Directed Research
The primary purpose of a Directed Research course is for students to engage in faculty-mentored, research-project-based inquiry with the intent to make an original scholarly or artistic contribution. This is distinct from regular courses, where the primary purpose of the course is to explore particular disciplinary topics, subfields, or methods of the discipline(s) even though research may be used as a tool for that exploration. In the past, Independent Study has been used for both types of instruction. With Directed Research courses now available, research courses should all be offered as Directed Research and not as Independent Study. For departments and programs without a senior seminar, Directed Research may be used as a vehicle for students to develop their research-based senior comprehensive projects. Departments and programs with a senior seminar course may wish to use Directed Research and 490 in combination. For example, 490 might be a 2-unit course with a focus on communication of results while the DR course might be a 2-unit course with a focus on deriving those results.
If a department or program wishes to offer multiple levels of Directed Research, they should adhere to the following guidelines. The distinction between 100, 200 and 300 level Directed Research corresponds to the level of contribution expected of students, but note that specific skills and learning outcomes appropriate for each discipline should be clarified in the course descriptions and learning outcomes submitted for APC approval. A program may also choose to have only one level of Directed Research, in which case these distinctions do not apply.
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100: (novice) These are courses for students with little to no introductory coursework in the field. Students are expected to make contributions at the level of a novice which may include learning about the open questions in the field (unexplored areas of inquiry), the tools of inquiry and their application in the context of the project.
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200: (developing) These courses are for students with introductory coursework in the field. Students are expected to develop depth of understanding of the project, the open questions in the field (unexplored areas of inquiry), and the tools of inquiry and to apply them in the context of the project.
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300: (proficient) These courses are for students with substantial coursework in the field. Students are expected to be proficient in the areas of work involved in the project, in the open questions of the field (unexplored areas of inquiry), and in tools of inquiry and their applications in the context of the project. Students should be able to work more independently, to mentor novice students, and to begin to propose new areas of inquiry.
Student Course Credit: Directed Research courses may be 0-unit, 2-unit, or 4-unit courses.
Directed Research Courses are repeatable, with a limit of 4 units of Directed Research credit per semester. A student may not apply toward the degree more than a total number of 16 units combined of Independent Study, Internship, and Directed Research.
The expected hours for 2-unit and 4-unit Directed Research courses follows the Credit Hour Policy (roughly 3 hours per unit per week). The purpose of the 0-unit Directed Research course is to allow students to be paid for performing the research while still allowing a research course to appear on their transcript, and/or to repeat the course beyond allowed units accrued by Directed Research courses.