Awarding Credit for Undergraduate Research
Students may earn credit for research through two main faculty-mentored paths:
- One-on-one/team-based faculty-mentored research (V9R courses)
- Course-based research experiences (-RES)
The Goal
The goal is to have all undergraduate research students enroll in a V9R or -RES courses during the semesters they are participating in research.
The Benefits
For Students
- The level and duration of research activity is accurately reflected on the transcript.
- Students will be more easily identified and invited to apply for prestigious internships and awards (e.g. Fulbright, Goldwater, etc.) that they may not know of otherwise.
For Faculty
- These course designations provide a systematic process for faculty to formalize expectations and hold students accountable for their responsibilities.
- Course enrollment provides an objective record of the number of students mentored, which is important for annual performance reviews, grant proposals, and awards and recognition.
- As data are collected and research across the university is recognized and celebrated, there will be increased opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary projects.
For the University
- By having all schools and departments adopt standard methods for counting research courses, administrative departments will be able to create reports and seek donors and sponsors for a variety of areas.
- By having comprehensive information, the university can create objective goals of providing further support and resources that directly support the teaching and research mission of the university.
- Long-term data from research course data will allow for assessment and help inform decisions for future directions.
Types of Undergraduate Research Courses
One-on-One Faculty-mentored research experience (V9R Courses)
The traditional one-on-one research experiences vary depending on the discipline, but are exemplified by individual students pairing with a faculty mentor. Faculty mentors may have a group of students, but in most cases they are working on individual projects and receive individual mentoring. This type of research experience may earn credit in any discipline by enrolling in a V9R course. The following figure summarizes the framework recommended for offering V9R courses. The horizontal axis illustrates that research may be the faculty member’s research, with the student learning and contributing as an assistant, or it could be the student’s original idea or independent project, or somewhere in between. Likewise, the vertical axis indicates a continuum in the level of research, somewhere in between exploratory and a professional publication. This framework helps determine which course might be most appropriate for a student.
As illustrated, V9R courses may be offered at the 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 level. The decision on how to award credit for V9R courses is a departmental decision. The course numbering and recommendations for course credit is further explained in the "Guidelines for V9R Courses" document.
Course-based Research Experiences (-RES)
Course-based Research Experiences may be offered in any department and at any level. By definition, CURES are learning experiences in which whole classes of students address a research question or problem with unknown outcomes or solutions that are of interest to external stakeholders (Dolan 2016). Undergraduate Research can be integrated in numerous ways. It is a departmental decision to determine which courses are designated as research courses. This designation can be added to the course number to indicate the course objectives are focused on research activity (BIO 2106-RES, for example).
The specifics of setting up V9R or -RES courses will vary by school and department. The Office of Engaged Learning is available as an ongoing resource and happy to discuss your ideas and questions.
If you have an idea for a new CURE, please consider applying for the ALURE grant.