This course provides new graduate students with a foundation to begin research in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy. Topics relevant to graduate studies and research will be covered, including an overview of the rules and regulations of graduate studies, course curriculum for the Master Degree in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, literature search, key software in the area of research, research ethics, advising, and mentoring, scientific authorship, data management, data presentation, research misconduct, scientific writing, research proposals, manuscript preparation, thesis writing, human participants and animal subjects in research, and laboratory safety. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing scientific writing will also be explored. Moreover, the basics of biostatistics pertinent to data collection, analysis, and presentation will be covered. To introduce graduate students to the various research projects in the Department, the students should interview ten faculty members of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy and write a summary about their research interests.