Independent Study in Management Information Systems

Guidelines

1. An independent study is designed to accommodate exceptional cases and advanced students. An independent study normally does not substitute for regular courses but provides advanced students with an opportunity to go beyond regular courses.
2. Each credit of independent study should be roughly equivalent to 56 hours of work (based on the model of 1 hour per week of contact time and 3 hours of additional work in a 14 week semester). The ratio of contact time to independent work is decided by the instructor.
3. An independent study can be 1 credit or more. The standard independent study is 3 credits.
4. A student should have completed at least 40% of their program before taking an independent study and have a GPA of 3.0 or better.
5. All current MIS faculty - full time or part time - are eligible to work with students on an independent study.
6. All MIS students are automatically approved to apply three credits of independent study towards graduation subject to the provisions described in this document. Normally, all approved MIS independent study coursework will count as an MIS elective.
7. On a case-by-case basis students may petition their respective program chair to apply more than 3 credits of independent study towards graduation. Approval for such petitions is rare and will only be granted to truly exceptional students and circumstances. A petition will only be considered if it is submitted before the student registers for more than 3 credits of independent study.
8. Internship or employment work may be incorporated into the independent study plan.
   • No more than 30% of the requirements of the independent study may be met through internship or employment contributing to the planned goals of the independent study.
   • Internship or employment may not be retroactively applied for an independent study.
   • Prior approval for incorporation of internship/employment as an independent study component is required.
   • The internship or employment contribution to the independent study must also be approved by an on-site supervisor.
   • The Internship/Employment as Independent Study Detail Form must be completed by the student and signed by an on-site supervisor to be submitted together with the Independent Study Form before internship or employment experience can be applied towards independent study.
9. If approved, undergraduate students will need to register for MIS 3582/3682 Independent Study and graduate students will register for MIS 5182 Independent Study.
   
   Please note that MIS 3582 and 3682 are the same - the different course numbers are used to differentiate the independent study sections across different semesters.