Science Research in the High School

The UHS Program offers four Science Research in the High School courses for juniors and seniors:

• A CAS 109 - Intermediate Science Research (2 credits, Summer) - Juniors
• A CAS 110 - Intermediate Methods of Research (4 credits, Full Year) - Juniors
• A CAS 209 - Advanced Science Research (2 credits, Summer) - Seniors
• A CAS 210 - Advanced Methods of Research (4 credits, Full Year) - Seniors

The Summer courses run from June through September and are the only UHS courses offered during the summer. The Full Year courses run from September through June.

Registration instructions are sent to instructors at the beginning of each session, and then distributed to students. Students must have a mentor secured before registering for college credit. Students must register during the specified registration period per session.

All Students, Full Year Session (September to June)

A CAS 110 Intermediate Methods of Research (juniors) and ACAS 210 Advanced Methods of Research (seniors)

• Attend all scheduled SRHS classes.
• Commit to 250 or more hours per school year for their research work, divided amongst class time, one-on-one biweekly meetings, and independent research. See Time Dedicated to SRHS options, based on various schools' schedule format.
• Maintain a laboratory notebook of all research course experience starting upon entry in the course. 
  • The instructor will determine if this will be a bound notebook with numbered, pressure sensitive duplicate pages which can be removed, a digital notebook, or a hybrid combination of physical and digital.
• Maintain a portfolio of all research associated work. The portfolio must contain at least all of the following sections:
  • Interleaf sheets from the Laboratory Notebook (after teacher initials it).
  • Records of all communications: telephone, face-to-face, e-mail, letters, faxes, etc.
  • Bi-weekly goal sheets.
  • All journal articles that are read.
  • One-on-one assessment sessions including bi-weekly assessment sheet.
  • Optional, but strongly recommended:
    • Any grants obtained.
    • Rules from various competitions and other venues for presentation.
    • Honors, recognitions, news clippings, etc.
    • Copies of all class and non-class public presentations. 
    • Copies of all research papers written.
    • Semi-annual research abstracts of the work to date.
    • Bibliographic research searches and results.
    • Other pertinent information as deemed important by the course instructor.
• Create a poster presentation of their annual research work.
  • Sophomores should create a poster based on a peer reviewed paper they have presented in class. Sophomores with an established mentor and research plan may instead choose to create a poster that outlines the research that is planned. 
  • Juniors should create a poster based on their own review of literature and their work so far.
  • Seniors must create a poster based solely on their own research findings.
  • All research students, including speakers, must present posters at the local school symposium.
• Enter available venues for presenting their research at all stages of the work. 
  • All students must take part in the class end-of-year evening symposium, at the appropriate level for their year in the course.
• Maintain regular, demonstrable contact with a mentor once one is obtained.

Additional Requirements for Sophomores

• Keep a demonstrable log of where their time on research is spent.
• Advance to the level of reading peer reviewed journal articles by mid-winter of the Sophomore year.
• Present an appropriate, peer reviewed research paper to their classmates and teacher at least once during the school year.
• Conduct thorough and exhaustive literature searches on their chosen topic.
• Find a mentor to work with.
  • The best mentors are current research professionals.
  • Mentors must hold either a PhD, MD, LPE or similar doctoral level credentials.
  • In-house mentoring is not advised within the school, unless the faculty member holds a PhD, MD, LPE or similar doctoral level credential.
  • SRHS instructors and immediate family members are not permitted to serve as students’ mentors, regardless of their credentials.
• Collaborate with the mentor (once there is one) on a hypothesis and begin writing a research plan.
• Optional, but strongly recommended:
  • Continue their research work during the Sophomore/Junior summer. This can be in an internship or other organized program, or individually as long as the mentor approves the work. Summer work between sophomore and junior year could qualify for ACAS 109, resulting in 2 credits. 

Additional Requirements for Juniors

• Carry out the bulk of their experimentation and data gathering.
• Enter venues for competition as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
• Optional, but strongly recommended:
  • Continue their research work during the Junior/Senior summer.  This can be in an internship or other organized program, or individually as long as the mentor approves the work. Summer work between junior and senior year could qualify for ACAS 209, resulting in 2 credits.

