Independent Study Guidelines

Registration Process

Registration in Independent Study is not guaranteed. Students must gain pre-approval from the Professor or Study Supervisor and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs through a form submission. The Registration pre-approval form opens approximately two weeks prior to the opening of registration. The deadline for submission is one week prior to the start of each term.

Generally, the minimum length of paper should be as follows:

  • One Credit: 25 double-spaced pages
  • Two Credits: 40 double-spaced pages

JD students may earn 1-2 credits for independent study work.

These totals are without the footnotes. For measuring purposes, use Courier, 12-point type with 1″ margins. If another typeface is used, make appropriate adjustments in calculation.

Subject matter is to be determined by the Professor or Study Supervisor and the student, within an appropriate academic scope of legal education and, if relevant, the focus of the applicable graduate degree program.

Ordinarily, there should be an initial draft, which the Professor or Study Supervisor reviews; a revision, which the Professor or Study Supervisor also reviews; and a third draft or later draft, which the Professor or Study Supervisor accepts as the final paper. Additional intermediate drafts are not precluded.

Here is an example of a workable schedule that the student and Professor or Study Supervisor should develop:

  • Mid-September (Mid-February): The student should prepare a rough outline of the paper. The student and the Professor or Study Supervisor should meet to discuss the availability of sources, research strategies, and to suggest other possible avenues of research.
  • Mid-October (Mid-March): The student should prepare a draft of the paper. The student and the Professor or Study Supervisor should meet again to discuss writing and citation styles and address any questions/problems that the student may encounter in putting the research into writing.
  • Mid-November (Mid-April): The student and the Professor or Study Supervisor should meet and the student should be prepared to present and discuss the paper with the Professor or Study Supervisor in an advanced draft form. At the discretion of the Professor or Study Supervisor, other faculty members, scholars, reference librarians, writing advisors, or outside commentators may be present to assist the student in developing final changes to the paper.

JD Students: Both the Professor or Study Supervisor supervising the independent study project and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs must approve the project. The final paper must be turned in to both the faculty member and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs by the approved due date in order for credit to be given for the project.