Independent studies are available to students who are enrolled in an English department major, minor, or certificate program. They should originate with the student, and not duplicate available curricular offerings. If you wish to undertake an independent study, you are responsible for finding a faculty member to oversee the work—typically, this will be a professor who you already know from coursework.
Before you get started, some things to note:
- Independent studies may not be substituted for the capstone course in a major
- Only honors independent studies are graded for a letter grade. All other independent studies are graded pass/fail. (If you are not an honors college student but are interested in graded independent studies, consider applying to the English Laureates and Scholars Thesis Program.
- Students can enroll in independent studies at any undergraduate level (ENGL199, 299, 399, or 499)
- The number of hours worked during the semester determines the number of credits received, and this should be determined before beginning the work. For each unit of student credit, 45 hours of work are required. Independent studies are usually 3 credit hours, which requires 135 hours of work for the semester.
- An independent study is not a research assistantship, and students retain all rights to academic or creative work produced in an independent study
- Graduate student instructors are not eligible to oversee independent studies
Once you have located a faculty member to work with, schedule a meeting with your academic advisor to discuss the rules, regulations, and usual scope of independent study work. You’ll then submits their proposal form with your professor’s signature digitally to the English Undergraduate Office for approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is the point of contact for both faculty members and students, should questions about the scope of independent studies or other concerns arise before or during the work.