Independent study program iu

An Honors program provides a more intense, comprehensive, and demanding experience than an X course alone normally provides.

As a major part of the X course, a prospective honors student works on a goal-oriented research program for at least two semesters and a minimum of 6 credit hours total.

Writing a research report based upon the results of field observations or laboratory research is the ultimate goal of the X efforts. In contrast to regular X work, the Honors Degree X project must include either laboratory or field research. X projects can be based entirely on library research. However, the Honors Degree project must include laboratory or field research. In summary, although X is an integral part of an Honors program in Biology, the Honors Program encompasses more than the completion of two semesters of X For a complete list of the requirements for Departmental Honors, please email bioadv indiana.

Learn more about the Honors degree. Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph. Microbiology Ph. Biotechnology M. Why take X Independent Study? Overall minimum GPA of 2. Scope of X programs X presents an opportunity for maximum flexibility in project selection. To enroll in X Talk with prospective faculty advisors and determine with whom you will do Individual Study. Prior to registration for the semester in which you will begin X, make arrangements with the faculty member concerning the following: Pick up an X Application form from the Biology Advising Office, JH A The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers career information about hundreds of occupations.

After graduation, a short-term experience or internship can help you make connections, gain life skills, and assess your interest in future careers. Talk with your career coach and use these and other resources to find opportunities that are a good fit with your educational experience and career goals:. Fellowships are temporary post-graduate opportunities to conduct research, work in a field, or fund graduate school. Most opportunities can be found through universities, non-profit, and government organizations.

Fellowships are often related to particular fields. As you develop your interests in the Individualized Major Program, talk with your advisors and faculty to become familiar with those resources that might be most relevant and helpful to you.

When applying to graduate or professional schools, you'll need letters of recommendation from faculty members who are familiar with your work. Make a practice of attending office hours early in your academic career, to get to know your professors and discuss your options for advanced study in the field. Individualized Major Program students are especially well-positioned to obtain positive and informed recommendation letters, by virtue of their close work with faculty on their majors and final projects.

The Individualized Major program will prepare you for entry into graduate programs in a wide variety of fields, such as history, anthropology, religious studies and business. With careful planning, and in consultation with the Health Professions and Prelaw Center , you could also prepare to enter law school, medical school, or other professional programs.

Check out the College Luminaries program, which connects students with the College's most influential, successful, and inspiring alumni. The Individualized Major Program attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and interests. They typically have some of the following qualities:.

Contact the assistant director of the Individualized Major Program and schedule an appointment to explore your options. Complete information about the requirements of the major can be found in the College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin.

Coursework Getting started Because it is an individualized program, there are no required courses for the Individualized Major Program though seniors are required to enroll in independent-study credit for their final projects; see below.

Tracks and concentrations The Individualized Major Program does not require particular tracks or concentrations.

Upper level coursework As part of the eighteen hours of level coursework required for every College BA major, students can choose to include credit from independent study, allowing them to study specific topics in depth.

Commonly pursued majors, minors and certificates The Individualized Major works well by itself, or as a second or third major. Enhance your major Working with faculty When pursuing a degree in the Individualized Major Program, you have the opportunity to work with faculty who have expertise and experience in many fields.

If your program Because the Individualized Major Program offers unique opportunities to forge relationships with faculty, based on mutual interests, in-depth research, and shared goals, it provides excellent preparation for graduate study and the professional world. Honors Students with GPAs of 3. Undergraduate scholarships and awards Students in the Individualized Major Program are eligible for grants to help defray costs of their final projects and assist with special learning experiences.

Internships Internships offer you a chance to develop both technical and transferable skills while making vital professional contacts with others in the field. Foreign language study As one of the premier institutions in the U.

Student groups Participating in students groups while at college gives you a chance to make friends, take on leadership responsibilities and build connections between coursework and other activities. Volunteer opportunities There are numerous opportunities for volunteer engagement, allowing you to give back to the local community while developing useful job skills.

