My objectives for this capstone project were to gain more experience in research and teaching to prepare for a career in academia. The outcomes include 1) completion of a research project and draft manuscript, and 2) development and instruction of a college-level course. I studied the reproductive cycles of African giant pouched rats and showed that there is high variability in the cycle length among females, and that females can be categorized into three groups based on their cycles. Interestingly, progesterone was significantly different among groups.