Undergraduate Program Options

A conference course is a semester course for an individual student in which the proposed material cannot be studied as conference work in conjunction with a regular course offered in the curriculum. The student meets weekly with a faculty sponsor. As with any seminar, students work in an organized manner through a set body of materials. Conference courses offer the flexibility to evolve along with the student’s mastery and interest. Conference courses may not be undertaken during the summer.

An independent study is an intensive, advanced investigation of a selected topic. Advanced students work independently under the guidance of a faculty sponsor (usually a teacher with whom the student has previously studied) in research, creative work, or intensive reading. Such study results in a major work such as a long paper, play, musical composition, or film. Students meet periodically with their sponsor to assess and direct work. Credits should be commensurate with the scope of the project, frequency of meetings, and nature and quantity of academic work submitted. Independent study courses are available to juniors and seniors only.

An independent study is an intensive, advanced investigation of a selected topic. Advanced students work independently under the guidance of a faculty sponsor (usually a teacher with whom the student has previously studied) in research, creative work, or intensive reading. Such study results in a major work such as a long paper, play, musical composition, or film. Students meet periodically with their sponsor to assess and direct work  Credits should be commensurate with the scope of the project, frequency of meetings, and nature and quantity of academic work submitted. Independent study courses are available to juniors and seniors only.

In exceptional cases, when enrollment in the practicum course is not possible, students may engage in fieldwork under the guidance of a faculty sponsor. Students may enroll in between two and five credits for this option. Students meet periodically with their sponsors to create independent course work in conjunction with fieldwork. Credits earned should be commensurate with the scope of the independent study, frequency of meetings, and nature and quantity of academic work submitted. If no academic work is completed, the course will result in no credit. As is the case with the practicum course, the faculty sponsor will grade the fieldwork-based directed study on a pass/fail basis.

A senior thesis affords the opportunity of doing intensive and interdisciplinary work over the course of an academic year with a committee of two or three faculty members from different disciplines chosen by the student. One faculty member serves as chief sponsor, while the others bring the insights and methods of their disciplines to bear on the project. A senior thesis requires a good deal of planning that should be done in the spring of the junior year (and proposal forms submitted by May 1) and earns 10 credits for the year in which it is completed. Students can expect to be notified of approval by July 1. Students who register for a senior thesis are responsible for meeting with each of their sponsors and keeping them informed of their progress. Early in the fall, the chief sponsor and student will agree on a schedule of work, including a substantial piece of written or artistic work to be turned in by the end of the fall semester. This can be a first chapter, a 10-to-15-page prospectus and detailed bibliography, or the first piece of an art project. If the faculty sponsors feel the work is proceeding satisfactorily, the project will be continued in the second semester. If satisfactory progress has not been made, the chief sponsor and the student will discuss how the thesis may be reformed as a conference project or an independent study or dropped as a course option.

In the spring semester, the committee should meet again. Students should submit a first draft of the thesis to the chief sponsor before spring break; at the latest, the completed thesis will be due a week before the end of classes. Upon revisions made to the first draft, students should submit a revised draft of the thesis to the faculty sponsor by mid-April. All faculty sponsors should read the final thesis and provide comments to the chief sponsor. The chief sponsor submits an evaluation at the end of each semester and a single grade at the end of the year.

Students interested in pursuing these options are required to consult first with their dons. Directed study proposal forms, which include detailed instructions, are available in the Office of the Dean of Studies and on MySLC.

Proposals are reviewed and approved by the Office of the Dean of Studies, on behalf of the Committee on Student Work, and the associate dean of the college, on behalf of the Curriculum Committee. The content, as well as writing and reading requirements of the directed study, must be comparable to other courses in the curriculum.

Approval Process

1. Proposals are to be prepared in consultation with the faculty sponsor or sponsors in the case of senior theses.
2. The student must submit the completed form (including all signatures indicated) to the Office of the Dean of Studies, where it will be reviewed first by the Committee on Student Work and then by the Curriculum Committee.
3. Should a two-to-three-credit directed study that exceeds a regular 15-credit program need to be dropped, the deadline by which to do so is the end of the seventh week of the semester.
4. Summer and intersession proposals are registered and billed upon approval and cannot be canceled. Fieldwork undertaken in the summer or intersession is charged at 50 percent of the current per-credit tuition rate.

Stipulations

1. A student may take only one such course each semester.
2. Over the course of a student’s career at the College, a maximum of 20 credits may be applied to the degree through directed study options.
3. Only regular faculty can serve as sponsors. Special permission regarding guest faculty must be obtained from the Provost’s Office.

Summer Credit

Students may propose directed study in the form of fieldwork or independent study for summer credit for up to five credits. Proposals are due to the Office of the Dean of Studies by May 1. Proposals must be approved by the Office of the Dean of Studies on behalf of the Committee on Student Work and the Provost’s Office on behalf of the Curriculum Committee. Tuition is charged at the regular tuition rate of the previous academic year for independent study and at 50 percent of the rate for fieldwork. Current tuition and fee information may be found on the Financial Aid website. Once the course is approved and registered, students are responsible for the full tuition fee and are not eligible for refunds.

Intersession Credit

Students may earn a maximum of two credits over intersession by enrolling in another college’s intersession program or by undertaking independent study or fieldwork under the guidance of a Sarah Lawrence faculty member. Intersession projects must be submitted by the first day of spring registration. Intersession independent study projects will be charged at the per-credit tuition rate. Intersession fieldwork projects will be charged at 50 percent of the per-credit tuition rate.

The Science and Mathematics Third program is designed to allow more flexibility in studying science at Sarah Lawrence College. Qualifying students can take two mathematics and science courses to comprise one third of their academic program for a semester or academic year without incurring an additional tuition charge.

The student is expected to have regularly scheduled conference meetings with at least one of the instructors. The Science and Mathematics Third program is intended for students with a primary interest in the natural sciences and/or mathematics who have a strong background in the subject(s) involved. One purpose of the Third program is to help students meet the challenges inherent to the hierarchical nature of science and mathematics study in which advanced courses often have one or more prerequisite topics. Students who take two elementary- or intermediate-level Third components can more quickly qualify for advanced study. Students already at the advanced level can enroll in two advanced courses simultaneously. First-year students in their first semester of study at Sarah Lawrence are not eligible.

Conceivably, any science or mathematics course (seminar or lecture) can be taken as a Science and Mathematics Third component. Students can take two components in the same discipline or in different disciplines. Students can take two components at the same level (open, intermediate, or advanced) or at different levels, assuming the student qualifies for both courses. However, because of the time demands of lab courses, students are discouraged from enrolling in a Third program involving two lab-based science courses.

A student interested in enrolling for two courses as a Third should interview both faculty members involved. The student should declare an interest in taking the course as part of a Third program during the registration interview and register for one of the two courses during registration week. The other course should be added during the Add/Drop period. To register for a Science and Mathematics Third, the student must fill out a special registration form (available at the Office of the Registrar and on MySLC) and have it signed by both faculty members involved and by the chair of the Science and Mathematics Group subject to approval.

A student interested in enrolling for two courses as a Third should interview both faculty members involved. The student should declare an interest in taking the course as part of a Third program during the registration interview and register for one of the two courses during registration week. The other course should be added during the Add/Drop period. To register for a Science and Mathematics Third, the student must fill out a special registration form (available at the Office of the Registrar and on MySLC) and have it signed by both faculty members involved and by the chair of the Science and Mathematics Group subject to approval.