Independent studies projects are offered to students working on an advanced English major degree. Faculty members supervise the projects these students complete. The students work in consultation with a designated faculty member through regular meetings. It is generally the student's obligation to arrange a faculty member to supervise his projects.
The students in English independent studies projects work on chosen topics that are not taught in the regular English courses. These independent studies resemble traditional courses. Students registering for these classes typically must have over a 3.0 GPA and must be self-motivated and self-disciplined.
The projects students complete in independent studies are typically related to literature or creative writing, but can be related to any subject included in the faculty, including film or media studies. Other students choose to study this way to prepare themselves for thesis-writing in an honors thesis course. Independent study courses allow students to gain a better understanding of preliminary research, reading and writing. This lays the critical groundwork needed to complete a well-written and well-researched thesis statement.
Most schools offer credits to students completing these studies. Students are required to register for credits which are generally worth one to three credits. The amount of credits a student registers for depends on the amount of work the student plans on doing. If the work the students plans on accomplishing is equal to that of a standard course, then the student registers for the same amount of credits. A student who plans on accomplishing only one-third of the work of a normal class registers for only a third of standard course credits.