Taking an Undergraduate Course for Graduate Credit

A student may take one 400-level (senior) class for graduate credit.

As with the directed study, this opportunity is reserved for very special circumstances and should not be taken to circumvent regular course requirements or to accommodate the student’s convenience. A student may not substitute an undergraduate class for a course that is taught regularly in the graduate rotation. As with the directed study, this option is available only to students who have been admitted into the English Graduate Program in regular admission status and who have completed English 697, Methods of Research and Bibliography.

Arranging to Take an Undergraduate Class for Graduate Credit

A student who wishes to take a senior-level course for graduate credit must propose doing so  during the advisement period in the semester before attending the class. Early in the term, the Director of Graduate Studies typically sends out an announcement to all students notifying them of the deadline.

In order to arrange to take an undergraduate course for graduate credit, follow these steps:

• Procure permission from the instructor of the 400-level class in question. The instructor typically supplies the student with a course syllabus.

• Write up a well-developed proposal that addresses the following:

• Explain in detail your reasons for taking the class under the proposed circumstances and your projected goals: How will taking this class contribute to your intellectual growth as a graduate student?

• Explain in detail the work that you will do beyond that expected for undergraduates to make this course graduate-level work.

• Present a detailed bibliography of works that you will read during the course, with special attention to the works that you will read beyond those prescribed for the undergraduates in the class.
  
  You yourself must write up the proposal, not merely use the instructor’s syllabus.

• Print off and sign the Undergraduate Course for Graduate Credit Proposal Form. Ask the class instructor to sign the form.  

• Submit the course proposal, with the required approval sheet bearing the instructor’s signature, to the Graduate Studies Committee for review. Attach the course syllabus, if the instructor has provided one. The GSC will make a report to the Chair, recommending that the proposal be approved or rejected.

You must submit the proposal during the previous term.