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Courses
(Click here if you are pursuing an individualized minor rather than a major.)
As a student in the Individualized Major Program you will take courses from a variety of departments, including the IMP itself. The courses offered by the IMP are listed below. You are required to take three credit hours of IMP-X 490 for your final project. All other IMP courses are optional unless required for you individually by your admission committee.
What is independent study?
Most of the courses offered by the IMP are independent study. Independent-study courses (sometimes called "tutorials") are one-on-one classes created by special arrangement between a student and a faculty member. IMP students pursue independent study in order to supplement their regular course work and to complete the final project. Typically more than three-fourths of the total credit hours for graduation are in regular classroom courses and 10 to 15 credit hours are in independent study. Independent-study courses can range from a private course on campus to off-campus experiences including fieldwork and internships.
The IMP offers three different course numbers for independent study: X 390, X 473, and X 490. To determine which course number is appropriate for your situation, read the descriptions below or contact the IMP office.
Top of pageIMP-X473 Internships
IMP-X 473 is the course number for internships. If you plan to undertake an internship as part of your IMP major, please follow these guidelines:
- If the internship is your final project, please contact the IMP office for guidance before proceeding. We may advise you to register for X 490 instead of X 473.
- To obtain permission to enroll in IMP-X 473, you must submit an internship contract to the IMP office. After receiving the contract, the IMP office will contact your internship employer and ask them to supply a description of the internship, including duties, hours assigned, and duration of the work assignment, before permission will be granted.
- The maximum allowable credit for a single internship under IMP-X 473 is 3 hours; under special circumstances, you may petition the IMP director to be allowed more than 3 hours' credit. (In cases where an internship is part of your final project, additional credits can be added under IMP-X 490). The number of credit hours allowable relates to hours worked in the following way: 50 work hours equals 1 credit hour; 51-100 work hours equals 2 credit hours; 101-150 work hours equals 3 credit hours.
- During your internship you are required to submit weekly reflection papers to your sponsor(s) and to the IMP office.
- An internship evaluation form must be completed by your on-site supervisor and submitted to your sponsor(s) and the IMP office before a grade will be assigned. (X 473 is graded on an S/F basis.)
Before you decide to enroll in IMP-X473, please consider the following: Your internship is valuable for the experience it gives you, regardless of whether or not you receive college credit for it. (We recognize, however, that many internship employers insist that students receive academic credit for internships.) Enrolling in IMP-X473 costs money, just like enrolling in any other course; this is something to keep in mind particularly if your internship will take place during the summer when your enrollment won’t be covered under the flat fee. Internship credit does not count toward the requirement that 18 hours in your major be at the 300-400 level.
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IMP-X 490 Readings and Research
IMP-X 490 is the course number for final projects and other independent reading or research courses. Students receive letter grades for X 490. The number of credit hours received is equivalent to the work undertaken, with students typically earning 1-4 credit hours per enrollment. Your instructor for X 490 may be one of your sponsors or another faculty member your sponsor(s) recommend (if the enrollment does not cover your final project). It may be helpful for you and your chosen instructor to review the Guidelines for Independent Study Instructors while designing your independent study.
To obtain permission to enroll in X 490, submit a signed Independent Study Contract to the IMP office. If the enrollment is for your final project, submit a Final Project Contract instead.
If you wish to take two non-internship independent studies in the same semester, you should register for X 490 and X 390 (because the registration system will not permit you to register for two instances of X 490 at the same time).
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IMP-X 390 Readings and Research
IMP-X 390 is the same as X 490. If you wish to take two non-internship independent studies in the same semester, you should register for X 490 and X 390 (because the registration system will not permit you to register for two instances of X 490 at the same time). If you're only taking one independent study in a given semester, you should register for X 490.
To obtain permission to enroll in X 390, submit a signed Independent Study Contract to the IMP office.
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IMP-I 470 Senior Writing Workshop
The Senior Writing Workshop, IMP-I 470, is intended for seniors who are working on their IMP final projects. Unlike other IMP courses, it is not independent study. It is a one-credit, first-eight-weeks course conducted as a writing workshop. Students share information about their majors, peer-edit drafts of written documents such as the analytic essay and retrospective statement, and receive feedback on their writing from the course instructor.
To obtain permission to enroll in I 470, contact the IMP office. No contract is necessary.
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