Completing the Directed Research contract accurately is critical to ensuring your work is approved and sent to the appropriate reviewers. We created this page to provide some clarity around some of the steps when completing the contract. In particular, make sure you register under the designator of your major, regardless of which department your faculty mentor is in. Help your faculty mentor know which DUGS they need to route the contract to by providing the DUGS x500 in the Additional comments box. You can find a full list of CBS DUGS at z.umn.edu/cbsDUGS.
As you work through the contract, here are a few key things to note:
Course subject: Enter the designator for your major in the course subject area. Major designators are:
- Biochemistry: BIOC
- Biology: BIOL
- Cellular and Organismal Physiology: COP
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior: EEB
- Genetics, Cell Biology and Development: GCD
- Microbiology: MICB
- Neuroscience: NSCI
- Plant and Microbial Biology: PMB
Course number: Select the course number for the type of directed study you’re doing (e.g. 4994, 4794W) in the course number dropdown.
Project Title, Description and methods: Work with your faculty mentor to write a title and description for your project and approaches.
Additional Comments: Add a note in “additional comments” that includes the x500 of the academic approver your faculty mentor will need to enter on their page.
- For BIOL 2996, this should be dadavis (e.g. "Academic approver: dadavis")
- For 4994 and 4794W, this should be the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS) for your major. Find a full list of the CBS DUGS at z.umn.edu/cbsDUGS.
