Independent Study
Independent Study is a way for students to pursue individual investigation and/or reading in an area of special interest or to advance competencies in their major/ minor area. Independent Study may not be a course that is offered in the College Catalog and is not used simply to assemble credits for graduation or to replace a course listed in the curriculum. Independent Study also may not be used toward Core Program requirements.Independent Study is available to students with junior or senior status who have a minimum grade point average of 2.00. Students pursuing Independent Study can expect to do extensive research, reading, writing and/or creative work resulting in a major paper, presentation, work of art, or other project agreed upon by the supervising faculty member and the student.
The work is initiated by the student and progresses largely unsupervised. Independent Studies usually are registered for between one to four credits per study. Normally, a student may carry only one Independent Study at a time or two Independent Studies at the discretion of the Independent Study Committee. A maximum of 12 credits of Independent Study can be applied toward graduation.
Independent Study is not tied to the academic calendar (i.e., a project may be started or finished at any point). The project must be submitted to the Independent Study Committee prior to the registration period for the semester during which the Independent Study will begin. The registration period for fall semester is in April and the registration period for spring semester is in November. Following approval of the Independent Study Committee, the student must officially register the project with the Office of Registration and Records by the end of the first week of classes for the semester during which it will be completed (i.e., by the end of the “Add Period”). Forms are available in the Office of Registration and Records. Any requests for exceptions to the policy must be made to the Academic Standing Committee.
Directed Study
In contrast to Independent Study of a special topic, Directed Study is undertaken for a regular course in the curriculum that is not being offered in a given semester. This method of study should be used by the student who needs rather frequent conferences with the professor.An additional surcharge is assessed for the full-time student who registers for Directed Study. Part-time students granted permission to register for a Directed Study course pay the same surcharge. Full-time undergraduate students whose course load exceeds 18 hours as a result of the Directed Study registration are charged the current part-time rate for tuition for those hours in excess of 18 plus the surcharge for all Directed Study credits. Note: Students must register for Directed Studies prior to beginning course work and no later than the end of the first week of classes (i.e., during the official “add” period for the semester). Registration forms are available in the Office of Registration and Records.
