For those students who are interested in pursuing an independent study or directed reading, we have compiled the following information for your reference. Please note that proposals, to be accompanied by a prospectus and your project advisor’s signature, must be submitted in the term before you plan to complete the course. Deadlines are as follows:
Spring 2024 project proposals due November 6 at Noon
Fall 2024 project proposals due April 2 at Noon
Be sure to schedule a meeting with potential advisors a month before the proposal deadline.
ENGL 487 Tutorial in Writing
A writing tutorial in fiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, or nonfiction for students who have already taken writing courses at the intermediate and advanced levels. Conducted with a faculty member after approval by the director of undergraduate studies. Proposals must be submitted to the DUS in the previous term.
Prerequisite: two courses in writing.
ENGL 488 Special Projects for Juniors and Seniors
Special projects set up by the student in an area of particular interest with the help of a faculty adviser and the director of undergraduate studies, intended to enable the student to cover material not otherwise offered by the department. The course may be used for research or for directed reading, but in either case a term paper or its equivalent is normally required. The student meets regularly with the faculty adviser. Proposals must be signed by the faculty adviser and submitted to the DUS in the previous term.
ENGL 489 The Creative Writing Concentration Senior Project
A term-long project in writing, under tutorial supervision, aimed at producing a single longer work (or a collection of related shorter works). The writing concentration accepts students with demonstrated commitment to creative writing at the end of the junior year or, occasionally, in the first term of senior year. Proposals for the writing concentration should be submitted during the designated sign-up period in the term before enrollment is intended. The project is due by the end of the last week of classes (fall term), or the end of the next-to-last week of classes (spring term).
ENGL 489 Proposal Form and Further Details about the CWC
ENGL 490 The Senior Essay
Students wishing to undertake an independent senior essay in English must submit a proposal to the DUS in the previous term. For one-term senior essays, the essay itself is due in the office of the director of undergraduate studies according to the following schedule: (1) end of the fourth week of classes: five to ten pages of writing and/or an annotated bibliography; (2) end of the ninth week of classes: a rough draft of the complete essay; (3) end of the last week of classes (fall term) or end of the next-to-last week of classes (spring term): the completed essay. Consult the director of undergraduate studies regarding the schedule for submission of the yearlong senior essay.
ENGL 490 Proposal Form and Further Details about the Senior Essay
ENGL 491 The Senior Essay II
Second term of the optional yearlong senior essay. Students may begin the yearlong essay in the spring term of the junior year, allowing for significant summer research, with permission of the instructor. Students must submit a proposal to the DUS in the previous term.