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Dear Undergrads and Faculty, </div>
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Please see below for information from Prof. Bob Horvitz on Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars for AY 2026-2027.</div>
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Descriptions for each course can be found on the following page. </div>
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<a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/" title="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/" data-outlook-id="c15ae229-b0d0-41e3-97e3-f27dd46f9cf9" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u>https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</u></a></div>
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Please note that scheduling for these courses is flexible and will be determined jointly by the prospective students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester. </div>
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**Please note, students who have taken the seminars before can share their experience with any MIT students they think might be interested.</div>
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TO: MIT Biology Majors <br>
FROM: H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology<br>
DATE: August 27, 2026</div>
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I am writing to inform you of an exciting offering from the Department of Biology for the 2026-2027 academic year: two very current seminar courses, 7.341 and 7.342, Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. A list of these courses, instructors, and brief course descriptions
is enclosed. The topics are distinct and encompass areas of genetics, genomics, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, biophysics, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, cancer biology, vaccines, women’s health, postpartum depression, Alzheimer’s disease,
clinical studies, and drug design and </div>
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A student can take any number of Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. The courses, which generally involve four to eight students, are for 6 units, graded pass/fail, and meet two hours each week. The focus is on reading and discussing the primary research literature.
Most courses have one short written assignment and one oral presentation. Some include field trips to MIT research laboratories or to companies using technologies or focused on issues discussed in the courses. The level of each course will be tailored to
the students who enroll. Because of the small size of these courses, we expect students not to drop these courses once they have begun.</div>
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The scheduling of these courses is flexible. The day of the week and 2-hour period of the day each course will meet will be determined jointly by the prospective students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester. </div>
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These courses offer a number of special features: small class size, a high degree of personal contact with the instructor(s), a focus on the primary research literature, and an opportunity to discuss current problems in biology interactively. I believe these
courses greatly enrich an undergraduate’s experience. There are limited alternative opportunities available to undergraduates to interact closely with instructors who are experienced full-time researchers; to learn to read, understand, analyze and critique
primary research papers; and to engage in the type of stimulating discussions and debates that characterize how science is really done. Most advanced MIT undergraduates (generally juniors and seniors) have been sufficiently exposed to the basics of biology
to be able to read the primary literature and appreciate both methodologies and cutting-edge advances. These courses have two goals: first, to expose students to the kind of thinking that is central to contemporary biological research; and second, to impart
specific knowledge in particular areas of biology. These courses are designed to be intellectually stimulating and also to provide excellent preparation for a variety of future careers that require an understanding both of what modern biology is and of how
it is done. Students who have taken Advanced Undergraduate Seminars in the past (different specific courses, same general design) have been enormously enthusiastic about their experiences.</div>
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I am writing to you before Registration Day to encourage you to consider enrolling in one of these seminar courses. Please feel free to contact any of the instructors to learn more about their courses and in particular to discuss possible meeting days and
times if those listed are not possible for you.</div>
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<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To learn more about the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars to be offered during the Fall 2026 semester, please check our website (</span><span style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);"><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/" data-outlook-id="604bad2e-ee53-45fa-9129-c311e0e900e4" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);"><u>https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</u></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">)
and/or contact the instructors.</span></div>
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