DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DISTINGUISHED MAJORS PROGRAM

The Department of Environmental Sciences offers its Distinguished Majors Program to highly qualified majors wishing to pursue a special in-depth course of study and research at the undergraduate level. The focus can be theoretical or applied and can involve laboratory, field, computational, or other experience appropriate to the course of study. At least 12 hours of advanced work must be included in the program, with 6 of these hours being Supervised Research involving work leading directly to the thesis.

Majors admitted to the program work closely with faculty. Successful completion of the program results in a thesis and the presentation of findings to the Undergraduate Academic Review Committee, the supervising faculty member, and an audience of peers. Based on the completion and communication of their research, successful majors are awarded Distinction, High Distinction, or Highest Distinction upon graduation.

Admission to the DMP

Majors admitted to the program must have a University grade point average close to 3.4 or above and must have achieved at least 3.4 at the time of graduation. They must have the consent of at least one department faculty member to supervise the development of their thesis. Applications for admission to the program are required no later than October 15, 2007, for a planned graduation the following May or August, and no later than April 14, 2008, for a planned graduation the following December. It is best to apply well ahead of these deadlines. The content of the application and the steps necessary to complete the DMP are linked below.

Completing the DMP

The results of the completed research and thesis must be presented publicly. The thesis, presentation, and supervising committee's recommendation to the Undergraduate Academic Review Committee must be completed by May 2, 2008, for Spring graduation or approximately December 15 for Fall graduation. The thesis should follow the format and guidelines established by the graduate school for M.S. theses. A bound copy of the thesis following the guidelines of the graduate school must be submitted to the Director of the Distinguished Majors Program to be deposited in the Science & Engineering Library. 

Review of the DMP

The successful completion of the DMP will be evaluated as follows. The completion of the thesis and its presentation will be evaluated by the Undergraduate Academic Review Committee. The supervising faculty member will make a recommendation for level of distinction to the Undergraduate Academic Review Committee as well. The Undergraduate Academic Review Committee will develop the Departmental recommendation for level of distinction based on the evidence presented on the quality of the student's research, thesis, and public presentation; the student's overall work in the DMP and major;  and the student’s overall college record. This recommendation will be forwarded to the College Registrar in time to be included in the Graduation Bulletin.

Director of the DMP

For the academic year 2007-2008, the Director of the DMP in Environmental Sciences is

Prof. Janet S. Herman

212 Clark Hall

jherman@virginia.edu

924-0553

 

DMP Admission and Research Proposal Instructions

Steps to Completion of the DMP