Other Research Opportunities

Directed and Independent Studies

Students who wish to study a topic in psychology that is not covered in the regular course offerings, or who wish to investigate in greater detail an issue examined in a specific course, may enroll in Directed Study (Psychology 361‑362; 2-4 credits each) or Independent Study (Psychology 363-64).  In order to register for Directed or Independent Study, a student must first contact a faculty sponsor who is willing to supervise the work.  In some cases, the activity will involve extensive reading on a given topic, a paper(s) describing the results of these readings, and regular meetings with the faculty sponsor.  In other cases, the student may design an empirical research project under faculty supervision; the directed or independent study would then entail library research, data collection and analysis, and the preparation of a final research report.

The specific nature of any directed or independent study is the result of an agreement reached between the student and the faculty sponsor regarding the requirements of the project.  A directed or independent study may be conducted for a semester (in which case the student should enroll in 361) or for a year and accordingly, the student should register for 361 and 362 in successive semesters).  Again, directed or independent studies do not normally count toward the 38‑hour graduation requirement.