DIRECTED STUDY AGREEMENT

How to develop a Directed Study proposal
Instructions for students

1.Please note: The Academic Dean is unlikely to approve a Directed Study in an area of research that is already covered by an existing course at AST.

2.Directed Studies are meant primarily to provide course credits needed by AST students who, in their final year of studies, require certain courses to graduate.

3.A secondary purpose of Directed Studies is to permit AST students to pursue an area of research that is not normally covered by the AST curriculum. A Directed Study can be attached to a special learning opportunity such as attending a conference. Directed Studies organized through AST are only for AST students.

4.Consult with your Faculty Advisor regarding your proposed Directed Study and how it will assist you to meet your degree requirements and learning goals.

5.If a Directed Study is appropriate, approach an AST Faculty member (full-time or part-time) and request that she/he serve as your Directed Study director. If you require a director who is not an AST Faculty member, please consult with your Faculty Advisor about possible options.

6.Develop a learning covenant/prospectus with your Directed Study director. See sample below.

7.Complete the Directed Study Agreement form (see below) with your Directed Study director.

8.Submit this form at least three weeks before the Directed Study is scheduled to begin.

9.Once the Academic Dean has reviewed your proposal, you will be notified if the Directed Study has been approved.

10.The Directed Study will be added to your academic registration in the term in which the Directed Study begins (Winter term=Jan-Apr; Summer term=June-July; Fall term=Sept-Dec).

11.Tuition for Directed Studies is the regular course rate. The senior citizen tuition reduction does not apply to Directed Studies.

DIRECTED STUDIES AT ATLANTIC SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

Members of the Faculty are available to students wishing to engage in programs of Directed Study, but not to the detriment of the Faculty’s availability for the School’s public curriculum or of their own need to pursue research and development.

A Directed Study has as its purpose the provision of an opportunity for a student to concentrate on a particular concern or to pursue a special topic of interest that does not fall under the terms or description of an already established course. If the concern or topic duplicates or falls within the scope of an established course, it may not be chosen as the focus of a Directed Study.

Students interested in a Directed Study should speak first to their Faculty Advisor about their plans, then approach directly the Faculty member whom they believe could supervise them in such a Study.

A written prospectus or learning covenant for the Directed Study, prepared by the student together with the Faculty member directed the Study, must be submitted in this form before the Directed Study begins.

The demands of Directed Studies should be equivalent of those made in a course for which the same academic credit would be given. The written proposal submitted to the Dean should clearly indicate that this is the case.

Directed Studies are counted in the academic registration of a student. Should a Directed Study create a course overload, students should take the necessary steps to secure approval for such overload before beginning the Directed Study.

The student must submit this form at least three weeks before the Directed Study is scheduled to begin.

The academic term of the Directed Study is determined by the start date of the Directed Study, and is registered and billed accordingly.