Opportunities Common to Departmental Courses of Instruction

Special Topics

A course designed to meet the particular interests of students and faculty and numbered 186, 286, 386, or 486. Topics vary from year to year and seldom are repeated as Special Topics. Descriptions of Special Topics courses are provided in the corresponding Schedule of Classes. Special Topics courses can be designated as 1/2-credit or 1-credit courses.

Independent Study and Team Initiated Study

The purpose of Independent Study and Team Initiated Study courses is to provide students with the opportunity to study topics not ordinarily covered in regular College course offerings, to follow up on previous research, or to undertake projects not otherwise available through regular courses. These studies also may be concerned with more narrowly defined or more advanced material than that offered in regular courses. They must increase knowledge beyond that already gained, enhance analytical ability, and/or lead to higher skills acquisition. They may not duplicate courses listed in the current College Catalog and cannot be used to meet any Perspective Area in the General Education Program. Independent Studies are carried out by one student; Team Initiated Studies are carried out by two or more students. Although Independent Studies and Team Initiated Studies are initiated by the student, faculty sponsors should be consulted during the thinking and planning stages of the study. An Independent Study or Team Initiated Study need not be in the student’s major field of study, but both require sufficient background knowledge for analysis or description within a conceptual framework, i.e., aesthetic, ethical, historical, literary, scientific, sociological, etc.

Students may wish to propose an Independent or Team Initiated Study that also will meet the Active Learning Experience (ALE) requirement in the General Education Program. Proposals seeking ALE credit must be reviewed by the ALE Coordinator (Linda Strong-Leek), who will be looking for these components:

1. How well does the study explore the connections between theory and practice?
2. Does the study include an ongoing reflection component (e.g., journal, blog, photo journal, or extensive interaction with onsite resource)?
3. Does the study include a synthesizing project (performance, play, presentation, composition, or exhibition, including interaction with the on-site adviser or other on-site audiences).

Independent Studies and Team Initiated Studies may be proposed for one (1) academic credit with ALE credit (designated as GST or DEPT 390/490A for Independent Study and 397/497A for Team Initiated Study) or for one (1) academic credit without ALE credit (390/490B for Independent Study and 397/497B for Team Initiated Study). Independent and Team Initiated Studies also may be proposed as non-credit for Short and Summer terms (which carry only a Short Term credit and do not count in the minimum of 33 earned credits needed to graduate). Non-credit studies also are eligible for ALE credit. On-campus Independent Studies are designated as GST or DEPT 091A with ALE credit OR 091B without ALE credit and 092A and 092B, respectively, for Team Initiated Studies. Off-campus Independent Studies are designated as GST or DEPT 090A with ALE credit OR 090B without ALE credit and 097A or 097B, respectively, for Team Initiated Studies.

Studies proposed under the General Studies rubric (GST) must clearly demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of the project. Independent and Team Initiated Studies also may be used for studies in disciplines not offered at Berea, if a qualified Berea faculty member is available to sponsor them.

The faculty sponsor must be from the Department or Program in which the study is to be conducted. Faculty members are limited to involvement with a maximum of two (2) Independent Studies or Team Initiated Studies in any one (1) term. Second readers are secured by the student and the faculty sponsor. 

All studies must have the approval of the academic adviser and of the Chairperson/Director/Coordinator of the department/program in which the study is to be conducted. GST studies require the signature of the Director of General Education. Studies involving international travel require the signature of the Education Abroad Adviser. Off-campus studies require the support of an off-campus sponsor, either with a signature on the proposal or an e-mail stating that he or she will provide on-site support to the student or students, if needed. The off-campus sponsor also should submit contact information (mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address).

Independent Studies and Team Initiated Studies may be proposed only by sophomores, juniors, and seniors. At the time a for-academic-credit proposal is submitted, sophomores must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00; juniors or seniors, 2.50. Non-credit proposals (Short and Summer terms only) may be submitted by sophomores, juniors, or seniors with a minimum 2.00 overall GPA. Students must not be on any type of probation, however, if a student is on academic probation and currently enrolled in GST 101, he or she may propose an Independent or Team Initiated Study during that term.

Proposal forms are available from the Student Service Center’s Self Serve Room (101 Lincoln Hall), or on the MS Outlook public folder called #Academics. The guidelines contains complete information about policies as well as guidelines for the successful preparation of a proposal. All proposals must be word processed and contain all required signatures before being submitted to the office of the Associate Provost for Advising and Academic Success for review.

Internship

The Internship Program is an experiential education program individually designed for those with a special academic interest requiring integration of classroom learning with practical experience. The program, which will include on-campus seminars with academic sponsors as well as non-classroom experience, is open to students with sophomore or above classification. One to three (1 to 3) course credits in one 14-week term or one (1) credit in Short Term may be taken in Internships. An Internship may be either a departmental or a General Studies offering and is numbered 395 for sophomores and juniors and 495 for seniors. Every departmental-rubric Internship proposal requires the approval of two faculty sponsors and the department assumes the responsibility for determining credit allowance. General Studies Internship proposals require the approval of two faculty sponsors, and the Coordinator of Internships assumes responsibility for determining credit allowance. The Coordinator of Internships gives final approval for Internship proposals. Applications for Internships can be obtained from the Coordinator of Internships or found in the #Internships public folder on MS Outlook. By Faculty action, all approved Internships will meet the ALE Requirement in the General Education curriculum.

Directed Study

A Directed Study is a full-credit course organized and directed by Faculty and approved by the Department Chairperson or the Program Coordinator/Director to meet the particular interests and/or needs of specific students. The course is numbered 398 or 498 and is available as student interest and faculty availability allow.

Undergraduate Research

Berea College students can take advantage of a number of on- and off-campus opportunities to engage in a mentor-apprentice summer undergraduate research experience, including those funded by Berea’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects Program (URCPP), or by the Appalachian College Association (ACA) and other external sources.

The goals of the Berea-funded URCPP, similar to research projects funded from other resources, include:

1. to enhance student learning by providing opportunities for the engagement of challenging, collaborative and directed projects in an apprentice-mentor relationship with faculty;
2. to foster student-faculty interaction in creative work;
3. to help students understand the critical interplay between collaboration and independent thought and action in any team effort to engage a complex, open-ended project;
4. to enhance students’s communication skills;
5. to provide experience that would be helpful to students who wish to pursue subsequent research and learning/creative opportunities (e.g., off-campus, summer research programs, or international learning opportunities); and
6. to allow students to build their self-confidence to pursue careers and further study beyond Berea; and
7. to supply experience that will help students make informed career and graduate school decisions.

In addition to the valuable research experience gained, students participating in a full-time (minimum of 8-10 weeks, 40 hours per week) URCPP- or other department-approved summer undergraduate research project may request to be registered by the Office of Academic Services for UGR 010 (for URCPP-funded projects) or UGR 020 (for other department-approved projects), which will result in earning a grade of “S” or “U” and will appear on the student’s college transcript as “Undergraduate Research.”

During that Summer Term, except for UGR 010 or UGR 020, students participating in a URCPP-funded project are not permitted to enroll simultaneously in any other course either at Berea or elsewhere.

In other words, students are not permitted to take any course other than UGR 010 or UGR 020 AND participate in the URCPP-funded project during the same Summer Term, except for UGR 010 or UGR 020. While no academic credit can be earned for this research experience, students who earn a grade of “S” in UGR 010 or UGR 020 can earn one of their three required Short Term credits for one such experience during their years at Berea College.