Additional Requirements for Seniors

• Present their research findings at their local school symposium and at least one other non-competitive venue (school board meeting, PTO, faculty meeting, civic organization, etc.).
• Write a scientific paper of their finished research.
• Enter available competitions as determined by the course instructor.
• Create a slideshow presentation of their research findings.
• Present their full research findings at the school's local symposium in poster format and slideshow format.
• Optional, but strongly recommended:
  • Make a serious attempt to publish their work.

All Students, Summer Session (July to August) 

A CAS 109 Intermediate Science Research (soon-to-be juniors) and A CAS 209 Advanced Science Research (soon-to-be seniors) 

• Work with, or under the direct guidance of, the mentor for a minimum of 90 hours.
• Document all hours in thorough narrative detail, in the laboratory notebook.
• Confer or meet with the Science Research teacher, once or more during the summer, about their progress.
• Meet with the Science Research teacher at or near the end of the summer for an assessment session to determine a summer grade.

All Instructors in a SRHS Classroom, Full Year Session (September to June)

• Complete "Teaching Science Research in the High School Training Workshop" and retrain as necessary. 
• Instructors may choose to retrain if they would like, at any time.
• Hold a Master's Degree meeting UHS SRHS credential requirements.
• Maintain contact with other teachers in the program.
• Establish and maintain contact with students' mentors.
• Establish and maintain contact with research students' parents/guardians.
• Ensure University at Albany's Standards of Academic Integrity at upheld.
• Conduct an appropriate student assessment session, one-on-one with each student, every two weeks.
• See Time Dedicated to SRHS options, based on various schools' schedule format.
• Organize and conduct a local end-of-year evening symposium every year adhering to the SRHS symposium requirements.
• Determine available venues for students to present their work and require reasonable participation.
• Notify the UHS office of the local symposium date as soon as it is determined, at the latest by end of February each year.
• Help students identify and contact mentors when deemed appropriate.
  • While it is the instructor's obligation to help students search for mentors, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to identify and secure a mentor.
• Recruit students from a cross section of the student body.
• Form local committees:
  • Science Research Committee (SRC) to ensure that safe and appropriate (humane) procedures are used in all student projects and that they are 'good science.'
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) to review all research involving humans in any way.
  • Both of the above may be combined in one SCR/IRB at the instructor's discretion.
  • The guidelines for forming such committees followed by the Society of Science. 
  • Be prepared to certify that all student projects were reviewed by one or both committees before work began.
• Optional, but strongly recommended: 
  • Become an adjunct instructor in the UAlbany in the High School program at the University at Albany. Adjunct instructors are also required to:
    • Encourage students to take part in the UHS program to earn college credits.
    • Assist with student registration questions as necessary.
    • Validate the Pre-Enrollment Class List on MyUAlbany after registration closes. An email will be sent with instructions and the required deadline.
    • Submit students' grades on MyUAlbany within the two-week grading period. An email will be sent with instructions.
    • Review and adhere to the UAlbany in the High School Policy and Procedure Manual, updated annually.
    • If a teacher has no students enroll for UAlbany credit for three consecutive years, retraining is mandatory to maintain adjunct status with the university.

All Instructors, Summer Session (July to August)

• Meet with each student at least once during the summer to check on their progress.
• Meet with or speak to the mentor about the students' progress during the summer.
• Meet with each student at or near the end of summer for a summer assessment session to determine the student's grade.
• Optional, but strongly recommended:
  • Become an adjunct instructor in the UAlbany in the High School program at the University at Albany. Adjunct instructors are also required to:
    • Encourage students to take part in the UHS program to earn college credits.
    • Assist with student registration questions as necessary.
    • Validate the Pre-Enrollment Class List on MyUAlbany after registration closes. An email will be sent with instructions and the required deadline.
    • Submit students' grades on MyUAlbany within the two-week grading period. An email will be sent with instructions.
    • Review and adhere to the UAlbany in the High School Policy and Procedure Manual, updated annually.
    • If a teacher has no students enroll for UAlbany credit for three consecutive years, retraining is mandatory to maintain adjunct status with the university.

