Honors Program

Students are encouraged to take NS 3980 during the fall semester of their sophomore or junior year, as it serves as an introduction to research and the DNS Honors Program. Those planning to graduate in the spring should apply in the spring semester of their junior year, while students graduating in the fall should apply no later than the fall semester of their junior year.

To be eligible for the program, students must first be accepted into a Cornell University faculty’s research team before applying. Ideally, applicants should have worked with their research faculty advisor for at least one semester before submitting their application.

Components of the electronic application

1. Survey — questionnaire about the applicant, their faculty research advisor, and research project.
2. The faculty advisor’s agreement attachment — the form must be completed and signed by your Cornell research advisor (the principal investigator of the student’s lab).
3. Project description attachment — a summary of the applicant’s planned research (~500 words). This document should include details on the public health problem the research project addresses, the research question(s), study design, hypothesis, and references.
4. Timeline — this attachment should include the expected dates for completing key research milestones, Honors Program coursework, and writing tasks. It should also provide a short description of the student’s planned meetings with the research faculty advisor. The timeline may be presented in any format, though it is most commonly organized as an outline, table, or Gantt chart. 

Deadlines

All materials must be submitted by the deadline. 

Spring applications

All materials are due on March 31, 2026, 5:00 PM EST.

Fall (late) applications

All materials are due on August 31st, 2026, 5:00 PM EST.

This application has additional requirements (see below for details).

Late applications

Applications submitted in the fall semester are considered late applications and are subject to a more stringent review. Namely, late applicants and their mentors will have to demonstrate the student’s readiness to complete an honors thesis on a shorter timeline.

In addition to the materials required for all applications, late applications must also include:

• A detailed description of the research project — The general description should include information about the research project (e.g., research goals, hypothesis, and study design), but also details of the work completed to date, plans for data analysis, and a descriptive timeline. The latter should include plans on how the student will catch up with the Honors Program's deadlines.

• Letter of support from the faculty research advisor (~1-2 pages) — In this letter, the faculty research advisor should describe how the student’s research to date supports their ability to complete a strong Honors thesis on the necessary timeline. For example, a faculty mentor should describe the length and nature of the work; relevant knowledge, skills, or professional characteristics the student has demonstrated; and the faculty member’s assertion that the necessary work can be completed on the Honors Program timeline.

Deadlines for Major DNS Honors Program Milestones

Once students are accepted into the DNS Honors Program, they will need to enroll in 3 credits of NS 4990 Honors Problem during their final two consecutive semesters to fulfill their research credit requirements. This course provides structure, feedback, and a defined timeline to help students complete the program milestones outlined below. Specific dates and check-in points will be posted on the course’s Canvas site. 

First semester enrolled in NS 4990.

Students Graduating in the Spring:
    •    Progress report — Last week of September
    •    Literature review draft — Mid-October
    •    Abstract and literature review — Last day of instruction

Students Graduating in the Fall:
    •    Progress report — Last week of January
    •    Literature review draft — Mid-March
    •    Abstract and literature review — Last day of instruction

Second semester enrolled in NS 4990.

Students Graduating in the Spring:
    •    Complete thesis draft — Mid-March
    •    Honors Thesis — Last day of instruction
    •    DNS Honors Symposium — First or second week of May

Students Graduating in the Fall:
    •    Complete thesis draft — Mid-October
    •    Honors Thesis — Last day of instruction
    •    DNS Honors Symposium — First or second week of December

Applying to complete an Honors thesis with a non-DNS research group

Within some constraints, it is possible for DNS students to complete an Honors thesis under the mentorship of a non-DNS faculty advisor (e.g. one in food science, human development or biological sciences). In general, these students are held to the same requirements — namely, deadlines for applying and turning in thesis components as well as completing NS 3980 and presenting their research at the DNS Honors Research Symposium. 

Application links

DNS Research Honors Program Electronic Application

The DNS Honors Program is an in-depth, structured experience involving original research and both written and oral scientific communication. As part of the Honors Program, students must meet the following requirements:

1. Achieve and maintain a minimum GPA. To graduate with honors, the student must have applied with and maintained a minimum GPA of 3.2.
2. Take NS 3980 Research in Human Nutrition and Health (recommended for the fall sophomore or junior year). 1 credit, S/U only. In addition to providing an overview of the DNS Honors Program, this course introduces the approaches and methods used by researchers, ethical considerations in research, searching and assessing the scientific literature, working with data, and more.
3. Gain acceptance into a faculty member’s research program (by the fall of junior year). Because applications are due in early spring of the junior year (for May graduates), students should be working with a prospective faculty PI by the fall of their junior year. By the end of that semester, the student should have their own research project with clear research goals, hypotheses, and experimental approaches.
4. Complete 6 credits of NS 4990: All DNS Honors students must complete a total of six credits in NS 4990 Honors Problem. Students must complete three credits of NS 4990 in each of their last two semesters. The DNS Honors Program Director supervises these credits and monitors the student’s progress alongside their faculty advisor. Importantly, NS4990 credits include the completion of the Program's writing tasks and the presentation of the research project at the DNS Honors Research Symposium. The writing tasks include a progress report, abstract, literature review, full thesis draft, and final thesis.
5. Complete a literature review and full honors thesis (final two semesters). While enrolled in NS4990, students will conduct a library search, critically appraise the literature, and write a literature review, abstract, and honors thesis. The completed honors thesis will include an abstract (approximately 300 words), introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections (totaling over 25 pages), references, and any relevant tables and figures. For detailed submission requirements and assignment descriptions, please refer to the sections below.
6. Present at the DNS Honors Research Symposium (end of final semester). Honors students must attend and present their research at the DNS Honors Research Symposium. This symposium takes place at the end of the semester.

Honors Program materials are only considered submitted and on time if they are:

• formatted correctly
• submitted with faculty advisor approval
• labeled correctly

Formatting requirements

• US letter (8.5” x 11”) page size
• 1” margins on all sides
• Arial or Times New Roman font, black, size 11 or 12 points
• Double-spaced (all sections)
• All pages but cover page in the thesis must have page numbers in the bottom right corner

Faculty advisor approval

This essential step indicates that a faculty advisor has already read, reviewed and approved the final submitted document. This can be demonstrated by either:

1. a faculty advisor’s official digital signature (i.e., secure and time-stamped) on the submitted pdf, or
2. copying the faculty advisor on the submission email. 

In the latter case, the faculty member must reply directly to the Honors Program director by the deadline to indicate their approval.

Labeling requirements

Files should be labeled with the format “[Last Name] [Assignment] [Grad Semester]” in both the document name and in the header text on each document page.

Each assignment and each component of the full thesis has a specific purpose and a typical length. These are described below.

Progress report

A document that clearly and comprehensively outlines your work made to date, tasks remaining and an updated timeline. Any changes made to the project since you submitted the proposal abstract must be documented at this time. The text portion (i.e. not including the timeline) should be at least 1 and no more than 3 standard pages.

Abstract and literature review

The literature review and abstract should be related to the entire thesis in its current (updated) form. 

The abstract (~300 words) should be on a single separate page (use a page break) from the literature review, but saved in the same Word/pdf file. Key sections to include in the abstract are research goals/objectives, hypotheses, methods, results, and conclusions.   

The literature review should give the reader a comprehensive understanding of the scientific literature related to the thesis topic, while also demonstrating your capacity to summarize, reflect and critically evaluate primary literature that is relevant to the research question. The literature review is expected to be about 4-5 standard pages, depending on the research topic.

Full thesis draft

This is polished draft ready to be turned over to a thesis reader for review and comments (at least 25 pages, not including references, tables and figures). The full thesis draft includes several components:

1. Title page (separate page): Include your thesis title, name, research mentor(s), any source(s) of funding, and the date on which you're submitting the draft. A template will be provided in the NS 4990 Canvas page. 
2. Abstract (separate page, maximum 300 words): In its final form, this abstract should summarize background, objective, methods, results and conclusion.
3. Introduction (maximum 3 pages): The introduction provides the reader with the essential background information needed to understand what you did and why. The introduction section should draw from the literature review, but be more concise and targeted to the specific thesis.
4. Methods: Describe any methods and materials used, including but not limited to study design, recruitment, data collection, assays or other procedures, and statistical models. Someone reading this section should be able to understand and replicate what you did.
5. Results: Report only your findings; do not discuss or interpret them (“just the facts”). Where appropriate and helpful, include tables and figures.
6. Discussion: Interpret your results (what might they mean?); place them within the related literature (did your work reflect others’ findings or not? what did it add?); suggest future directions in research, clinical practice and/or policy; and relay the strengths and limitations of your work. Be careful not to just restate results here.
7. Conclusions: Presents takeaway messages in summary statements of key contributions and implications.
8. References (separate page): These must be formatted consistently and accurately in the style of your choice.
9. Tables and figures (separate pages, included after the References section): Each should include a title and caption, and should be referenced within the thesis text.

