STARS Seminar

1 unit

This seminar course is designed for students who are part of the STARS Program at Washington University. The course will provide a formal setting to guide this population into becoming successful researchers in the academic community, with an additional goal of increasing their PhD pursuits. Students in the course will be exposed to scholarly discussions through student-selected journal readings. The course will discuss the different approaches taken to scientific inquiry and the dissemination of knowledge, in addition to the topic of integrity in research and important ethical issues that impact scientific investigation. Students will be exposed to topics relating not only to their area of study but to that of their peers as well. Student presentations on both scholarly journal readings and their own research will enable them to develop the ability to effectively communicate research to a broad audience. From this course, the STARS students will develop the skills to read, understand and critically evaluate publications, and they will build a broad understanding of research in multiple fields within the natural sciences. Students will also come away with a greater understanding of the ethical issues that face the scientific community on a daily basis.