Office of the Registrar
Directed/Independent Studies
Directed Study
A student in good standing is permitted to work intensively in areas of special interest under the Directed Study plan. A Directed Study is appropriate when a student wishes to explore a subject more fully than is possible in a regular course or to study a subject not covered in the regular curriculum. A Directed Study should not duplicate a course that is regularly offered. A student who wishes to elect a Directed Study must complete and print out the application and return it to the Registrar's Office with appropriate departmental approval no later than the first Friday of the semester. Directed Studies are normally taken for 3 or 4 credits. Usually, general education requirements cannot be met using a Directed Study.
Independent StudyIndependent Study engages a student in the pursuit of clearly defined goals. In this effort a student may employ skills and information developed in previous course experiences or may develop some mastery of new knowledge or skills.
A proposal of an Independent Study project must be approved in advance by the faculty member who agrees to serve as the project adviser. The Independent Study application must be completed, printed out, and submitted to the Registrar's Office at the time of registration and meet certain criteria. Usually, general education requirements cannot be met using an Independent Study.
The chief distinction between this option and other options for individual study is that an individual faculty member works with the student only prior to the initiation of the study (or at its very beginning) and at the completion of the study. A student may propose an extensive independent project up to the equivalent of a full semester's work. An Independent Study project that constitutes a student's total academic load in a given semester may be done either on or off the campus. Any proposal or combination of proposals to do independent work carrying more than four credit hours must be submitted to the Academic Affairs Council. Examples of Independent Studies approved recently include: "An Existential Search for Religion," "Genetics of Sarracenia," "Internship at Warner Amex Qube," "Creativity and the New York Musician," and "Behavioral Studies of the Primates of the Peruvian Amazon."
Directed/Independent Study Form [pdf]
Contact Person
Sandra Cook,Records Coordinator
| Phone: | (740) 587-5783 |
|---|---|
| Fax: | (740) 587-8388 |
| E-mail: | cooks@denison.edu |