Individualized Studies in Sociology & Anthropology

In response to the varying needs, interests, and expertise of individual students and faculty members, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology provides means for students to pursue independent research, to design tutorials, to conduct fieldwork, to participate in an internship, or to expand upon specialized interests in other ways. To receive credit for individually designed projects, students must confer with a particular faculty member in the department and register for ANTH 450 or 470 or SOC 450 or 470. If they opt to participate in the Honors Program, they enroll in ANTH 460 or SOC 460. Note that students who want to be considered for the department's Honors Program should consult with a department faculty member in their junior year.  The department has established the following guidelines for internships and individualized studies:

1.  Internships and tutorials are negotiated between a student and a faculty member after careful consideration of the student's proposal, giving special attention to the student's past academic performance, level of motivation, self-discipline, and ability to work independently in unstructured situations.

2.  The number of individualized studies in the course of study for a given student will be limited to a maximum of three, only two of which may be internships.

3.  Only internship assignments that provide opportunity to go beyond previous learning are likely to be approved.

4.  Students who wish to do an internship should submit a proposal that includes explicit information concerning the learning opportunity and learning plan in the agency or institutional setting to which the student is to be assigned, a statement of the learning objectives of the student, evidence of official acceptance by the agency upon departmental approval, and the academic expectations and methods of evaluation of the faculty sponsor.

5.  Proposals from students who are on academic or social probation will not be considered.

6.  The faculty sponsor will determine the academic requirements (paper, journal, reading) for the internship.

7.  The prerequisites for approval of an internship or individualized study include two courses in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.  Suggested background courses for certain types of learning situations are as follows:  SOC 207 for an agency or institutional setting related to Juvenile or Criminal Justice or the field of corrections; SOC 206 or SOC 217 for an experiential learning setting related to Child Welfare or Family Services; SOC 302 or SOC 303 for a project which involves data collection, analyses, and/or interpretation; ANTH 103 or ANTH 105 for a student taking an anthropological internship or individualized study.

8.  Students doing internships or individualized studies should register for ANTH 450s or 470s or Sociology 450s or 470s or SOC 460.  Students who want to be considered for the Department's Honors Program are required to register for either Anthropology 460 or  Sociology 460.

9.  Students who are not majors in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology should submit a letter of recommendation from a major professor, faculty adviser, or departmental chair who has sufficient information to assess the student's motivation and aptitude for including experiential learning or individualized study in his/her course of study.

10.  The maximum number of individualized study/internship projects for which a given faculty member will serve as sponsor is normally three.

11.  Internships are graded S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).

12.  All internships must be coordinated through the Gettysburg College Center for Career Development.