Science Research Program

The UHS Program offers four science research courses for juniors and seniors:

CAS 109 - Intermediate Science Research (2 credits, Summer) - Juniors

CAS 110 - Intermediate Methods of Research (4 credits, Full Year) - Juniors

CAS 209 - Advanced Science Research (2 credits, Summer) - Seniors

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.

Students should seek registration instructions from their participating high school. Registration instructions are sent to Science Research Program instructors at the beginning of each session. Science Research students are able to register for the summer and full year sessions, but they must have a mentor secured before registering for college credit.

The following is an abbreviated list showing the major guidelines that students in the Science Research program follow. See the detailed list and explanation of these guidelines.

• Attend all regularly scheduled classes.
• Participate at the appropriate level, in the school's annual end of year symposium (to be held during the fourth quarter).
• Commit to 240 or more hours per school year (September to June) for their research work (this includes class time, assessment meetings, and all out of class time spent on the research). 
• Maintain a laboratory notebook of all research work starting from your entry into the research course.
• Maintain a comprehensive portfolio binder of all research work.
• Present research at all stages of the work, at all available venues and competitions.
• Maintain regular, demonstrable contact with a mentor once one is obtained.

It is hoped that all students in the Science Research program will work with their mentors during their sophomore/junior summer and junior/senior summer. If you are registered for summer science research (ACAS 109 or ACAS 209) you are required to:

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

• 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.
• Science Research teachers are not permitted to serve as students’ mentors.

If you wish to teach a science research course for University at Albany credit you must meet the UAlbany in the High School credential requirements and attend a one-week training session over the summer. Upon training completion, you can apply for approval as a University at Albany voluntary adjunct instructor.

You must hold a masters degree in a science related field to teach this course.

The following is an abbreviated list showing the major guidelines that all teachers and school districts in the Science Research program follow. See the detailed list and explanation of these guidelines.

• Receive appropriate training, stay up to date on program changes, and take part in the support group of teachers in the program.
• Conduct a local symposium near the end of each school year (during the fourth quarter).
• Require that all research students attend the full local symposium.
• Require that all Seniors present their research findings as speakers at the local symposium.
• Require that all research students, including the speakers, present posters at the local symposium.
• Conduct regular (bi-weekly) student assessments.
• Determine available venues for students to present their work and require participation.
• Notify the SRHS Program staff of the local symposium date as soon as it is determined.
• Maintain regular contact with student mentors.
• Become an adjunct instructor with UAlbany in the High School at the University at Albany. Offer the opportunity for college credit to Juniors and Seniors in the SRHS course.
• Form a local SRC/IRB for the purpose of reviewing projects before any work begins.
• Have the local SRC/IRB review all student projects before work begins.
• Always remember that, while it is the teacher's obligation to help students search for mentors, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to identify and secure a mentor.
• If you have summer students, meet with each 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 the summer students at or near the end of summer for a summer assessment session to determine the student's grade.

• Recognizing the absolute requirement for each district to provide the necessary time for the teacher to meet with each student one-to-one for a full class period every two weeks, we strongly recommend class sizes of no more than fifteen students per one fifth full time position (.2 ftp).
• Since a three year break in UHS enrollments leads to a teacher losing adjunct status, thus requiring retraining, we also strongly suggest that districts provide for teachers to attend our annual update workshop days.
• Provide classroom space as needed to successfully conduct a science research course.
• Provide regularly scheduled time for the science research class to meet, within the school day. (This may be flexible but must amount to the equivalent of 90 class periods of 45 minutes or more per year).
• Provide the necessary time for the research instructor to meet one-to-one with each research student for the equivalent of a full class period once every two weeks.
• Provide appropriate facilities for the end of year evening science research symposium (during the fourth quarter).
• Provide necessary technology and materials to conduct a science research course.
• Provide for the costs of teacher training and training updates.
• Provide a place and time for the local SRC/IRB to meet as needed.

2023 Science Research Teacher Training

There are three Teacher Training Workshops this summer. All three will be held virtually, via Zoom. All workshops will be held Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm and Friday 8am-12pm.

The workshop fee is $1,500 per teacher. Once a teacher has completed the training course, they may attend again in the future free of charge.

Current offerings for this summer are:

Monday, July 10 to Friday, July 14 (Zoom)
Monday, July 17 to Friday, July 21 (Zoom)
Monday, August 21 to Friday, August 25 (Zoom)

For details contact Len Behr via email ([email protected]) or phone (518-965-4174).
View the Registration Form.

All registrants will receive acknowledgements from Leslie Hayner, UHS Events/JSHS Coordinator. Those with completed registrations will receive an email regarding details from Len Behr at least one week prior to the first day.

The Student Portfolio Forms

Copyrighted by the Research Foundation for SUNY

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