Independent Study

PSY 400 Independent Study is an opportunity for graduate students to study an area of interest in depth under the supervision of a faculty member. Under PSY 400, graduate students are responsible for developing their own independent study project. Graduate students at large (non-degree seeking or not admitted to a graduate program) are not eligible to register for PSY 400 (see the Graduate Catalog under Course Offerings). Students are required to produce a substantive work product from the independent study—generally a paper—although the nature of the final work product may vary. Students must complete the Independent Study Contract for Graduate Students. Click on the link to download the contract to the computer.

The contract is an interactive Microsoft Word document. The contract should be completed on the computer. Handwritten contracts will not be accepted. Students should complete the top portion of the contract and provide a brief description of the independent study, and then save the contract as a Word document. The saved contract should be submitted to the faculty supervisor as an e-mail attachment. The faculty supervisor should complete the student's responsibilities and grading criteria portion of the contract. Then, the contract should be printed and signed by both parties. The signed contract should be submitted to the program or sequence coordinator for approval. After signing the contract, the program or sequence coordinator should submit the contract to the Graduate Programs Office for departmental approval. Students cannot register for PSY 400 until the contract has been approved by the department. Students will be notified when they can register. If the contract is approved after the first week of the semester, student must register for in Moulton 107.