Independent Study Projects

Winter Term Independent Study Projects offer you a unique opportunity to explore an area of special interest. These month-long projects must offer significant learning experiences, and should neither duplicate on-campus courses nor repeat previous projects or summer job experiences. The student works closely with a supervising faculty member who serves as the principal point of contact, to whom the student reports the result of the project. Students are expected to be occupied approximately 35-40 hours per week during the Winter Term.

Begin by identifying a topic you would like to study during Winter Term and then set up an appointment to meet with a Winter Term representative. After meeting with a Winter Term advisor, you must formulate the basic outline of the project and find a member of the faculty who is willing to work with you to fully develop your project. Next, continue working with the faculty supervisor to develop a fully worked-out, detailed project proposal/learning contract, spelling out the learning goals, methodology, final product, etc. The deadline for submitting this information to the Winter Term office in an application is Friday, October 31, 2008. This deadline is strictly enforced: if the application is not submitted by the deadline, the project will not be approved for credit.

 

The second step is to work with the faculty supervisor to develop a fully worked-out, detailed learning contract, spelling out the learning goals, methodology, final product, etc. The deadline for submission of this document (as well as a completed liability release and medical authorization for off-campus projects and immunization checklist for international destinations) is Friday, December 5, 2008 .

 

During Winter Term 2008, 126 students participated in independent study projects, with approximately two-thrids of all project types taking place off-campus sites, and one-third on-campus.