University of Southern Maine

Course Description: To provide students the opportunity to pursue a project independently by
planning and exploring an area of interest within the field of adult education and/or human resource development. The project must be field-based, intellectually sound, and reflect a high caliber of performance. Specific content and methods of evaluation will be determined in conjunction with the faculty supervisor. An approved proposal is a necessary prerequisite to registration. Open to matriculated graduate students only.

The major goal of this course is to provide individuals with an opportunity to undertake an intensive and focused study in a field setting. Although it may involve some library research it will be oriented primarily towards an experience that has a direct application to a field setting. Typical examples would be:

• developing a curriculum for EMT training
• developing a training program for volunteers at Maine Medical Center
• conducting a research study on the efficacy of staff development centers.

Support Seminar. All students taking HRD 698-Directed Study, HRD 699-Independent Study, HRD 687-Internship, or HRD 685-CAS Completion Project in Adult Learning are enrolled in a support seminar that meets during the semester for the purpose of providing a regular group context within which to discuss progress, problems, and related issues associated with learning in these field-based and self-directed learning courses.

Each member of the support seminar will be asked to provide regular updates of her/his work. Occasionally, didactic sessions may be offered on areas of common interests to members and common readings will frame some discussions.

Dates for the support seminar are set in advance, typically five sessions are held each semester, although more may be appropriate depending on the nature of the group. One-on-one meetings between the participants and faculty supervisor are also strongly encouraged.

Directed Study Proposal. Prior to registration, a Directed Study Proposal click here for proposal guidelines (PDF) form must be approved by the student's advisor, the course instructor, and the department chairperson click here for the approval form (PDF). The approved proposal will be placed in the individual's department file, with one copy provided to the faculty supervisor.

Directed Studies must be supervised by graduate faculty or adjunct graduate faculty. In most instances, directed studies will be organized as a regular course for registration purposes. This will require a minimum of 30 credit hours for the course to be handled in this manner. There will be a limit of 10 students per course. If there are too few credit hours for a course, faculty are restricted to supervising no more than three directed study projects at one time. Faculty may not supervise directed study projects for non-matriculated students.

Matriculated graduate students may earn up to six (6) credit hours of Directed Study in their program of study with approval of their advisor.