Honors in the Major

Students from PEOPLE program visit the Botany Greenhouse
A visit to the Botany Greenhouse in Birge Hall. (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW–Madison)

To declare Honors in the Major, please schedule an appointment through Starfish with the Conservation Biology Major Academic Advisor.

To complete Honors in the Conservation Biology major, students must:

  1. Take 16 credits of honors in the major. Of the 16 honors credits, at least 6 credits must be Senior Honors Thesis credits (681/682) from an appropriate department (ex. Botany, Zoology, Forest & Wildlife Ecology, etc.).
  2. Students must also maintain at least a 3.3 overall cumulative GPA to complete Honors in the Conservation Biology major.

Students can select from any Conservation Biology courses designated as honors (types of honors credit).

Students often design and complete a project in a non-honors designated course in collaboration with the instructor. To do this, students submit a project proposal (called a “Green Sheet“) to the L&S Honors Program by the end of the 6th week of class.

Study Abroad and Honors in the Major

Some study abroad programs, like the CEIBA Tropial Conservation Semester, may be designated honors programs or students may be able to apply for honors credit upon return. See the Conservation Biology academic advisor for more information.

Biocore and Honors in the Major

UW–Madison offers an honors introductory biology sequence, called Biocore.  Bicore courses apply towards Honors in the Major credits, check out the Conservation Biology and Biocore sample four year plan.

Senior Thesis

A Senior Thesis is a written culmination of your research project(s) conducted during your undergraduate research experience with your research mentor. We encourage our undergraduate researchers to take advantage of this opportunity to further develop their skills as scientists and produce a record of their research.

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  • Develop skills to communicate about scientific research
  • Challenge yourself as a researcher
  • Prepare for graduate school or your future career
  • Record your research for future students & scientists

We encourage anyone interested in completing a Senior Thesis to join a research lab by their junior year. This ensures that students are able to develop strong research skills before taking on the additional task of writing a thesis. It is also important to discuss your plans to complete a Senior Thesis with your research adviser before enrolling in Senior Honors Thesis 681/682 or Senior Thesis 691/692 credits.

Email the Conservation Biology Thesis Proposal Form to the Conservation Biology major advisor by the end of the first week of the first semester of your thesis.

Email your completed thesis the Conservation Biology advisor before the last day of finals of the second semester of the thesis sequence.

The first and last day of classes can be found on the Registrar’s Dates & Deadlines page.

Two undergraduate researchers in a canoe on a lake surrounded by lily pads, taking measurements. One student wearing an orange lifejacket and sun hat, the other in a black lifejacket and blue bandana.
Conservation Biology students Eliana Cook and Marin Danz collect data as part of a wild rice study at Allequash Lake near the Trout Lake Research Station south of Boulder Junction. Wild rice plants at the sample site have been dwindling in recent years and the students are looking into the reason why this is occurring. (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW–Madison)

Suggested Thesis Timeline

Thesis GoalDeadline for Spring GraduationDeadline for Fall Graduation
Discuss Thesis Plans with Research Mentor
 Early SeptemberLate January
Submit Thesis Proposal Late September Mid February
Outline of Proposed ExperimentsOctoberFebruary
Draft of IntroductionNovemberMarch
Draft of Methods/ExperimentalFebruarySeptember
Draft of Results & DiscussionMarchOctober
Seek Feedback on Complete Thesis DraftAprilNovember
Submit Final Senior ThesisMayDecember