Professional organizations Students in the Individualized Major Program are interested in a wide range of professions. Build your skills Through the major Although the specific skills and expertise you develop will depend on the subject of your individualized major, the general benefits are far-reaching, embodying the essence of liberal education.

They include: Critical reflection, particularly self-reflection Application of general principles to specific situations Analytical skills, breaking a subject into its constituent elements and determining their relationships Intellectual independence and the ability to collaborate productively with faculty and other students Ability to communicate findings orally and in writing, answering questions and articulating successes and difficulties in achieving objectives Through a College of Arts and Sciences degree Your coursework provides many opportunities to develop the following five foundational skills that will serve you well in every career path: Question critically Think logically Communicate clearly Act creatively Live ethically These foundational skills will aid you in landing your first job and advancing professionally throughout your working life.

Skills desired by employers Each year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers asks employers what key skills and qualities they are looking for in recent college graduates. The following are some of the most commonly desired attributes across many employment sectors: Problem-solving skills Ability to work in a team Written and verbal communication skills Leadership skills Strong work ethic Analytical and quantitative skills Ability to take Initiative Being detail oriented Demonstrating adaptability Technical skills relevant to the field Interpersonal skills Computer skills Organizational ability As you explore various career fields, pay attention to specific job descriptions and requirements.

Launch your career Plan your search A good starting point for exploring your career options is an appointment with your career coach. The job market Graduates from the Individualized Major Program have pursued careers and post-graduate education in a wide variety of fields. Post-graduate short-term experiences After graduation, a short-term experience or internship can help you make connections, gain life skills, and assess your interest in future careers.

Talk with your career coach and use these and other resources to find opportunities that are a good fit with your educational experience and career goals: AmeriCorps Idealist Peace Corps Teach for America Fellowships for post-graduate study Fellowships are temporary post-graduate opportunities to conduct research, work in a field, or fund graduate school. Is it for you? They typically have some of the following qualities: Initiative, self-sufficiency, and intellectual curiosity The desire to study something not available at IUB as a regularly offered major or degree Strong interests in two or more subjects, with a plan for combining them into a coherent program of study The will to seek creative solutions to persistent problems Learn more Contact the assistant director of the Individualized Major Program and schedule an appointment to explore your options.

If a student has completed all course work abroad, but no grade is reported due to an oversight or delay by the host country faculty or the program administrators, the Office of Overseas Study temporarily enters an Incomplete until the correct letter grade is determined. In circumstances beyond a student's control e. Students should not expect to use Extended-X for courses taken abroad since the content cannot be exactly replicated on the Bloomington campus.

In awarding credit for course work taken abroad, Overseas Study assumes that the contact hours are comparable to those at IU i. Courses taught by IU faculty abroad are expected to include required reading, written course work, examinations and, when possible, term papers. Field study programs typically incorporate journal writing into the assessment process. When enrolling in courses taught by host country nationals, students are expected to select courses that require work that can be assessed for a grade or to arrange for special assignments that can be evaluated.

If no such academic work can be arranged, the student will not receive credit for the class. IU faculty evaluate foreign course descriptions and syllabi in order to determine what their department's equivalent IU level and number should be. This sometimes takes place before students go abroad, but more often occurs when students return from abroad with course material to substantiate their request for credit.

The Registrar has developed a flexible equivalency system e. Please note that course equivalencies are based on the content of the course and not the language they are taught in.

Students are given guidelines for selecting courses abroad when there are no pre-established equivalencies. Students are guaranteed credit for all IU study abroad course work, but the amount and level of the credit for each course is determined by campus departments with the assistance of the Office of Overseas Study. The Registrar allows courses taken abroad to be reported as 1 credit more or 1 credit less than is listed in the IU bulletin.

