Independent Study

One of the best indicators of learning is your ability to reason independently and to pursue projects of your own. Knox students experience this firsthand as 90% of them complete an independent research or creative project by the time they graduate.

Independent study is used to enrich Knox's academic program by providing you with opportunities for study that cannot be pursued in regular courses or classroom settings. While many classes require research papers or projects, independent study is something larger, and the possibilities are endless.

While it's true that, from time to time a professor might approach a student with an idea for an independent study, what's more likely to happen is that the project will come from you.

These experiences arise in a number of ways:

• Perhaps a topic covered in one of your classes so intrigued you that you approach a professor with a proposal to pursue it on your own for credit (.5 or 1.0) during the following term.
• Maybe you're interested in science; many science professors have laboratory research programs that involve several different students, each pursuing independently their own particular aspect of the professor's general research.
• The "Open Studio" term in the Art Department provides you a term-long experience to work full-time on projects.
• In the area of history you'll find your resources priceless as you could work on a project based on one of the historical document collections in Seymour Library's Special Collections.
• As a Literature student, you may develop a literary analysis project focused on a particular writer or genre.
• Social science might be your area of interest where you could interview Galesburg residents for a study of the local economy.

Knox has a number of special programs to support independent academic projects including:

• The Honors Program
• Richter Fellowships
• Ford Fellowship Program
• The Ronald E. McNair Program