Independent Study

Students who wish to apply for an Independent Study should first enlist the sponsorship of a UHS faculty member or, in some cases, the supervision of an adult off-campus. Students should indicate their interest in pursuing Independent Study through a conversation with their mentor. Students must complete a proposal describing the motivation, scope, and goal of the study (see proposal checklist at the bottom). Proposals are due shortly following the Grace Period of either semester. The relevant academic department will then review the proposals and contact students with approval or questions and comments. First semester students who wish to pursue their Independent Study during the second semester must re-apply.

Students may apply for full semester credit for projects that will require approximately four hours of work per week, and for half-semester credit for projects that will require approximately two hours of work per week. All Independent Studies must be undertaken on a credit/no credit basis, with the possible exception of TA-ships and certain faculty-led seminars. Independent Studies receiving full semester credit must culminate in a formal presentation of some kind - either at the Independent Study symposium, by submitting a significant essay for publication in the Independent Study Compendium, or by some other public presentation approved by the sponsor. In all cases, the student is responsible for meeting regularly with the sponsor, while the sponsor is responsible for writing Progress Reports and for assigning credit. Following is a description of the categories available for Independent Study:

Project: This category encompasses all projects for which the student has designed the curriculum, including research, performances, studio work, and the teaching responsibility for student seminars. Students are asked to identify a "milestone task" that they will have completed by the fifth week of the semester, as a check on the viability of the plan. If they are unsuccessful at completing that task the project will be terminated and will not appear on their record.
Seminar: This category includes all independent work in which the curriculum is set by someone other than the student. This would include participation in a student production, the creation of a one-time elective course of study with a teacher, and enrollment in a seminar led by another student. Seminars may only be led by a UHS student or faculty.
TA: At minimum, TAs are expected to attend all classes and, with the direction of the teacher, design a job description that will be of value to the students in the course as well as develop the Teaching Assistant's own knowledge and skills within the discipline. Students interested in this category of work should start by identifying a teacher. The student's schedule may have to be adjusted to make time to attend the course they will be assisting in.
Off-Campus Coursework: This program enables students to receive credit for approved courses taken at another institution during the normal school year. The student must provide a course description, an accounting of the work to be accomplished, and an agreement by the instructor to write progress reports and provide grades.
Career Internship: This program allows students to explore career opportunities in professional fields beyond the school, including law, medicine, politics, business, architecture, community work, etc. An internship involves the close supervision by a sponsor who is a qualified professional and may not result in compensation of any kind. Students may enroll in a Career Internship on a credit or no-credit basis only.
Senior Project: This category includes "Projects" undertaken by seniors in the Spring semester which 1) pursue a long-term interest or talent which has been the subject of a previous class or study; and 2) result in a final exhibition (presentation or product) of significant stature that is shared with the community. Senior Projects may count as one course in the normal five course requirement and must be sponsored by a UHS faculty or Staff Member. Senior project proposals are due in late October for the following semester. For a more detailed description, please click here.

Below are some examples of Independent Study at UHS

Featured Independent Studies!

Fantasy Creative Writing (David '21)

As the third straight semester of Independently Studying fantasy creative writing, I continued working on a full-length fantasy story. The best way to sum up the experience would be "writing a novel is hard." By navigating the challenges of characterization, pacing, and dialogue, I gained the stamina needed to keep writing from day to day.
With the start of quarantine, I put the story on hold and pivoted toward writing a script (for me, scripts are a bit easier to write without absolute concentration). Both works are shared below.

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Earth Day Every Day: My Environmental Blog (Leila '21)

I have created this environmental blog so that I can share the knowledge I have accrued over the past year from my renewable energy and energy efficiency independent study and hopefully inspire some people to evoke environmental changes in their daily lives and in their communities.

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Philosophy and Psychology of Human Cognition (Frank '21)

At the beginning of the semester, I read and responded to most of the papers in a Philosophy of Mind course list. Toward the middle, I started engaging with an assortment of cognitive science and psychology papers, but quickly moved on to exploring various thinkers' ideas on justice. I became fascinated by how humans make moral judgments, particularly regarding justice. For this project, I wrote a paper on the underlying assumptions about the fundamental human desires made in Jeremy Bentham's version of utilitarianism. I look for its strong and weak points and propose an alternate idea of the fundamental desires of humanity, and more broadly, existence.

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Alcoholism and Photography (Athena '21)

This book aims to explore alcoholism and the effects it can have on families, particularly children. Children of alcoholics often struggle with low self esteem, an inability to stand up for themselves, and the loss of their childhood. The photographs in this book are inspired by both my own experiences and the experiences of others who have grown up with alcoholic parents.

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No Place Like Home: The Nuclear Family Through Horror (Hayden '20 and Devan '20)

From the genre’s very roots in Gothic and Romantic fiction, horror has existed to explore and dramatize cultural anxieties. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, for instance, often recognized as one of the foundations of horror, can be seen as a visceral reaction to the scientific developments of the nineteenth century. In a manner reminiscent of its origins, horror is making a comeback as a medium for social commentary, exemplified by Jordan Peele’s landmark 2017 film Get Out. Inspired by a recent deluge of successful, thought-provoking horror films, we worked to analyze representations of the family in horror in order to track their congruence with the social developments we studied in American history.

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A Social, Historical, and Culinary Exploration of 10 Symbols of French Pâtisserie (Isabella H. '21)

After having already run out of options for French classes to take at UHS, I wanted to find a way to continue studying French and not lose my fluency while also combining it with something I was passionate about: baking. I decided to conduct an exploration of French pâtisserie through a cultural and literary lens, by researching the history and evolution of ten French pastries, some well-known and some little-known. These included the madeleine, the religieuse, the Paris-Brest, the galette des rois, the marquise, the bûche de noël, the éclair, the millefeuille, the macaron, and the gâteau napoléon. Each week, I researched a specific pastry as well as a related historical or literary subject, ranging from Marcel Proust’s famous exceptionally long description of the experience of eating a single madeleine, to how French pâtisserie has adapted to increasing globalization and modernization, including for instance rethinking traditional methods to suit a vegan (or “végétalien”) diet, and the incorporation of CBD in baking.

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Habits of Mind: Bullet Journaling and Mental Health (Emilia '21)

Bullet Journaling is a practice of journaling meant to promote mindfulness, productivity, and organization through a standardized methodology that, since its inception, has become a global movement. Through studying the system and journaling for three months, I learned about how I work, procrastinate, and self-motivate. Overall, Bullet Journaling helped me learn about how habits of mind can improve mental health.

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The History of Reproductive Politics and Healthcare (Elizabeth '21)

This independent study explored the history of reproductive politics and healthcare through six different books. The first two books of the project provided a broad and expansive history from many different perspectives (legal, feminist, religious, sociologist, and contemporary). This comprehensive background allowed us to explore specific aspects of reproductive politics in the following four books. Some of these topics included the women's health industry, welfare reform, the development of the reproductive justice framework, and the abortion ban in El Salvador.

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