Faculty of Science launches five research-focused credit courses for first and second-year students

Five new courses will give hundreds of undergraduate students an early introduction to research in the Faculty of Science.

The pass / fail credit courses developed by the Faculty’s Office of Undergraduate Research will be available starting in May.

The Faculty of Science has long had a reputation for getting undergraduate students involved in research, says Acting Dean Gianni Parise. “Our students don’t have to wait until graduate school to get into labs, out into the field and do actual research alongside our faculty, postdocs and grad students. It’s why so many science students chose to come to McMaster. With these new courses, students will be welcomed into our research community as early as the first term of their first year.”

The courses will give students the skills, experience, confidence and connections to join research groups and excel in third-year research project courses and the fourth-year senior thesis, says Gianni.

“These new courses put students on a path where they can turn their interest in research into a lifelong passion that leads to pretty remarkable careers.”

Gianni started heading down that path during his third year as an undergraduate student in the Department of Kinesiology. He’d originally planned to go to medical school – “like pretty much every science student” – but joining a research group proved to be a gamechanger.  “It was complete serendipity.” He’d go on to earn a Master’s and PhD in Exercise Physiology and become a leading expert into the potential age-related impairment of muscle stem cells.

Along with his work as a researcher, Gianni has served as Chair of the Kinesiology Department, Associate Dean of Research & External Relations for the Faculty of Science, Acting Deputy Vice President of Research for McMaster and now Acting Dean of the Faculty of Science.

“All of that happened because I joined a research group in my third year of undergrad. That experience transformed my life. We want as many students as possible to have similar opportunities.”

Gianni shared his story while announcing the new courses during the latest undergraduate research symposium hosted by the Faculty of Science’s Office for Undergraduate Research (OUR). More than 200 undergrads filled every seat at the campus event.

The office is the first of its kind at McMaster and is unique among Faculties of Science at Canadian universities. Launched in 2023, a team of faculty and staff in the office connects undergrads with research opportunities on campus and beyond the university, runs a graduate student shadowing program, delivers workshops, hosts forums and colloquia and provides one-on-one advising. Last year, 430 students applied for 27 OUR Summer Research Experiences in McMaster Labs, while 149 students applied for the grad student shadowing program.

The Office for Undergraduate Research is supported by a grant from the Office of the Provost’s Strategic Alignment Fund. Provost and Vice President (Academic) Susan Tighe joined the undergraduate research symposium to deliver a guest lecture and offer advice to the full house of next generation researchers.

“Research is how I have fun and I’ve been doing it for more than 30 years,” said Susan, an award-winning engineer and a world-renowned researcher in the field of sustainable infrastructure.

“Be curious,” Susan told the students. “Look at the world and ask how could we do things better and how can I make a difference? Research is driven by the desire to continually ask questions and search for answers.”