School District Requirements

• Provide classroom space with presentation equipment, computers, and internet access as needed to successfully conduct a SRHS course.
• Provide regularly scheduled time for the SRHS class to meet within the school day, and for the instructor to meet with each student, one-on-one, for a full class period, once every two weeks (see Time Dedicated to SRHS).
• Limit enrollment to any research class or expand the number of instructors such that each student can meet one-on-one with the instructor, for one full class period, once every two weeks. 
• Provide appropriate facilities for the end-of-year evening symposium. 
• Recruit students from a cross section of the student body. 
• Provide funding for necessary teacher training. 
• Anticipate teacher turnover, identify replacement personnel, and provide funding for training replacement whenever possible. 
• Provide a place and time for SRC and/or IRB committees to meet on campus on an as needed basis.
• Optional, but strongly recommended:
  • Class sizes do not exceed fifteen students per one fifth full-time position (.2 ftp).
  • Provide transportation and substitute teachers for the SRHS class to attend the nearest division of prestigious symposia.
  • Provide one day per year for the SRHS instructor to attend a specially tailored professional development workshop provided by UAlbany in the High School. (This is offered to UHS adjunct faculty only.)
  • Review and adhere to the UAlbany in the High School Policy and Procedure Manual, updated annually. 
     

Symposium Requirements

All Science Research in the High School program courses must host a local symposium at the end of the year. 

• Scheduled for a weekday evening after 5 p.m.
• A keynote speaker of fifteen to twenty minutes presenting her/his research, to set the mood/theme for the symposium.
• All students are required to attend the symposium in its entirety.
• A poster session in which each students, at every grade level, presents a poster.
  • Sophomores present a poster of an article.
  • Juniors present a poster of their work to date.
  • Seniors present a poster of their findings and a speaker presentation.
• Speaker session/s (can be several concurrent sessions) in which seniors present a ten to fifteen minute talk on their findings followed by a three to five minute question and answer session.
• A symposium booklet which features a full page for each student at every grade level in the course.
• All students must have their portfolio binder at their posters for inspection during the poster session.

UAlbany in the High School recognizes that high schools operate on a variety of schedules. The Full Year Science Research in the High School courses require a total of 250 hours dedicated to research. Below, we have outlined options, based on popular school schedules, for a 40-week academic year. Biweekly meetings are one-on-one meetings with the instructor and student for the length of class period time, assuming 20 meetings per year.

Options to Meet 250 Required Hours per Academic Year

Classes Scheduled: 41 minutes, alternative days

• Class time = 68.33 hours
• Biweekly meetings = 13.66 hours
• Independent research time = 168.01 hours, or 4.2 hours per week

Classes Scheduled: 41 minutes, daily

• Class time = 136.66 hours
• Biweekly meetings = 13.66 hours
• Independent research time = 99.68 hours, or 2.5 hours per week

Classes Scheduled: 54 minutes, alternative days

• Class time = 90 hours
• Biweekly meetings = 18 hours
• Independent research time = 142 hours, or 3.55 hours per week

Classes Scheduled: 54 minutes, daily

• Class time = 180 hours
• Biweekly meetings = 18 hours
• Independent research time = 52 hours, or 1.3 hours per week

2026 Teaching Science Research in the High School Summer Training Workshop 

Registration is now closed for the 2026 Teaching Science Research in the High School Summer Training Workshops. This workshop is required to teach a Science Research course. The 2027 training sessions will be announced in Spring 2027.

2026 Workshop Schedule

July 6 to 10, 2026, Virtual via Zoom

July 13 to 17, 2026, Virtual via Zoom

August 17 to 21, 2026, Virtual via Zoom  

Each week of training will meet Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to Noon.

Registration

To register, email the following to Leslie Hayner at [email protected]: 

• Registration Form
• Resume
• Transcripts

Registration is required for all attendees. The registration fee is $1,500 per person for new trainees. Any current Science Research teacher who would like to, or is required to attend training again, may do so at a discounted rate of $250 per person.

For details contact Leslie Hayner via email ([email protected]) or phone (518-442-4148).

The sample student portfolio forms may be used as a guideline within the research class. Instructors are welcome to make adjustments to these forms or create new versions as they see fit. 

The Student Portfolio Forms

Copyrighted by the Research Foundation for SUNY

Note: Only instructors who have completed the Science Research in the High School Teacher Training course may access these forms by obtaining the password from a UHS staff member.