University of Virginia Library

Independent Study

Independent study is learning in which
there are no goals or requirements, other than
the ones students set for themselves. It is an
opportunity to explore new areas and discover
previously unrealized abilities; to learn in an
environment where the necessity to achieve
certain goals does not interfere with the
student's desires to pursue his own interests.
There is a time when all people want to study
in the direction of their whims; the
restrictions of most contemporary institutions
tend to hinder the student when this time
comes, and can act as a prison to the
imagination.

The problems involved in setting up an
independent study program as a facet of a
credit system can be a block to its
establishment. Integration of non-graded,
non-time oriented independent study with
graded, measured-time class study, and the
difficulties or providing satisfactory advisory
aid for students studying alone, can in fact
prove to be deciding factors in killing a
program for independent study.

Independent study is a method of learning
which today exists mainly outside the
educational structure. There are few schools
offering real possibilities in independent
study; it is significant that the chance for it
draws many students away from the large
universities, despite their excellent faculties
and cosmopolitan atmospheres, to small
liberal arts colleges where the freedom to
choose a program for oneself outweighs the
limited facilities, cultural outlets, and kinds
and numbers of people.

We believe that it is especially appropriate
for students to be reminded of some of the
opportunities available for independent study
now. Within the next week all undergraduates
will be working out their schedules for next
year and, in the case of those declaring their
majors, for the next two or three years. The
average student does not realize the number
of independent study programs already open
to him.

For the undergraduate, perhaps the
greatest free area of independent study is in
the Echols Scholar Program. Of course, this
option is only open to a small group of
students from each class who, in a sense, serve
as guinea pigs for the faculty in determining
the direction of the academic program for the
rest of the students. As the result of recent
action by the faculty, the Echols program has
become one of the most "liberal" in the
country. Scholars are required to complete
120 hours of courses or their equivalent (the
key phrase) and are encouraged to spend a
year away from the University on some or
of special project of the student's own
choosing.

Unfortunately most students do not have
the liberty of the Scholars, but with the new
curriculum they do have more opportunities
for independent study than ever before. The
University Major allows the student to devise
a major program of study of his own choosing
under the supervision of the Dean of Special
Scholars, Marcus Mallet, which may include
courses and directed readings from any
number of departments.

Many students will be surprised at the
accessibility and openness of many members
of the faculty when approached for guidance
with independent research. Many departments
will allow and give credit to a student who
wishes to do some sort of independent study
under the tutelage of a single professor. This
type of study could be graded or might be
taken under the new pass-fail system.

Many departments in the College have
some type of honors program to which a
student may apply. These programs give the
student much more freedom to "follow his
own nose." In most of these honors options
the student is encouraged to dig deeply into
what interests him and not to be tied to a
rigid program of lectures, readings, and
discussions.

If you are getting tired of the old grinding
day to day lecture cycle, we urge you to go to
the individual departments or the dean's
office to discover how you might better make
use of your academic experience. There is no
need to rot in a boring and rigid academic
syndrome.

Further we ask the faculty to continue its
work with independent study and to expand
it as much as possible since so many students
do feel that it provides valuable opportunities
for in depth exploration of individual
academic interests.