491 Undergraduate Research
Office of Undergraduate Research
The Office of Undergraduate Research sponsors W sections. To request a W section of 491 that will be sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, obtain a memo from that office (http://ugr.tamu.edu/) and submit it with your request to the Office of the Registrar.
Expiration Date: 1/1/14
Robert Webb & Sumana Datta
5-8585
ugr@tamu.edu
REPORT ON RECERTIFICATION OF W COURSE: Undergraduate Research Office 491
We recommend that the Undergraduate Research Office version of 491 courses be certified as a writing (W) course for the next four academic years (1/10 to 1/14). We have reviewed the syllabus and have determined that the course meets or exceeds the following criteria:
- Percentage of final grade based on writing quality (100%)
- Course content appropriate to the major
- Total number of words (9500)
- Instructor to student ratio for one section: 1:2
UGR 491 is an upper-division course (60 hours required) appropriate for majors in various departments who participate in the Undergraduate Research Program. Courses are listed by the department of the student’s major or faculty advisor, but personnel in the Undergraduate Research Office will be responsible for administering the course. Students write more than 4000 words, and 100% of the grade is based on demonstrated writing skill. Students will submit two sections of their thesis early in the semester for feedback from their research advisors and/or the Office of Undergraduate Research. Finally, they will submit a draft of their thesis to their advisors for detailed feedback near the end of the semester. Following each submission, students will conference with their advisors about their writing. Workshops will be offered. The possible topics for the tutorials and workshops include model thesis discussion, writing of abstracts, case studies of plagiarism, library techniques, writing styles, and grammatical issues. Students will be required to attend three of these. Individual consultations will be offered by each student’s research advisor.
No significant changes have been made since original certification was granted.
