About the Honors Program
The College of Natural Resources Honors Program is designed to support undergraduate students interested in developing, executing, and evaluating a year-long independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Students who successfully complete the Honors Program will earn recognition at graduation and will also receive a notation of Honors in their major on their diploma. The Honors Symposium, held once each semester, gives all Honors students the opportunity to present their research to fellow students, faculty, Deans, friends, and family.
Testimonials
"I'd recommend this program to every CNR student regardless of whether
they are interested in research. You apply classroom theory to real world
problem solving. It's about thinking beyond textbooks, adding dimension to
what you learn, and developing professional relationships. This experience
extends beyond research by providing you with essential skills no matter
what your plans are after you graduate."
-Sankar Sridaran, Molecular Environmental Biology, Class of 2007
"For me the valuable part of the experience was learning how to research
and read information regarding my topic and then take a step back, try to
look at all of the info collectively and objectively and figure out what
was actually going on. I would recommend it only if someone was really
passionate about an issue that they wanted to spend significant amounts of
time researching. If someone is passionate about an issue then this is a
unique opportunity to guide your own education."
-Judith Harwood, Environmental Economics and Policy, Class of 2007
"I found great value in working with highly qualified researchers to focus
my initial scientific interest into a research project of scientific
merit. Parallel in value to working with exceptional researchers is having
access to other opportunities like scholarships, joining other labs, and
being a member of the Berkeley/CNR intellectual community. Lastly, by
participating in the CNR Honors program I solidified my plans to pursue a
career in science and research."
-Scott Stevenson, Microbial Biology, Class of 2007
Qualifications
- Be a declared major in the CNR department in which you are seeking Honors.
- Possess an overall GPA of 3.6 or higher.
- Have no more than 2 Incomplete grades on your academic record.
- Have completed a minimum of 60 semester units (attained junior or senior status).
- Junior Transfer students must have completed at least one semester at UC Berkeley with a 3.6 GPA.
Requirements
- Complete 8 units of a two-course H196 series (4 units per course) in your home department under the guidance of a Faculty Sponsor. You must enroll in both H196 courses for a letter grade; the courses do not have to be completed in consecutive semesters.
- Earn grades of a B or better in each H196 course.
- Maintain a 3.6 GPA or better through graduation.
- Write an honors research thesis and submit copies to your Faculty Sponsor/Research Mentor. Thesis format will conform to the expectations for submission of a "publishable" paper to the relevant research discipline. A one page summary of your paper is due to the Honors Program Coordinator the day of the oral presentation.
- Give an oral presentation at the CNR Honors Symposium.
- Attend a mandatory meeting the beginning of each semester.
How to Apply
- Complete the CNR Honors Program Enrollment Form.
- Write a 300-word research proposal.
- Identify a Research Mentor, who can be any faculty member or other qualified instructor on campus.
- If you choose to do research with a mentor from another a department other than your major department, you must also identify a Faculty Sponsor in your home department in CNR.
- Submit your Enrollment Form to your Undergraduate Staff Advisor by the last day of the first week of the semester in which you plan to enroll in the Honors Program.
SPUR and the Honors Program
CNR encourages students applying to the Honors Program to apply for SPUR funding as well. SPUR (Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research) awards CNR student-faculty mentor pairs a research grant for a Student-Initiated project.
Double Majors
If you wish to participate in the Honors Program in one major, the guidelines described above are exactly the same.
If you wish to pursue Honors in both majors, you must meet the full requirements of the Program for both. You will need two research projects with two Research Mentors, and a Faculty Sponsor in each department. You must take 8 units of H196 with each Sponsor and write two publishable papers. This kind of endeavor will almost certainly take two years to accomplish, so careful planning is a must.
Simultaneous Degree Students
Simultaneous Degree Students are welcome to pursue Honors in their CNR major, with all the same requirements and opportunities. However, only students whose home college is CNR can apply for SPUR funding for their Honors Program.
Past Honors Program Participants
Fall 2007
View photos from this symposium
Alexandra Liu, Molecular Environmental Biology
Effective Intellectual Property Protection: Why Such a Challenge for China?
Mentor: Professors David Winickoff & Brian Wright
Grayson Vincent, Environmental Economics & Policy
Impact of Water Transfer between the Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority on Migrant Labor.
Mentor: Professor David Sunding
Lisa Friedman, Conservation Resource Studies
Transformation of Banana Production in Costa Rica: Socioeconomic and Other Factors.
Mentor: Professors Carolyn Trist & Claire Kremen
Eric Meux, Environmental Economics & Policy
Water Poverty, Health, and Economic Development.
Mentor: Professor David Roland-Holst
Delicia Nahman, Conservation Resource Studies
Logging in Suriname: The Environmental, Social and Economic Effects of Global competition for natural resources within the context of Surinamese Development.
Mentor: Professor Claudia Carr
Aimee Sprague, Conservation Resource Studies
Evaluating the Role of Climate in Tree Growth in a Sierran Conifer Forest.
Mentor: Professor John Battles
Tim Jeong Ho Seo, Molecular Environmental Biology
Behavioral and Physiological Response of Hellgrammite, Neohermes filicornis (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) to Stream Drying and Desiccation.
Mentor: Professor Vince Resh
Victor Rodriguez, Molecular Toxicology
Expression of Estrogen Receptor-Alpha in Mammary Epithelial Cells of Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Unactivated C-Neu and Its Relationship to Onset of Cellular Senescence and Tumorigenesis.
