Independent Studies

In order to qualify for a New College Independent Study course, you must either be a New College student OR enrolled in a New College Program.

There are no specific prerequisites. However, you must have the appropriate background knowledge and preparation required to complete the project. For example, a student without lab experience should not apply for a chemistry project involving extensive laboratory work. And we normally expect you to be in your third or fourth year (i.e. completed 9 full course credits).

While there is no minimum GPA required, students are expected to be in good academic standing.  Your academic record will be assessed for strength and depth in the area of the proposed study.

Supervisors must be a member of the faculty at the University of Toronto, i.e. a professor or a lecturer. Sessional instructors are not eligible to be supervisors.

No. But New College independent study courses are intended as opportunities for research: the project should involve posing appropriate questions, application of relevant research methods, critical analysis and reporting of results, originality and independent investigation.

We advise supervisors that the expected amount of work should be about the same as in an equivalent regular course. But you should be aware that the time you spend is very much up to you, and that most students find these courses highly interesting and can often put in more hours than they might in a regular course.

No. The amount of work, and the time needed to read the literature, gather data or ideas, do an appropriate critical analysis and write a good report precludes doing a full year project in one term. These are special experiences, and should not be rushed.

No. Students are expected to find an appropriate supervisor for their intended project

Download the Independent Studies Application Form and submit it via e-mail to nc.undergradadmin@utoronto.ca. When you have completed your proposal and obtained the required signatures, return it to the Programs Office (see deadlines below). Once your project has been reviewed and approved, you will be enrolled in the course by the Programs Office. You will receive a confirmation letter and a copy of the Independent Study contract in the mail.

Applications for Winter session courses must be received by the last Friday in August; for Summer session courses, applications must be received by May 1st. This allows time for the proposal to be reviewed and for you to make revisions to the proposal if necessary. Applications received after these deadlines may be approved (subject to Faculty of Arts & Science deadlines), but students will not have the opportunity to revise their proposals if they are not approved.

The course marking scheme must fall within Faculty of Arts & Science guidelines, and, for “H” courses, include a minimum of 10% by the drop date set by the Faculty of Arts & Science. For “Y” courses, the marking scheme must include a minimum of 20% by the end of the first week of classes in January.  For Summer Session courses, the marking scheme must include 10% for “H” courses and 20% for “Y” courses by the drop date.  Additionally, a final written paper/essay/report worth at least 50% is required (around 30 pages for “Y” courses or 15 pages for “H” courses). A copy of this report must be given to the Programs Office at the end of the project.

Your proposal should include a brief description of your topic, the question you are investigating, and the methodology that will be used.

Your final paper is graded by your supervisor. We keep copies of your final report on file only as a record of the work completed and in case of petitions or other concerns that might arise.

No. Independent Study courses provide the opportunity to do research with a faculty supervisor. They are not meant to duplicate established courses.

No. The signature indicates that the director, principal or chair is aware of the faculty member’s involvement in the project and agrees to it. Proposals missing any of the signatures will be considered incomplete.

A second project course may be approved if you can demonstrate that it is significantly different from the first one and it is with a different supervisor. If you are applying for a second project course, you must include a description of the first project course and the supervisor’s name. By “project course” we mean any independent study or research course, including but not limited to NEW390Y, 391H, 490Y and 491H.