Research Courses
Students will find that departments have varying rules and principles on whether research may be done for credit or pay. Rarely would a department allow a student to receive both course credit and pay for a project. These principles are based on the ethical beliefs of a department and its faculty. Explore the department’s expectations with your faculty mentor or associate dean.

Undergraduate Research Courses (USU 4900)
Undergraduate research is heavily supported here at Utah State, and many degrees require some form of research involvement. Many departments have their own course prefix/number for undergraduate credit (i.e. ENGR 1000). For those departments that do not, the university number can be used (USU 4900). Grades are submitted by the Associate Vice President, and the work is evaluated by a faculty member. For more information about what course number is best for your degree, please contact your advisor.
Accounting: ACCT 4900, ACCT 6900
Agricultural Systems Technology and Education: ASTE 4900
Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences: ADVS 4800
Applied Economics: APEC 4900
Art History: ARTH 4800, 4900
Biological Engineering: BENG 1000
Biology: BIOL 5323, 5800
Business: BUSN 2988
Chemistry: CHEM 4800
Civil and Environmental Engineering: CEE 5930
Communication Studies: CMST 4470
Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education: COMD 4600
Computer Science: CS 4950
Economics: ECN 4900
Engineering: ENGR 1500, 3500
English: ENGL 3470
Environment and Society: ENVS 4970
Human Development and Family Studies: HDFS 4400, 4830
Finance: FIN 4900
Geography: GEOG 4950
Health Education and Promotion: HEP 5950
History: HIST 4990
Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences: ITLS 4910
Interdisciplinary Studies: ITDS 4900
Journalism and Communication: JCOM 4520
Kinesiology: KIN 5910
Language: LANG 3990
Management: MGT 4800
Marketing and Strategy: MSLE 4800
Music: MUSC 4320 (Music Therapy)
Natural Resources: NR 4250
Parks and Recreation Professional: PRP 5900, 5910
Philosophy: PHIL 4910, 4930, 4990
Physics: PHYS 4900
Plants, Soils, and Climate: PSC 4970
Political Science: POLS 4990
Psychology: PSY 4910, 4950
Religious Studies: RELS 4990
Secondary Education: SCED 4900
Sociology: SOC 4600
Special Education: SPED 4910
Watershed Sciences: WATS 4931, 4970
Women and Gender Studies: WGS 4900
Wildland Resources: WILD 4970


Research Integrity Courses (USU 6900)
Participants in this course will receive training required by key Federal agencies to participate in their grant programs, and successful completion will include both responsible conduct of research (RCR) and institutional review board (IRB) certification. The course will provide an overview of approaches to moral reasoning and of core research integrity issues including:
- Ethical treatment of human subjects in research
- Ethical care and use of animals in research
- Data management
- Authorship and publication practices
- Peer review
- Conflicts of interest
- Collaborative science
- Mentor/trainee relationships
- Research misconduct
The course uses a case-based learning approach, with required readings and preparation and analysis of one case. Advanced undergraduates and graduates may enroll.