Mentor: Dr. G. Shyamala & Professor Leonard Bjeldanes
Amy Lin, Molecular Environmental Biology
Melis Medal Winner for Best Honors Presentation
Recombinant Neuropathy Target Esterase Protects Cells from Lysophosphatidylcholine-Induced Cytotoxicity.
Mentor: Professor John Casida
Jenna Hua, Nutritional Science & Toxicology Dept, Dietetics
California PLATE- Evaluating New Nutrition Education Curriculum to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.
Mentor: Professor Pat Crawford
Leonora Bittleston, Molecular Environmental Biology
Life Inside a Bug: The Pathogenic Bacterium BEV and its Leafhopper Host.
Mentor: Professor Rodrigo Almeida
**Kavita Rangan, Microbial Biology
Melis Medal Winner for Best Honors Research
Characterization of a Baculovirus Gene Involved in Nuclear Localization of Actin.
Mentor: Professors Matthew Welch & Loy Volkman
Shahrzad Abbassi-Rahbar, Molecular Environmental Biology
Role of Phospholipase D-mediated Signal Transduction in the Exposure of Phosphatidylserine (PS) in Red Blood Cells.
Mentor: Kitty DeJong & Professor Mark Tanouye
Spring 2007
View photos from this symposium
Judith Harwood, EEP
The Relationship Between Agricultural Support In the United States and Povery in Developing Countries
Mentor: Professor Larry Karp
Kyle Hubbard, EEP
Assessing California's Ethanol Future
Mentor: Professor David Sunding
Aminta Raffalovich, EEP
Atmosphere and Agriculture: A Survey of Research on Global Dimming and its Impacts
Mentor: Professor Maximilian Auffhammer
Laura Safdie, EEP
Barriers and Solutions for the California Water Market
Mentor: Professor Michael Hanemann
John Dingman, FNR
Improving Spatial Accuracy of VTM Plots at Mt. Diablo State Park
Mentor: Professor N. Maggi Kelly
Lisa Forma, CRS
Redesigning the Yellow Brick Road: Making the Right Choices for Road Closures and Restoration Projects in California Watersheds
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth W. Boyer
Danielle Fuchs, FNR
Strategies to Promote Old-Growth Giant Sequioa Stands: An Evaluation Of The Group Selection Approach
Mentor: Professor John Battles
Lauren Selman, CRS
Lights, Camera, Eco-Action: The Greening of the Motion Picture Industry
Mentor: Professor John Hurst
Stephanie Stephanie, NT-Toxicology
Mechanism Underlying Eye Elongation in Continuous Light
Mentor: Professor Christine Wildsoet
Ginevra Ryman, MEB
Investigating Species Richness Patterns of Terrestrial Mammals
Mentor: Professor Rosemary Gillespie
Samantha Weintraub, CRS
Nitrification in Model Grassland Ecosystems: Edaphic and Environmental Controls
Mentor: Professors Mary Firestone
Georgia Green, CRS
Investigating Microbial Communities Involving Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195, a Halorespiring Bacterium
Mentor: Professors Lisa Alvarez-Cohen and Mary Firestone
Kim Hung, MEB
Impact of Temperature on Maintenance of Gut-Associated Bacteria and Stinkbug Fitness
Mentor: Professor Rodrigo Almeida
Kenneth Takeoka, MB
Evaluating Fecundity in Neurospora
Mentor: Professor John Taylor
Michelle Bailey, CRS
Missing the Regenerative Pieces: Land Management in California's North Coast Forests
Mentor: Professor Claudia Carr
Hillary Cooper, MB
New Insights into the Evolutionary History of Ruscaceae
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht
Hong Dinh, NST-Physiology & Metabolism
Enchance of Anacardic Acid on Lunasin's Chemopreventative Properties
Mentor: Professor Ben O. de Lumen
Sankar Sridaran, MEB
The Labellum of Costus (Zingiberales) and the ABC Model of Floral Development
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Specht
Catherine Murray, MB
The Dual Use Dilemma: Microbes as Both Tools and Weapons
Mentor: Professor Dan Portnoy
Naz Nami, , MB
Induction of Resistance to Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus
Mentor: Professor Andew O. Jackson
Subhajit Poddar, MB
Characterization of Two Novel Carotenoid Biosynthesis Genes In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii
Mentor: Professor Krishna K. Niyogi
Leona D. Scanlan, Molecular Toxicology
Thymoquinone Toxicity in B16-F10 Murine Melanoma Cells
Mentor: Professor Isao Kubo
J. Scott Stevenson, MB
Genetic Characterization of the Dominant Rough Sheath4 Mutant in Maize (Zea Mays)
Mentor: Professor Sara Hake
Haleh Sakkaki, MEB
Breast Cancer Research
Mentor: Professor Mark Tanouye and Chris Vulpe
Rose Tran, MEB
The Potential Role of the Notch Pathway in the Reversion of Malignant Mammary Epithelia
Mentor: Professor Mark A. Tanouye
Sarah Daniels, MEB
Effects of Mainstream Tobacco Smoke Effects on the Function and Genetic Integrity of Mouse Sperm
Mentor: Professor Sally K. Fairfax
Sameen Ghazali, CRS
The Plight of A Predator: A Review of the Status and Future of International Shark Conservation
Mentor: Professor Roy Caldwell and Sally Fairfax
Daria Mazey, CRS/EEP
Public Transportation and Liveability in Los Angeles
Mentor: Professors Sally Fairfax and Karen Frick
Dorothy Kaslow, CRS
Air Pollutions Effect on Climate Change
Mentor: Professor Dennis Baldocchi
