INDEPENDENT
STUDY
(Psyc
299/399)
Complete this form including all signatures, and return to Room B24 Solomon Lab before the end of the "add" period. Before enrolling in an Independent Study Course, discuss your responsibilities with your Psychology Department Faculty Mentor and/or your Day-to-Day Supervisor.
If your project extends for two semesters, you must submit one form for each semester. You will get registered for each semester by the end of the “add” period.
This
is a:
Psyc
299
[ ]
Psyc
399
[
]
and
will be conducted:
Fall 2008
[
]
Spring 2009 [
]
Name
(print):_______________________________________________ Today's date __________________________
e-mail:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Last 4
digits of S.S. #: _______________________
Day-to-day
Supervisor:
_____________________________________ e-mail:
___________________________
Topic of proposed project: _____________________________________________________________________
Student responsibilities: ______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Nature
of student’s contact with statistical issues in the course of doing
this project:
_____________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Student
Signature: ______________________________________________________________________________
Faculty
Day-to-day
Supervisor Signature:
___________________________________________________________________
(if
different from Faculty mentor)
Director of Undergraduate Studies Signature:
_______________________________________________________________________
General
Description. An
independent study project provides Psychology majors with an opportunity to
pursue their own individual scholarly interests under the supervision
of a faculty member. It can be an extremely valuable and
rewarding component of an undergraduate education. It allows
students to bring to bear what they have learned in courses and
seminars on a topic of special interest to them. Through
independent study, students can gain hands-on-research experience in
collaboration with serious scholars and scientists. It frequently
offers the best context in which students can be exposed what it would
be like to pursue a research career.
Types. The
Psychology Department offers two kinds of independent study. Psyc
299 involves library research, such as review and critique of published
research. Psyc 399 involves an empirical research
project, such as the analyzing of originally collected or archival
data. Psyc 399 fulfills the Research Experience requirement of
the psychology major. Students may enroll in independent study
for one or two semesters. If they enroll for two semesters, it may
be used as an Honors thesis. No more than two terms of
independent study may be counted towards completion of the Psychology
Major.
Obligations. The student
who signs up for an independent study project takes primary
responsibility for devising the project, carrying out the research, and
writing up the results. The faculty member provides supervision
and advice on the project, helps with its formulation, reads drafts of
the report, etc. It is important to understand that independent
study projects are part of a student's education. They are
regarded as a course, not a research assistantship.
All Psyc 299 and 399 projects must be overseen by a faculty member in
the Penn Psychology Department. However, it is frequently
appropriate for the immediate (day-to-day) supervisor to be a graduate student in
Psychology, or a faculty member in another department at Penn.
Evaluation. All
independent study projects must result in
a substantial written product, submitted to both the faculty supervisor
and the DUS. The faculty supervisor is responsible for evaluating
the paper and submitting a grade in a timely fashion.
For projects which extend beyond a single semester, a grade of S
(satisfactory) may be submitted for the first term and then replaced by
a regular grade at the completion of the second term.
Summary of Independent Study Requirements
| One term 299 or 399 | One paper |
| Two terms 299 or 399 (same project/advisor) | One paper and one poster |
| Two terms 299 or 399 (different project/advisor) | Two papers (one for each project) |