Transcript Notation for Undergraduate Research Experiences

A new program allows undergraduates to highlight non-credited research experiences on their official GW transcript. The transcript notation recognizes important experiential learning and gives future degree programs and employers a more complete picture of a student’s background and interests.

Eligible research experiences

  • primarily benefit the student’s educational experience;
  • be mentored by a faculty member or other individual with a GW academic affiliation;
  • be unique from other experiences for which a student is already receiving course credit (paid opportunities are eligible if they meet the rest of the requirements);
  • involve at least forty hours of activity over the course of a single semester; and
  • culminate in a final ungraded project (e.g. an oral presentation to a lab group, a written report, a poster presentation at GW Research Showcase or other event, authorship or co-authorship of a publication, etc.).

The student’s research experience will be reflected on their transcript as a zero-credit course UNIV 1995: Undergraduate Research Experience.

Request a transcript notation

  • The student must initiate the transcript notation request form available on GW Student Research Commons. The student will be asked to provide details about the experience such as a description of duties and the ungraded final project.
  • The student’s submission will be routed to the mentor for review and approval. The research mentor will be asked to verify the description of the experience and then attest that the experience was completed as described.
  • Completed and verified submissions will be forwarded to the university registrar by the notation's course director. The student is then enrolled in UNIV 1995: Undergraduate Research Experience and assigned a grade of “Pass."

Initiate a request for a transcript notation

Deadlines

Requests must be submitted and verified by the GW mentor no later than the first day of final exams in the semester to receive a notation for that semester. Students may only apply for a transcript notation during the semester that the experience occurred. Transcript notations cannot be sought for previous semesters.

For more information

Contact [email protected] with questions about this program.

Tips for finding research opportunities

Undergraduate research experiences offer the chance to learn first-hand, in collaboration with professors, how new knowledge is generated. There are many ways to get involved in research at GW: