The Department of East Asian Studies offers independent study (Eac 497/597, Eaj 497/597, Eak497) only under the following conditions:

1. The student must be a declared major (not a minor!) in the Department.

2. All proposed independent study course work in this department must

involve advanced language study. “Advanced” in this case means

reading texts in Chinese, Japanese or Korean at an advanced level beyond what

is currently offered by the Department.

An Independent Study is decidedly NOT any of the following:

· A way to fill out your schedule with a few extra credits

· Something to take because you’re not interested in the regularly scheduled language class

· A class you can skip

· A class to which you can come unprepared

If a student is interested in independent study, he/she should do the following:

· First, make sure that you are already a declared major in the Department of East Asian Studies.

· Second, make sure that your proposed course of independent study involves reading texts in Chinese, Japanese or Korean at an advanced level beyond what is currently offered by the Department.

· Third, make an appointment with the appropriate faculty member to discuss your proposed course of independent study. When you come to this meeting, you should have a carefully written syllabus IN HAND that explains to the faculty member what the reading material will be, how often you will meet, on what basis you will be graded, appropriate deadlines for assignments and/or exams, and (most importantly) evidence that you have the linguistic ability to complete the project (i.e., you know how to use advanced dictionaries and do high-level research in East Asian Studies). If you do not have these skills, it is recommended that you take EAS205 before requesting an independent study.

NOTE: Independent Study is HARD WORK, much more so than a regularly scheduled class. Faculty reserve the right to say “no” to any and all requests for Independent Study. Students should understand that an Independent Study takes precious faculty time and resources, and returns absolutely NOTHING to the faculty save the joy of teaching an enthusiastic student. It is the STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY to structure the Independent Study, to stay on schedule, to attend ALL scheduled meetings, and complete all assignments on time.

If your proposed course of independent study is accepted by a faculty member in the Department of East Asian Studies, you will need to obtain a special number in order to register for Eac/Eaj/Eak 497/597. These numbers are available from the Chair.