be supervised by a regular USC faculty member whose project qualifies as biological research. You may work with faculty in Human and Evolutionary Biology, Marine and Environmental Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Neurobiology, or an appropriate research group elsewhere at USC.

Faculty sponsor CV requirement: Life Sciences Hub staff generally have CVs for faculty in the four Biological Sciences departments. If your sponsor is outside those departments, you must include that faculty member’s current CV in your application unless the Life Sciences Hub has confirmed a current copy is already on file. A LinkedIn profile or screenshot is not a substitute for a CV. An application missing a required CV is incomplete.

• Review faculty and laboratory research websites to identify researchers whose work interests you.
• Ask faculty about available research opportunities and discuss your background, availability, and preparation.
• With your sponsor, identify the specific research work you will carry out during the semester.
• When working with an outside-department sponsor, contact Life Sciences Hub academic administration before the deadline to confirm whether a current CV is already on file.

Write a research proposal in your own words, at least one full double-spaced typed page. Explain your own role in the project in the first person. Your sponsor should review the proposal before signing the application.

Your proposal should clearly address:

• The biological research question, its significance, relevant background, and how it relates to previous findings.
• Your working hypothesis, if applicable, or the exploratory purpose of the research.
• The specific aims, experiments, techniques, data, or measurements you will be responsible for.
• How your work fits into any larger research project and what you hope to learn or accomplish.
• Possible results and what they could mean for the broader research question.

Include a reference list and the title page of one research journal article directly relevant to the proposal. An article abstract is not separately required under the clarified instructions. You may include a figure page with a legend if useful.

Write for a scientifically informed reader outside your exact subfield; do not copy a faculty paper or grant proposal. Laboratory mentors may provide feedback, but the writing must reflect your own understanding and contribution.

Contact your sponsor well before the deadline, ideally about a month in advance, and provide an early draft at least a week before submission so there is time for revision and signatures.

• The BISC 290 or BISC 490 application coversheet, completed for your chosen semester, year, and requested units, with accurate student and faculty sponsor contact information.
• Required academic progress information, relevant science course grades, both GPAs, and a current STARS report. Mark eligible transfer courses TR; do not use their transferred grades in the science GPA calculation.
• Your own research proposal of at least one full double-spaced page, a reference list, and the title page of one highly relevant research article.
• Dated signatures from you and your faculty sponsor. Leave the office-use approval portion for administrative review.
• A current faculty sponsor CV if the sponsor is outside HEB, MEB, MCB, and Neurobiology, unless the Life Sciences Hub has confirmed that a current CV is on file. Do not substitute a LinkedIn screenshot.

The application deadline is 12:00 p.m. (noon), Pacific Time, on Friday of the first week of classes in the semester in which you want to enroll. The main Directed Research page will list the exact date, application opening time, and current submission status for each term.

We encourage you to apply early and leave enough time to work with your faculty sponsor. To be fair to everyone who submits by the deadline, late applications cannot be accepted. Applications are offered in the fall and spring semesters.

• Combine the signed coversheet, proposal, article title page, references, STARS report, and any required sponsor CV into one PDF file.
• Use this filename format, including the parentheses around your sponsor’s last name: Last Name, First Name (SponsorLastName)_SemesterYear.pdf. Example: Smith, Alex (Lee)_Fall2026.pdf.
• Use your official USC email address on the application.
• Upload the complete PDF through the BISC 290/490 Application Upload link on the main Directed Research page while the application period is open. Email submissions are not accepted.
• If approved, you will receive an email with D-clearance instructions. Submitting an application does not automatically enroll you; register after you receive clearance.

You and your faculty sponsor will establish a research schedule, expectations, and tasks appropriate to your unit load. Plan for about 3–4 hours of research work per week per unit (about 12–16 hours per week for four units). Keep appropriate laboratory and research records as directed by your sponsor.

Your faculty sponsor evaluates your research work and written report. The faculty sponsor must communicate the final course grade to Linda Bazilian in the Life Sciences Hub by the last day of examinations so that it can be entered in the university grading system.

You must complete an individual written final research report reflecting the work performed during the semester. The report is required to receive a final course grade.

By the last day of classes, you must do both of the following:

• Provide a copy of your written report to your faculty sponsor for review.
• Submit the same report through the BISC 290/490 Final Research Report Upload link on the main Directed Research page so the Life Sciences Hub can track receipt.

Reports are retained for internal academic records and are not distributed. Your faculty sponsor also sends the final grade to Linda Bazilian by the last day of exams. The course is not fully completed for grading purposes until the required report and sponsor grade information have been received.

You may continue working with the same sponsor, laboratory, or broader research project over more than one semester. However, you must submit a new application for each semester in which you seek BISC 290/490 credit, even if the research itself continues.

Each semester carries its own graded research activities and end-of-semester written report, and your faculty sponsor must submit a separate final grade for that term.