Global Languages and Cultures: Policy on Directed Study Courses

Overview

In directed study courses, students engage in academic pursuits such as conducting research and reporting results, investigating problems and presenting conclusions, reading intensively in a discipline, and/or studying advanced subject matter relating to a selected subject, special topic, or specific area.

Basic Information

Directed study is a privilege as such opportunities require a significant investment of time and energy.  As faculty members do not receive additional compensation if the directed study is taught during a regular (fall, spring) semester, they are not required to offer them.

  1. Students interested in participating in a directed study should contact a full-time faculty member to discuss the proposed course content.
  2. Only one 4-credit directed study will count toward the major, minor, or concentration.
  3. The Chair of the Department must approve all directed study requests.
  4. The Department Chair, in consultation with the Department’s Curriculum and Assessment Committee, may consider approving a directed study request below the 399 level in a language currently being taught at Geneseo for a student whose circumstances merit such an extraordinary arrangement. No directed study request, at any level, can be approved in a language not currently being taught at Geneseo.

Eligibility Requirements

  1. Junior, Senior or Graduate standing with a major, minor, or concentration in the Department of Languages and Literatures.

  2. Students must:

    1. Have a strong academic record 

    2. Be able to work independently and meet established deadlines

    3. Be organized and responsible

  3. Full-time faculty member of the department with demonstrated expertise in the proposed area of study and college-level classroom teaching experience in the target language. Faculty members are limited to two directed studies per semester. Directed study courses are capped at two students per semester unless there are extenuating circumstances that necessitate increased enrollment.

  4. Directed study course content must be at the advanced level (please refer to the Overview) and must adhere to the established contact hours. For example, one credit is earned for fifteen 50-minute sessions of classroom instruction, meaning 12.5 hrs per credit. (see Credit Contact Hour Policy Guidelines HERE)

  5. The following information must be submitted to the Chair via email as soon as possible or before the first day of the semester:

    1. Names (student, faculty) 

    2. [LANGUAGE PREFIX] 399, 499, 599, 699: Proposed Title 

    3. Course Syllabus (must adhere to the Department’s Syllabus Template).

  6. Once approved by the chair, the faculty member enters the information into the online Directed Study form for submission.

Approved September 25, 2019