ver feel like there’s something that you really want to study that Elizabethtown College doesn’t offer? Or maybe there is a course you want to take, but it never seems to fit into your schedule. Before you give up on plans or think about taking a course from another school, consider independent and directed studies.
What are independent and directed studies? They are two more study options you have here at the College. With an independent study, you can pursue a field of interest or specialized area of your major or minor that is not regularly offered through the course catalogue. You write up your own proposal for the course and find an advisor to guide you through it. As suggested by the title, independent study, much of the coursework is done independently, with little structure or supervision from the advisor. The course can be longer or shorter than an average semester length, depending on the proposal, and must result in a final project — a paper, poster, artwork, etc. — to be presented at its conclusion.
Directed studies, on the other hand, can be taken to fulfill a requirement that is regularly offered in the course catalogue but perhaps is not given at a time that is convenient for you. With this option, you don’t have to worry about coming up with a course proposal on your own; the advising professor will take care of it for you. Basically, this is taken like a normal class but is conducted one-on-one with the professor. Directed studies must be completed within a single semester and may incur an extra course fee, which is at the discretion of your advising professor.
Keep this in mind: these options are a way to meet your requirements or dig deeper into a field of interest. You should by no means treat them as a way to get out of a hard course.
Currently, I am enrolled in a directed study to knock out my final major requirement before student teaching. The course is EN302, a linguistic and historical approach to studying the English language, and I am taking it with Professor of English Dr. Louis Martin, who normally teaches the course. In the beginning of the semester, we met twice a week. Now, we only meet on Fridays for about 45 minutes to an hour. He gives me work to do, and I have a week to do it. If I finish early, I can email him. If I need more time, I do what I can. I know my professor has expectations for me, but I also know that the directed study option gives me a bit of room for flexibility. I can set my own pace.
Because of the nature of the directed study, there is a higher sense of accountability. If I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t simply avert eye contact, skip out or hope someone else in the class has the answer. It’s just me and the professor. The same is true of the independent study. Upon registering, you need to know that you can be self-motivated on a less structured schedule and be prepared every time.
That being said, my overall experience in a directed study thus far has been positive. The one-on-one nature of the class allows me to ask any and all questions I have about the material. My professor and I wind up spiraling into conversation or researching more about what I’m studying; because it is only me, I get more attention.
Independent and directed studies have nothing to do with what major you’re in, or whether you think you’re smart enough to handle it. It works for me because I don’t like structure and repetition, I hate questions that only have one answer and I like working at my own pace. My largest class has been 35 people, but I prefer the smaller ones. I need the chance to ask questions and explore my interests.
This is your education. You have professors, advisors and faculty here who will help you do everything that you want to do. Don’t pass up something like study abroad because you don’t think you’ll fit everything. Don’t brush off a really interesting idea for study simply because the class isn’t offered.
College may be the only time in your life when you have a network of people who want you to succeed. Do what you want to do. You’ll get your classes in, no matter what it takes. Whether that’s independent study, directed study or pleading with a professor to add a course last-minute for you so that you can finish your minor on time. Not that that’s happened to me or anything.
