Graduate coursework not taken for a degree- still relevant for graduate admissions?

Question

I have recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in the United States and have taken a job as a research assistant at a large private research institution. Part of my employer's package involves free tuition for full time employees for up to 6 hours per semester, including graduate courses. I was considering taking advantage of this opportunity, and my PI and I have agreed that 3 hours per semester (1 class) would be a good compromise between wanting to work and gaining knowledge as an investment in my abilities as a research assistant. This is an exciting opportunity because my undergraduate alma mater was a relatively small institution with no niche coursework. My cumulative training up to this point has included being lucky to catch course offerings and being the beneficiary of summer REUs..so the opportunity to take niche coursework is highly lucrative for me. My question is as follows:

If I take 3 graduate courses (summer included), when I apply to graduate school down the line in about a year or two, should I report these courses and do they make any difference? Secondly, how do I put these courses under the education tab in my CV/resume?

Answer 1

The coursework is helpful, especially if you do well in them. It will show that you have understand and have experience with these concepts. The work is not as important as your research, but will be of some benefit. That being said, whether you can transfer them as academic credit towards your graduate degree will really depend upon the school.

As to your CV, simply add a section under education mentioning that you took courses at your new institute. You can list the courses under that and submit a transcript for them when you apply to graduate school.