Variable Credit Hour Example Plans

Key Details.

1. (a) Start and end date of the project or position, (b) approx. hours to be worked per week, and (c) total hours to be worked during the semester. Each credit hour should entail a minimum of 45 hours of combined instruction, supervision, and student effort during a 15-week semester.
   

   (a) August 23, 2024 to December 8, 2024, (b) 10 hours per week, (c) 150 total hours

2. Description of the project or position; you must include learning objectives and activities associated with the project or position.
   

   I will be working as an intern for the USDA NRCS to map soils in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. My work will involve physical mapping activities in the field, plant identification and correlated association with particular soils, and use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to maintain digital soil maps. I will be supervised by and work closely with the soil survey leader in charge of mapping in this region of Montana. My learning objectives are as follows: (a) learn to utilize soil-landscape relationships to systematically map and describe the occurrence of soils in the landscape; (b) develop skills to identify and acquire the spatial data layers needed to create and maintain a digitally-based soils map; (c) develop skills to identify plants of the Bitterroot Valley and learn to use plants as indicators of soil map units, ecological sites, and soil-site and topographic relationships; and (d) acquire knowledge related to estimating the production for crops, trees, and grasses associated with particular soils and ecological sites.

3. Describe how the project or position relates to your major and career goals.
   

   This position provides me an opportunity to apply and integrate knowledge from a large number of courses that I have completed for my major (Intro to Land and Field Measurements, Forest Soil and Watershed Mgt., Intro to Physical Geography, Principles of GIS, Geomorphology, Forest Biology and Dendrology, and many others). It also permits me to expand my knowledge base into scientific topics that have yet to be covered in my coursework. The internship will provide great preparation for me to work as a forest soil scientist with the USFS, which is my desired employment opportunity after graduation.

4. Description of how the student will be evaluated for grading purposes. List all items/activities that will be graded and percentage of the final grade associated with each graded item/activity. (Work closely with your instructor of record to develop this section.)
   

   I will be evaluated by the instructor of record based on the following: (a) completion of a daily journal (15% of grade), (b) mid-term report (25% of grade), (c) final reflective summary (25% of grade), and (d) letter of evaluation from my NRCS supervisor (35% of grade).

Key Details to be developed in conjunction with the Instructor of Record.

1. Description of the study (topical area to be studied and content of the course)
   

   This course provides an overview of contemporary actions, applications and approaches to the implementation of consumption within a Circular Economy system. This includes exploration of emerging business models, the technologies required for these to succeed, the systems in which new models of consumption exist and influence, and the potential rebound effects of new models. I will work closely with the instructor to explore contemporary thinking and methodologies used within the literature regarding the conceptualization, application, and measurement of circular economy systems. Grounded in the use of systems-thinking and systems-design methods, learnings will be applied through a series of applied systems-tools to describe, capture, and clarify the interconnected economic, social, and environmental system elements within circular economy.

2. Course learning objectives
   
   1. Explain the primary mechanisms and business models of circular economy consumption that have been introduced and/or are currently operating in the world.
   2. Describe these systems using visual tools from the systems-thinking literature, reflecting micro, meso, and macro scales and diverse stakeholders (e.g., causal-loop diagrams).
   3. Develop a visual diagram(s) describing the nested systems (micro, meso, and macro) of circular economy consumption that reflect the most recent thinking and research and which will provide a basis for continuing research.
3. Course learning activities
   

   Course objectives will be met through completion of assigned readings, a series of assignments requiring the application of systems-tools to particular elements of the integrated system, and key outputs as outlined below (see Section 5 below).

4. Describe how the project or position relates to your major and career goals.
   

   As a Sustainable Biomaterials major, I have developed a strong interest in the Circular Economy (CE) system. I have taken the introductory CE course taught by Dr. Russell, and this independent study will provide me an opportunity to learn more about CE so that I can advance my knowledge in this area. The independent study will provide great preparation for me to pursue my goal of working for Amazon’s Worldwide sustainability team, which is my desired path after graduation.

5. Student effort during the 15-week semester (total hours of scheduled instruction throughout the semester and total hours of all learning activities during the semester); each credit hour should entail a minimum of 45 hours of combined instruction, supervision, and student effort during a 15-week semester.
   

   For this 1 cr hr course, I will receive one hour of scheduled instruction per week (15 hours of scheduled instruction in total), and complete assignments an additional two hours per week (30 hours during the semester). Total hours of learning activities during the semester = 45 hours.

6. Description of how the student will be evaluated for grading purposes. List all items/activities that will be graded and percentage of the final grade associated with each graded item/activity. (Work closely with your instructor of record to develop this section.)
   

   I will be evaluated by the instructor of record based on the following: (a) weekly readings and discussion responses (30% of grade), (b) weekly assignments (30% of grade), and (c) final project (40% of grade).

Conflict of Interest.

Conflict of Interest training is required by every student participating in an externally funded undergraduate research project, the timing of which is determined by the nature of the research. Explanation of this requirement can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Research - Training and Compliance. Registration for training can be found at https://www.citiprogram.org/.

Key Details.

1. Scientific premise for conducting the proposed research
   

   Soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are strongly related to soil moisture content. While differences in GHG emissions from continuously saturated soils (constant reducing conditions)and well-drained soils (constant oxidizing conditions) are well-described and modeled, GHG emissions from variably saturated soils are poorly understood. In particular, the transition zone between wet and dry areas may be a biogeochemical hotspot for soil GHG emissions. These variably saturated zones can experience rapid changes in soil water and cycling reduction-oxidation (redox) conditions, thus altering the biogeochemical interactions among organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N), and redox sensitive metals (e.g., Fe and Mn) with important implications for soil GHG emissions.

2. Specific research objectives
   

   The objectives of this research are to (1) characterize Fe-C interactions in soils collected across a gradient of soils that are continuously saturated, variably saturated, and well-drained; (2) quantify GHG emissions (CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄) and denitrification potential from soils under variably saturated conditions; and (3) elucidate correlations between Fe-C interactions, GHG emissions, denitrification potential, and soil saturation.

3. Research methods to be employed
   

   We will sample forest soils at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, an NSF-supported long-term ecological research site that spans a natural gradient of saturating conditions. Modified selective dissolution analyses will be conducted to characterize Fe-C interactions in each sample. Samples collected from the field will be packed to field measured bulk density in 100 mL vials (soil mesocosms) and incubated. Within the mesocosms, we will manipulate soil saturation and quantify the emissions of CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄. Lastly, assays will be conducted to evaluate denitrification potential. Correlations between denitrification potential, Fe-C, GHG emissions, and saturation dynamics will be explored using statistical analyses.

4. Describe how the project relates to your major and career goals.
   

   This project provides an opportunity for me to apply and integrate knowledge from a large number of courses that I have completed for my major (Forest Soil and Watershed Mgt., Geomorphology, Forest Carbon Management and Policy, Forested Wetlands, Wetland Hydrology and Biogeochemistry, and many other courses). It also permits me to expand my knowledge base into scientific topics that have yet to be covered in my coursework by learning alongside a faculty member and current graduate students. Engaging in undergraduate research will provide great preparation for me to apply to graduate school, which is my desired path after graduation.

5. Expected hours worked per week and expected total hours for the semester: each credit hour should entail a minimum of 45 hours of combined instruction, supervision, and student effort during a 15-week semester.
   

   For this three-credit-hour undergraduate research study, I will be working approximately nine hours per week in the laboratory and field. In total, I will work a minimum of 135 hours during the semester.

6. Description of how the student will be evaluated for grading purposes. List all items/activities that will be graded and the percentage of the final grade associated with each graded item/activity. (Work closely with your instructor of record to develop this section.)
   

   I will be evaluated by the instructor of record based on the following: (a) a complete and thorough research notebook describing my daily research activities, procedures, and protocols (30% of grade); (b) mid-term summary of research progress that includes a thorough literature review (25% of grade); and (c) a poster presentation of my research findings at the 2024 annual meeting of the Soil Science Society of America that will be critiqued by the faculty member supervising this research (45%).