Academic Credit for a Paid Summer Research Position?

<p>DS has secured a summer research fellowship that includes a stipend (not at UA). We were wondering if he can also receive academic credit for the research. He is a Biology major. Apparently, the business school clearly allows for both pay and credit. He is going to try to find the answer at UA, but I thought someone here might have experience with this. </p>

<p>FWIW, my son has had two summers of research at UA where he was paid, and he did not receive any academic credit for the research. Don’t know if UA would handle your son’s summer research fellowship differently, but it would be worth his time to check with Bio department and/or his academic advisor. </p>

<p>You can either get paid or get credit, but not both.</p>

<p>DS had a summer research last year, got paid but got no credit. You can always check with the department but I am guessing the feenotype is right, one or the other…at least through Bio.</p>

<p>If you find differently please let everyone know…DS has applied for another research this year…</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback. His friend that is a business major indicated that they can received pay & credit for summer internship (not on UA campus). I’m sure it depends on each school’s policy. I’ll let you know what he finds out.</p>

<p>Son was paid during one summer research with a UA professor at the College of Engineering. He was told he could not get academic credit for paid research. In the fall, he continued his research with the same professor, but he opted not to get paid, and instead used an Honors by Contract arrangement to get Honors College credit (3) for the research. In addition to the 3 Honors College credit, he was allowed a Mechanical Engineering elective credit (3) as well. </p>

<p>Sophocles, thank you for the information. My son has also chosen academic credit over pay for research at The University of Alabama. This question is just a bit different. My son’s question has to do with paid summer research away from the University of Alabama’s campus. His business school friend told him that you could get paid and get credit. Here is what I was sent (again, from the business school website):</p>

<p>“Are internships paid? Can I earn pay if I am taking an internship for academic credit?
Yes, you can earn pay and academic credit at the same time and paid internships are encouraged. Any monetary compensation is between you and the employer, but not all internships are paid.”</p>

<p>I guess we were wondering if this policy applied to other schools within the university. Probably not. But we thought it was worth finding out.</p>

<p>Again, thank you!</p>

<p>DS is doing researchv in the Physics ddpadtment for credit this semester. The prof does not have funds for an undergrad paid reserach in the summer. He is a double major ECE/ Physics. Can anyone give me some suggestions to pass on to him on how to find a paid research position, including application process for ECE department for this summer at UA?</p>

<p>IIRC, the “get credit or get paid” discussion has more to do with the employer complying with labor laws when offering internships than the college/university granting credit for said internship. As many have mentioned, the College of Commerce and Business Administration definitely grants credit for paid internships.</p>

<p>I know that the College of Engineering handles all co-op paperwork for UA students regardless of the student’s major and thought that the College of Commerce and Business Administration handles internship paperwork for all UA students.</p>

<p>While I haven’t heard of any accreditation requirements saying that paid internships cannot receive academic credit, I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone trying to make a distinction between an internship and a research fellowship. In that case, you can call it an internship as many professionals work primarily in research.</p>

<p>Apart form saying he got academic credit for his research fellowship, does he need the credits for his degree? UA does allow credits for summer internships to be billed as fall semester credits if needed.</p>

<p>SEA_tide, thank you for your response. Son is looking closely at his schedule for the remaining semesters at BAMA. Though his plan can be successfully accomplished without receiving credit for his research fellowship, having this credit would be a safety net in case of a scheduling conflict during his final semesters.</p>

<p>If I understand your post, you believe that it may be possible for him to receive credit. I guess he needs to find out if this is allowed through the Biology Department and if he could receive BSC 398 Undergraduate Research credit.</p>

<p>@Seeking…keep in mind that is you go for the credit and find it is allowed, there will be a charge. You may end up having to weigh the value of the credits against the possibility of out of pocket expense, I think Sea_tide mentioned that you could maybe roll the hours to the fall and cover it under your scholarship hours but I would make sure you have it all approved and documented.</p>

<p>my student had an internship last summer. she got paid and got credit. </p>

<p>MideWozowski, that’s great to hear. May I ask what your student’s major is?</p>

<p>engineering.</p>

<p>Was it an internship or a co-op?</p>

<p>internship</p>