PRWR 7950. MAPW Directed Study (Repeatable once)

Prerequisite: Admission to the MAPW program, or permission of the Graduate Program Director, PRWR 6000, and a graduate course in the field of the directed study.

An intensive, advanced investigation of selected topics deriving from individual course of study. The content will be determined jointly by the instructor, the student, and the student’s advisor. The proposed course of study must be submitted to the Graduate Director by a deadline published each term for MAPW Committee approval.

After consulting with the advisor and the instructor and gaining their support for the proposed directed study, students must submit a proposal for approval of the directed study to the MAPW Committee. The Committee includes the MAPW Graduate Director, two MAPW faculty members (one from applied writing, one from composition and rhetoric, one from creative writing, and one at-large member) and the Department Chair ex officio. Two members of the MAPW committee will review each proposal (on a rotating basis) and will advise the Program Director about the status of the proposal.

The MAPW Directed Study must meet the following criteria:

1. The content in the directed study will not substantially overlap an existing course in the MAPW curriculum.
2. Because the directed study is an "advanced" course, the student must demonstrate how it relates to his or her previous course work in the MAPW program.
3. Because it carries three hours of graduate credit, the content and writing and reading requirements of the directed study must be equivalent to those of other courses in the MAPW curriculum.
4. The directed study may not be undertaken for thesis or portfolio preparation per se.

Deadline for submission to the MAPW Graduate Director:

Four weeks before the last day of class of the preceding semester, as noted in the Schedule of Classes.

Proposal contents:

The proposal should look like a course syllabus and must include the following:

1. Identifying information: Student's name, course and number, semester hours credit, KSU instructor, and a descriptive title. The title will appear on the transcript.
2. Reading list: Complete bibliographic entries
3. Description of the course: Detailed description of the course
4. Objectives, rationale, and justification for the course: In addition to a list of specific writing and reading objectives, this section should explain how the directed study relates to the student's previous course work, fits into the student's MAPW program of study, and extends it.
5. Detailed weekly schedule of activities, readings, projects, and writing assignments.
6. Basis for evaluation and final grade determination. The final product of the course should be of a quality that could be presented to faculty and students at a colloquium.

Procedure for submission and approval:

1. The student should consult with the instructor and the MAPW advisor about the rationale and content of the course of directed study you plan to propose.
2. The student should prepare the course description and syllabus in consultation with the instructor.
3. The student must present six copies of the cover sheet and the detailed proposal and syllabus to the MAPW Graduate Director. If time permits, the MAPW Committee will consider the proposal at a meeting to which the instructor may be invited to answer questions about the proposal. Otherwise, committee members will make their recommendations to one another, the instructor, and the Graduate Director via e-mail.
4. If the MAPW Committee suggests revisions, the student should consult with the instructor and the advisor about the revisions before re-submitting the proposal to the MAPW Graduate Director for the Committee's re-consideration.

Registering for PRWR 7950:

After the MAPW Committee approves the proposal, the student must submit one copy of the signed cover sheet and a copy of the syllabus at registration in order to register for the course. Students may register for PRWR 7950 during any phase of the registration period.