RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
GET INVOLVED
HONOURS BIOLOGY
Acceptance into the Honours program at the beginning of U3 requires a CGPA of 3.50 and approval of a 9- credit Independent Studies project (see listing of BIOL 479D1/BIOL 479D2, for details). For an Honours degree, a minimum CGPA of 3.50 at Graduation and adherence to the program are the additional requirements.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
The Biology Department offers several Independent Research Projects to provide students with opportunities to experience biological research. These projects can be initiated at any time during your undergraduate degree and may count toward complementary credits for your program.
FIELD COURSES
McGill’s Biology Field Courses offer hands-on learning in diverse environments—from local forests to tropical coasts and fossil beds. These short, intensive courses (usually in summer or winter) let students apply ecological, marine, or paleontological concepts directly in the field. Many include travel and lab components, with extra fees covering accommodations, meals, and materials. For details and current offerings, visit the McGill Biology Field Courses page.
FIELD SEMESTERS
McGill’s Biology Field Semesters are immersive, full-time programs where students live and study in the field for an entire term. Offered in the fall and winter, they combine multiple courses focused on ecology, evolution, and conservation in unique environments. Students gain hands-on research experience, often contributing to real-world scientific studies. These programs are competitive and include travel, with additional fees. Learn more on the McGill Biology Field Semesters page.
OTHER LISTINGS
Sakata Lab: Computational approaches for the neuroethology of songbird communication
For this position (course credit or work study), we are looking for hard-working, enthusiastic, and thoughtful students who have a strong programming and quantitative background. Students should have a strong interests in animal behavior, neuroscience, and/or evolution.
The student will use machine learning approaches to quantify various aspects of songbird communication. For example, a major thrust of the lab analyzes the strength of vocal learning in zebra finches and uses convolutional neural networks and other forms of machine learning to quantify the similarity between a tutor and a pupil (as a proxy for the strength of vocal learning). Students could also use CNNs and other machine vision approaches to analyze behavior and protein expression in the brain.
Please email jon.sakata@mcgill.ca for further information!
Biology Department: Science communication for the Biology Department
For this research credit position (year-long), Professor Skata is looking for a student who is passionate about biology and who has extensive social media experience/presence. The student should be interested in researching the different degrees and types of impacts of different social media or offline approaches.
The student will help formalize an online communication strategy for the Department. The range of tasks is yet to be finalized but will likely include creating video, image, and text based content and creating posts for the Department. The student will assess how engagement in posts and conduct formal analyses of engagement. They will also conduct background research on science communication to help create strategies and plans for the Department.
Please email jon.sakata@mcgill.ca for further information!
NEED HELP IN YOUR LAB?
Please use our link below to advertise your lab and positions for undergraduate students!
Connect with Undergraduate Students: Submit Your Lab Openings (2025-2026)