Research project vs Thesis

[brain-storm]

At the university I attend, there are two courses that are offered in 4th year for research.

 

One is the research project course: this is only 1 semester and no presentation is required; all that is required is a submission of a paper.

 

The thesis course: is two semesters, requires a paper submission, in addition to presentations.

 

The thesis course shows up on the degree as 'with thesis' but the research project doesn't.

 

Either way, both show reserach experience. Does one prove to be better than the other for medical school admission? Any insight would be awesome!

Thanks.

[jmatt1122]

Interesting!

 

My first concern is how much research you'll actually be able to conduct in the span of one semester. Do you have previous lab experience? For a lot of people the first couple/few months are predominantly getting used to the lab more than actually turning out results. But I'm sure they must factor this into the grading of your final paper.

 

Second, is graduate school outside the realm of possibility (in terms of backup plans)? Because I believe many graduate programs look favourably on (if not require) a thesis.

[pika]

At the university I attend, there are two courses that are offered in 4th year for research.

 

One is the research project course: this is only 1 semester and no presentation is required; all that is required is a submission of a paper.

 

The thesis course: is two semesters, requires a paper submission, in addition to presentations.

 

The thesis course shows up on the degree as 'with thesis' but the research project doesn't.

 

Either way, both show reserach experience. Does one prove to be better than the other for medical school admission? Any insight would be awesome!

Thanks.

 

Is one a thesis and the other an independent study? If so, you can do both.

[apache]

uhhh, if you take a research project course, you can just do a presentation or thesis... or just take two courses... it depends on the prof doesn't it... all a thesis is is some original work and a paper on it... there's nothing limiting you by taking two project courses, on the other hand if u get too busy then well u can just do the minimum

 

At the university I attend, there are two courses that are offered in 4th year for research.

 

One is the research project course: this is only 1 semester and no presentation is required; all that is required is a submission of a paper.

 

The thesis course: is two semesters, requires a paper submission, in addition to presentations.

 

The thesis course shows up on the degree as 'with thesis' but the research project doesn't.

 

Either way, both show reserach experience. Does one prove to be better than the other for medical school admission? Any insight would be awesome!

Thanks.

[future_doc]

Does one prove to be better than the other for medical school admission?

 

I seriously would doubt it. My 2 cents.

[Lost&Found]

Is one a thesis and the other an independent study? If so, you can do both.

 

Sorry for my naivete, but what exactly is the difference between a thesis and an independent study project?

[future_doc]

The thesis it would appear.

[pika]

Sorry for my naivete, but what exactly is the difference between a thesis and an independent study project?

 

Different course titles.

[apache]

i took a couple independent study courses and my prof and me sat in his office joking about what official name we should give it to sound impressive, it doen't really matter...

 

Different course titles.

[Leon]

I recommend the thesis. But don't do it because it "looks good on med school apps" but rather do it for the experience

[apache]

exactly! that's what i was getting at when i said the course doesnt matter so much if you're working on your own project anyways... if you have an end goal of putting out project x, you're still doing the same thing, if you get a poster presentation or a paper out of it, it wont matter that it was individual research or thesis... with a thesis, you can expect a thesis supervisor will be there to guide you through the experience for sure (just like they expect you to be serious about your work)... whereas in independent study courses, you have to make sure the prof is on board and knows that you want that responsibility, and you have to choose a prof who's serious about being more mentoring... if you're sure you want to put in the dedicated research then go with the thesis, but don't do it for a course title

 

I recommend the thesis. But don't do it because it "looks good on med school apps" but rather do it for the experience

[Leon]

exactly! that's what i was getting at when i said the course doesnt matter so much if you're working on your own project anyways... if you have an end goal of putting out project x, you're still doing the same thing, if you get a poster presentation or a paper out of it, it wont matter that it was individual research or thesis... with a thesis, you can expect a thesis supervisor will be there to guide you through the experience for sure (just like they expect you to be serious about your work)... whereas in independent study courses, you have to make sure the prof is on board and knows that you want that responsibility, and you have to choose a prof who's serious about being more mentoring... if you're sure you want to put in the dedicated research then go with the thesis, but don't do it for a course title

 

Yup. Far too many people do things for the sake of resumes or looking good in various people's eyes. At the end of the road, you'll realize that everything you did for the sake of others means nothing. Some adcom will glance at your sketch for a few minutes. 1 year of research is analyzed and judged in a matter of minutes. Is it worth doing something just for that? Make sure you enjoy your activities or at least learn constructively while you do them! An application built through passion is stronger than one filled to match what an adcom may expect.

 

Cheers