Once the IU grade and course equivalency information has been verified, Overseas Study produces grade reports for the Registrar and, in some cases, the recorder. Overseas Study lists the unequated courses as level undistributed course work. When a department decides that those courses should be listed as upper-level undistributed credit or as an IU course, Overseas Study needs the department to submit documentation to that effect via the Course Approval Memo.

It is important to note that until the equivalent IU courses and grades are posted, the student's One. IU degree audit will not be a reliable indicator of the student's requirement or credit situation. Therefore, since the One. IU report may be temporarily inaccurate, it is required that students check with Overseas Study to verify actual standing vis-a-vis requirements and degree completion.

Study abroad courses may count towards major, minor or elective requirements, based on departmental policy. In addition, participation in a program in and of itself may satisfy a requirement as is the case for 1 IUB majors in the College of Arts and Sciences who can satisfy one component of the Global Civilizations and Cultures requirement by participating in a semester or year-long program and 2 IUB International Studies majors who are required to study abroad for six weeks or longer.

The IUB General Education Requirements, instituted during the summer of , include an international experience option as part of the World Languages and Cultures requirement. An international experience may satisfy the World Languages and Cultures requirement only if it meets specific criteria. For detailed information about how to satisfy this requirement, see IU Bloomington's general education website as well as our website. However, Overseas Study respects a department's requirement that students who study abroad still need a number of actual home campus credits typically 10 for the major and 6 for the minor before they receive a major or minor from that department.

However, credits earned by students who reach senior standing usually 86 credits on Overseas Study programs satisfy the senior residency requirement on their home campus e. This policy facilitates study abroad for students unable to go abroad until their fourth year of college. When a transfer student to IU decides to go abroad after only one or two semesters on an IU campus, the student's school reserves the right to re-evaluate the student's "senior residency" credits from abroad so that the transfer student will have enough on-campus credit to justify a degree from that school.

Students from an IU campus other than Bloomington are registered administratively as special non-degree students on the IUB campus for their time abroad, but they earn credits toward the home campus degree.

Consequently, if a student wishes to pursue an IU-Bloomington degree after the study abroad program, the student will have to fulfill the senior residency requirement on the Bloomington campus before qualifying for the degree. The student may have to satisfy the major department's residency requirement in Bloomington as well. Likewise, if an IUB student who spends a year abroad wishes to complete his or her studies on another IU campus, he or she will have to determine the impact on the residency requirement with the degree-granting campus.

All students on IU programs must respect and abide by the academic regulations of both IU, any co-sponsoring agency and the local host institutions. Any acts of academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules or facilitating academic dishonesty, will be adjudicated by local academic officials and then be referred to the judicial process on the student's home campus.

All students on IU programs must respect and abide by the laws and customs of the host country, the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct , and any rules and regulations for student conduct made or adopted by IU, its employees, agents, consortium partners, and partner institutions abroad, from the published official program arrival date through the official program completion date, including but not limited to host institution rules and regulations for student conduct designed to safeguard health, well-being and safety.

IU Program Policies. Expectations and requirements for applicants and program participants on IU programs are outlined within the academic and fiscal policies of the Office of Overseas Study.

Selection Process III. Other Factors I. Eligibility Criteria 1. Class Standing Students with the appropriate academic background may apply for some summer programs as early as freshman year. Academic Progress To be eligible to apply for study abroad, students must be making satisfactory academic progress toward their degree, particularly those applying for semester and academic year programs. Language Requirements Completion of prior language coursework with a grade of B or better is expected.

Lower Age Limits The Office of Overseas Study does not permit university applicants under the age of 18 or high school students to participate in its programs. Preference to Indiana University Students Any student enrolled at one of the eight Indiana University campuses may apply to the programs administered or co-sponsored by the Office of Overseas Study. Only a very small number of programs are open to students from other institutions. Disciplinary Status Students with sanctions of disciplinary probation or stronger i.

Other Factors For many programs, eventual program participation is contingent upon the student's ability to obtain travel documents i.