Can I list for-credit independent study as research on AMCAS?

[jochi1543]

My major required me to write a thesis for graduation, and so I completed a 2-credit independent study where I performed research on a topic of my choice in my major. Since this was actually a for-credit class, I'm not positive whether I should/am allowed to list it in the work/activities section as a research activity. Any advice? I'm not very well-versed on those things.

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[trichomoniasis]

how long did you "research" for and what type of "research" are we talking about?

 

[jochi1543]

how long did you "research" for and what type of "research" are we talking about?

This was a project in foreign language/area studies. It was a semester-long project, 2 credits. I wrote a biography in English about a famous figure, so it involved finding biographical materials and translating them (no information was available in English). This was not published in any journal or anything, so I don't know if this qualifies or not. Thanks.

 

[trichomoniasis]

ehh. personally I wouldn't list it unless you're REALLY into biographies. The whole point of the "activities" is to show your qualifications and what makes you unique. Not to sound rude, but I'm pretty sure an adcom would see this as any research paper assigned in a class.

now if the biography was of a person never before biographied (can I make that a verb?) and you got it published, that would be something, but as it stands it just seems like a standard research paper any number of us have done in college for any number of classes.

 

[PBandJ]

I say go for it. I put my senior thesis in my activities section since it was a research project...even though I also received credit for it.

 

[jochi1543]

I say go for it. I put my senior thesis in my activities section since it was a research project...even though I also received credit for it.

Yeah, I do have to say that I chose this over a seminar class, so it was not 100% required.

Any other opinions? Right now it's 50-50. I have room for it - have exactly one spot left, and I'd rather leave my Dean's Lists and other lame awards grouped together and put smth different into that last spot - so it's not like it would be used to squeeze out smth more exciting.

 

[trichomoniasis]

you don't need to fill them all up, yo

 

[lina123321]

I say go for it. I put my senior thesis in my activities section since it was a research project...even though I also received credit for it.

me too, but i did research for more than a semester (it was about 2 yrs worth...)

 

[trichomoniasis]

me too, but i did research for more than a semester (it was about 2 yrs worth...)

I took a class on poetry and wrote some poems, I didn't put "writing poetry" down as an activity.

I mean it's totally up to you, but spending a semester writing a paper just doesn't seam all that out of the ordinary.

 

[twohearted]

If it is basic science research, then I would definately put it on.

 

[jochi1543]

OK, I chose not to list it. Put my work as a cat rescue/adoption volunteer on there instead. Hopefully the reader will be a cat person.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

me too, but i did research for more than a semester (it was about 2 yrs worth...)

+1

I did four semesters of independent research credit (12 hours!). The transcript entries in the course work section of the application don't really help the adcom know what I doing those four semesters. So I added it as one of the activities in AMCAS as research.

 

[63768]

i put it down under research as well.

i made sure to say it was for course credit, but it was legitimately research in economics at the same time.

 

[PBandJ]

+1

I did four semesters of independent research credit (12 hours!). The transcript entries in the course work section of the application don't really help the adcom know what I doing those four semesters. So I added it as one of the activities in AMCAS as research.

yup, that's why I did it in mine as well. Mine was 2 semesters worth, with about 15-20 hrs per week spent in the lab. I felt the class name did not convey what I actually did during my research, so I included it in the activities section. I had a lot of good questions about it during interviews, also, so it was probably a good idea.