Final thesis with all corrections/revisions

Work with your faculty mentor to incorporate your reviewer’s feedback to improve your thesis. Turn in two documents:

1. Your final thesis, including all of the components described above.
2. A separate report describing how you responded to the reviewer’s feedback as well as any other revisions or additional work completed since the draft was submitted

Honors research symposium

You must present your Honors thesis at the end of the semester in the DNS Honors Research Symposium. The presentation should reflect the thesis structure, including a background/introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions sections as well as an acknowledgment slide. Presentations are typically scheduled for a ~25-minute time slot with 5 minutes for questions. You must stay for the presentations of others.

A lifetime or a moment: neighborhood effects on health on residential and daily life 
Marnen Decker (Mentor: Erin York Cornwell)

An exploration of erythritol synthesis and regulation 
Brian Walker (Mentor: Martha Field)

Analysis of the SHANK3 gene in producing a viable mouse model to identify brain circuit abnormalities related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 
Christian Cid Bertomo (Mentor: Katherine Tschida)

Anemia and micronutrient deficiencies in female adolescents in southern India: a cross sectional biomarker survey 
Lili Steel (Mentor: Julia Finkelstein)

β-lactam tolerance as a stepping stone towards antibiotic resistance 
Ziyu Xue (Mentor: Tobias Dörr)

Define and compare interactions of feline and equine mammosphere-derived cells with type I collagen 
Jennifer Rachel Weiss (Mentor: Gerlinde Van de Walle)

Developing a pipeline to use a spatial transcriptomic platform to map the immunological landscape of the inflamed dermis 
Nuzat Zaman (Mentor: Deborah J. Fowell)

Development of an intracellular neutralization assay for demonstrating the natural clearance pathway of non-neutralizing antibodies
Agnes Yang (Mentor: Sarah Caddy)

Discussing family caregivers’ needs in primary care: What are the barriers? 
Flavia M. Scott (Mentor: Corinna Loeckenhoff)

Examining quality of end of life in upstate New York and factors for its improvement
Zac Hani Ibrahim (Mentor: Rana Zadeh)

Gut microbial regulation of zinc transporters and homeostasis 
Celeste Cheung (Mentor: Tolunay Beker Aydemir)

The impact of weight loss on antral follicle development in anovulatory women with polycystic ovary syndrome 
Noah Lee (Mentor: Marla Lujan)

Investigating the pro-metastatic functions of mitochondrial sirtuin SIRT5 
Celine Ying Li (Mentor: Robert Weiss)

Investigation of protein transport through iGEST to Parkinson’s disease gut-brain axis hypothesis 
Vivian Chiang (Mentor: Nozomi Nishimura)

Mixing and focused lysis of LipCo 
Nabeen Chu (Mentor: Yadong Wang)

The role of Aquaporin-1 in hunger hormone homeostasis 
Christopher Blay (Mentor: Joeva Barrow)

Perceived food environments and food purchasing among Individuals eligible for food assistance programs: The role of psychological empowerment 
Rahul Verma (Mentor: Roger Figueroa Bautista)

The Role of Zip14 in intestinal glial cells 
Alessandra Farmer (Mentor: Tolunay Beker Aydemir)

Understanding the role of Pitx2 through the embryonic and postnatal development in the small intestine 
Eunice Ju (Mentor: Natasza Kurpios)

Sex differences in the role of the infralimbic subregion of the medial prefrontal cortex in modulating memory retrieval 
Rebecca Shannon (Mentor: Richard Canfield)

ZNR1 transcript expression in the human placenta and its association with maternal and neonatal Fe status 
Julia Caldropoli (Mentor: Kimberly O'Brien)