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L&S Directed Study Course Limits

The following section gives information to L&S departments and L&S undergraduate students regarding the use of directed study courses and fulfilling major requirements.

The College of Letters & Science departments and programs have the discretion to establish requirements related to the extent to which Directed Study experiences "count" in the academic programs for which they are responsible.  In other words, L&S departments/program have the authority to limit the number of directed study/independent study credits students can count toward completion of major/program requirements.  Departments/majors may also define limits based on level of directed study courses taken or on the number of directed study courses that may be repeated with one instructor.

  • Since L&S does not allow directed study courses to meet general requirements (e.g., breadth, foreign language [BA/BS non-English language requirement], GER, etc.), it can be assumed that L&S does not endorse using directed study courses to meet major requirements except for elective coursework.
  • L&S departments/programs have the authority to set limits on the level and amount of directed study that may be used to meet major requirements.
  • Directed study courses should not be used to substitute for group instruction courses that meet other requirements (e.g., allowing a student's individual research experience to substitute for a more comprehensive course in research methods required by a department).
  • Directed Study is available on either a credit /no credit (e.g., 198, 698) or graded (e.g., 299, 699) basis.
  • Directed Study courses are graded on an A-F basis. Students cannot take directed study courses on a pass/fail basis.
 
Contact L&S Student Academic Affairs with further questions: 
Phone: (608) 262-0617
Email: lsdeans@saa.ls.wisc.edu


Keywords:
directed study, independent study, L&S major requirements, directed study limits, credit limit, maximum directed study number, foreign language, L&S Language requirement 
Doc ID:
44775
Owned by:
Tori R. in L&S KB
Created:
2014-11-10
Updated:
2024-02-09
Sites:
L&S KB