Can I list class projects on my resume?

July 11, 2015 11:34 PM

I'm a recent college grad applying to some research positions. For this opportunity, they're asking for someone with qualitative research experience. I've been able to do some research with professors, but the bulk of my experience in using qual methods is under classwork.

For example, I took an ethnography class, qual methods course, and wrote an honors thesis that used content analysis. For the aforementioned courses I had semester long cumulative projects that required the use of qualitative methods. I understand that I can highlight these classes in my CV, but can I list my projects in my resume for this position? They were university IRB approved and would show that I've had experience with a method like interviewing. But they were only a semester long. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to put work from my undergrad career on my resume. If it's wise to display these projects, how do I put them on my resume (eg, what header)?

posted by flying_trapeze to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Seems fine to me. I think the main thing that counts against class projects isn't their length but the fact that many are broken down and assigned to students to complete step by step under fairly close guidance. But if the employer is interested in hiring a recent college grad at all, then they won't be surprised to see class projects--especially not projects that involved a good bit of independence. If you google for 'types of resumes,' you'll find a number of different models that may be useful. If you have an educational history section, it's OK to beef it up with relevant project descriptions under each major experience (i.e. degree or time at a particular school). If you have a functional/skill-oriented section, it's OK to pull in any experience the reader will buy as relevant. Of course, be clear about what was coursework and what wasn't so that potential interviewers aren't confused or put on their guard, but I wouldn't worry over further caveats like the length of the class--it's OK to be reasonably proud of class projects, and it's not like people who're listing projects under their employment history all spent more than four months doing everything they mention.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 1:31 AM on July 12, 2015

Yes, absolutely do this. One reason is that if your interviewers read the resume, this gives them ideas for what topics to ask you about. Be prepared to discuss any listed projects in depth.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:49 AM on July 12, 2015

I'm in wildlife research, and I've listed research projects that I volunteered for during my undergraduate career under a heading for "Volunteer Experience", with my time at my university as the subheading, then listed the relevant bits (ie. PIT tag monitoring, identifying juvenile salmonids). Maybe for your situation, put "Undergraduate Research Experience." If your course work was relevant to the position you're applying to, definitely put on your resume.
posted by Drosera at 4:38 AM on July 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, list them for sure. This is viewed as a major plus for researchers. Echoing others, if you're just out of college, class projects are definitely "relevant" experience.
posted by amy27 at 4:42 AM on July 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, list them, but if they were completed for course credit do not call them volunteer experience. If you're short on work experience anyway, simply list your relevant experiences (paying jobs, class work, extra curriculars, community service, etc) without category headings.

I usually see honors theses (a title and sometimes a brief description) listed under the section where you describe the degree you earned.

However you decide to describe the projects, all of the methods and tools you're familiar with can be listed in a brief skills section toward the bottom.
posted by telegraph at 7:56 AM on July 12, 2015

Best answer: I would make a new section for this in the resume, title it something like Research Coursework & Projects. Make it a dual-column table. First heading, "Topic"; second heading; "Research Tools Applied" or something like that. In the first column you briefly explain what the project was and in the second you list out the qualitative methods you learned and applied. This will make it easy to visually scan the second column.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:25 AM on July 12, 2015 [2 favorites]