What Counts as Research Experience?

[maraj34]

I am a Biology major. At my school instead of taking a capstone course in your senior year, students can do an undergraduate research internship with one of the professors. Students have to complete 280 hours of faculty-based research. Since this would be considered a course where you get homework and a final grade, would Adcoms consider this a science class or research experience?

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[ellia]

I am a Biology major. At my school instead of taking a capstone course in your senior year, students can do an undergraduate research internship with one of the professors. Students have to complete 280 hours of faculty-based research. Since this would be considered a course where you get homework and a final grade, would Adcoms consider this a science class or research experience?

Even if you got course credit, you can still put the experience on your application.

 

[Mr. Babe]

I did the same thing in undergrad and I reported all my grades as science credit and I also wrote about it in my experiences as a research opportunity. It's a great way to get research and also boost your science GPA.

 

[deleted1036566]

Concur. Research, whether for course credit, paid employment, or volunteer; whether with faculty at your school, outside mentor or summer program; whether wet bench biosciences, clinical project, social science or other discipline, is research

Does this advice apply to a class that simply does a predetermined research project in groups? More specifically, we grew, separated/purified, and ran a kinetic analysis on Beta galactosidase with the professor’s protocols (probably 50-75 hours?). Also, would it be worth putting on an app if i also will be putting that i did 180 hours in a real lab over the summer, and will hopefully get a lot more during my gap year (if this corona ever goes away)?

 

[LizzyM]

Was this a systematic investigation designed and intended to generate new knowledge? That's a definition of research that I'd use in trying to figure out if something you were doing in a academic setting was an academic exercise or legit "research".

 

[deleted1036566]

Was this
A) regular lab class
B) class in research methods and/or advance research lab
C) research for credit

If A then no
If C then yes
If B it depends on what this part of if anything (ie like the PI lab work) or if you presented finding even at departmental symposium

It may be part of EC but I warn students to make it wholly transparent. If it this is really weak I wouldn't count the hours in the EC listing but rather put a single sentence at end of description such "Also X hours in class on advanced how to be free labor for a PI"

It was for my biochemistry lab, so I believe it falls in the first category. Just gonna have to hope 180 hours is enough haha. Thank you so much for your help!