Including Publications in Other Disciplines in CV?

[papillon]

Hi everyone! I'm trying to finalize my CV for English PhD applications, and I would appreciate your opinions on something. When I started undergrad, I thought I wanted to major in the sciences and go to medical school, so my first 3 semesters were mostly biology, chemistry, and math courses. During the summer after my freshman year, I did chemistry research at the National Institutes of Health, and I was very fortunate to have that research develop into a publication, on which I am listed as a co-author. However, I realized during my sophomore year that I did not want to become a doctor, and that, although I do like the sciences very much, I wanted to pursue the humanities more, and I switched to an English major--a decision I have been very happy with ever since. My question is this: should I include that publication on my CV for English PhD applications even though it is not an English paper? I was not planning on it, but now I am concerned that I might be leaving off something useful. I do not have any English publications, and my only significant research experience is my honors thesis. Do you think that a publication in an unrelated field will hurt my chances by making me look unfocused in my interests, or could it potentially help my chances by making me look dedicated to scholarly inquiry in general? Or maybe it just depends on the adcomm. I would appreciate any input. Thanks!

[eucalyptus]

That's a tough question - if it was an even remotely related field (i.e. if you were anywhere in the sciences or social sciences) I'd say definitely keep it in your CV, since there are clearly transferable skills between science research in different fields. As it is, it's not quite as clear what those transferable skills would be, but that being said, it can't hurt you in any way. The experience was a couple years ago, so I don't think you risk looking unfocused at all (there's nothing bad about switching your major way back then). And it shows that you're committed to research and that you're capable of producing publication-worthy intellectual work. And plus, it's just kind of interesting. I say put it in your CV.

[newms]

I agree with eucalyptus. I don't think it would hurt, it was 2 years ago right? So I don't think it would make you look unfocused and it is interesting and shows that you can do research even if it is unrelated to what you are doing now.

[papillon]

It was actually more than 3 years ago, because graduated from college in the spring. I appreciate the advice from both of you!

I agree with eucalyptus. I don't think it would hurt, it was 2 years ago right? So I don't think it would make you look unfocused and it is interesting and shows that you can do research even if it is unrelated to what you are doing now.