Independent Study
Enrolling in Independent Study lets you earn course credit by doing advanced work or research in an academic area under the supervision of a faculty member. Independent Study (399) is generally open to juniors and seniors. In some cases, sophomores may also enroll in 399.
Registration instructions
To register for 399—Independent Study, you need permission from the relevant department or program. You must submit to the department a description of the work you plan to undertake and the basis for its evaluation, and this proposal must be endorsed by the faculty member who will oversee your work and assign your grade. When you complete the Independent Study, you must submit to the department or program an abstract describing your work.
Rules for Independepent Study courses
Departments and programs establish their own rules for grading Independent Study. Some forbid P/N registration while others require it, and some mandate use of the "K" grade for multi-quarter projects.
Various rules limit enrollment in 399—Independent Study and the counting of such courses toward your degree:
- You may not register for more than 2 units of 399 in an academic quarter.
- You can count no more than 9 units total of 399-Independent Study and 398-Undergraduate Seminar toward the 45 units required for graduation, and no more than 4 of these units may be for 398. All relevant courses you take count toward the limit, even if they're in separate departments or programs. So, for example, 2 units of ENGLISH 398 plus 4 units of AF AM ST 399 counts as 6 units toward the 9-unit limit. Some departments (e.g., psychology) offer other courses that are also included in the 9-course limit.
- You may not register for Independent Study to make up a deficiency resulting from failing an earlier course or from receiving an incomplete.
- Some departments and programs set standards you must meet in order to register for Independent Study.
- Some departments and programs limit the number of 398 and 399 enrollments that can be counted toward their major or minor.
Rules specify that independent Study cannot be used for internships:
- Faculty legislation specifies that 399—Independent Study cannot be used to give credit for internships.
- Many internship opportunities are nonetheless available to Weinberg College students; see our information on internships for credit.