Independent Study

Independent studies, like internships, do not count toward your Legal Studies major requirements. However, they are an excellent way to pursue a topic of interest to you, and to get to know a particular faculty member a little better. While Internship credits are pass/fail, Independent Study credits are graded.

Think about what you want to study.  Which faculty member has an interest in this topic?  What kind of research do you want to do?   How do you want your work to be evalutated?   How many credits do you wish to do? 

You can do an independent study with any faculty member on campus willing to sponsor you, and generally you register for the credit through the department of the faculty member in question.  Make sure you give your topic some serious thought before you start approaching potential faculty sponsors.  See if they have the time to sponsor you. Sponsoring an Independent Study is a bit of a time committment, and most faculty will only supervise a few students each semester. Generally, they prefer to sponsor students who have already taken a course with them, and who have done fairly well.  

Once you successfully negotiate a topic and a faculty advisor, the next step is registering for credits.  Most departments keep the schedule numbers of their independent studies offline, and you must register through the main office.

In Legal Studies, contact your faculty member/sponsor.  Obtain their signature on a "course override" form during Add/Drop, and Lori Sadler in the Main Office (Thompson 218) will add the course to your schedule manually.  Faculty can also email Tami directly. Make sure you check online to verify the course has been added, and that the number of credits is correct. Again, Independent study credit is graded. Most students register for Legal Studies 496.

Honors independent studies must be registered for through the Commonwealth College (413-545-2483). They have a contract form that must be filled out, and co-signed by our Honors Coordinator (if using for Departmental Honors credit).