All independent studies must be reported to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum at the end of each academic year. The report may be submitted on line.
Course-offering programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may create Independent Study courses as follows:
• Independent Study courses, in which a faculty member creates, with an individual student, a course of study that can be completed in a single semester.
• Independent Research courses, in which a faculty member agrees to supervise an individual student's independent research project.
• Independent Reading courses, in which a student completes a set of readings, approved in advance with a faculty member.
• Independent Creative/Project courses, in which a student proposes a project (for example, a set of short stories, a dance or musical recital, or other activity) to be supervised by a faculty member.
Collegiate policy on the number of total hours of Independent Study
CLAS students may include no more than 9 s.h. of independent study, research, readings, or creative/project courses in the minimum 120 semester hours required for graduation.
Practica, capstone courses, internships, Honors Thesis, and Honors Project hours, and GIS courses are not included in the 9 s.h. limit.
Students may request a waiver of this policy from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs; waivers will be granted only with support from the student's advisor.
The standard policies for departments to use in overseeing independent study are shown below. Departments may modify these policies only with written permission from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs.
Standard CLAS Independent Study Policies• Students may apply up to 9 s.h. of independent study credit toward the requirements of the major. Hours earned through Independent Study count toward the Collegiate limit of 50 s.h. from one department that may be applied toward the minimum 120 s.h. required for graduation.
• Student Eligibility: Only students in good standing may enroll for independent study.
• Eligible Faculty: Faculty (tenure-track, clinical-track, or visiting) at the rank of assistant professor or higher and faculty at the rank of lecturer may supervise independent study courses.
• Contract: The CLAS Standard Contract for Independent Study (or, if a Department has a policy waiver, an amended contract that represents those policy differences) must be signed by both the instructor and the student. The contract must detail the content for the independent study course. Departments will keep contracts on file. Note: if the student is completing an independent study in a department in which he/she is not a major, a copy of the contract should be sent to the student's major department adviser.