Section 400: Academic Affairs
403.4 Curriculum: Special Studies & Experimental Courses
Effective: February 1, 1980

Policy

The following guideline explain requirements and standards with respect to approval of 290, 390, 490, 590 (Special Topics), 299, 399, 499, 599 (Individual Studies).

Guidelines

Experimental or Special Topic Undergraduate Courses.

1. 290 and 390 are numbers reserved for special topics or experimental courses. Departments who wish to experiment with new subject matter, to meet demands voiced by the community, etc. will use these numbers.
2. Initial approval to offer a 290 or 390 course must be secured from the office of the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs before it appears in the schedule of classes. Request for approval will require all pertinent data about the course: a description of the content, the number of units, the reason for offering it, etc. Subsequent approval for the same course must be secured from the appropriate school dean.
3. A 290 or 390 course may be offered for a maximum of three semesters, consecutively. A course offered more that once must be evaluated during the second semester by the departmental curriculum committee for possible inclusion in the regular departmental curriculum, after which standard procedures for the approval of new courses is to be followed.
4. No department may ordinarily offer more than two courses under the 290 or 390 numbers in any one semester (with exception of Continuing Education and Summer Session).
5. Department may not offer under the 290 or 390 numbers courses which have been disapproved by the College-wide Curriculum Committee, nor subject matter which infringes on or duplicates the offerings of other departments.

Experimental or Special Topic Graduate Courses.

1. Graduate courses carrying 590 numbers are comparable to undergraduate 390 courses. This number is to be used for graduate level courses that are experimental in nature or that are known as "Special Topics" courses that vary from academic semester to academic semester or professor to professor.
2. Departments wishing to offer 590 courses must submit their request through regular school channels to the Director of Education and Graduate Programs in advance of the copy deadlines for the schedule of classes. Approval to offer such courses are for "one time only"; additional approvals will be expected for repeated offerings.

Individual Studies Undergraduate Courses.

1. Under the 299, 399, or 499 numbers a single student pursues independent work under the supervision of a faculty member.
2. Credit for 299, 399, or 499 will range from 1 to 6 units. Only 6 units total may be counted toward a student's graduation. Only under extraordinary circumstances will more than 6 units be counted and then by petition.
3. 299, 399, or 499 should be restricted to students who either major or minor in the department or school in which it is taken. Under unusual circumstances, however, such as the necessity to complete a single unit of general education in order to graduate, general students may be accommodated.

Graduate Individual Studies Courses.

1. 599 courses are intended for individual study or research -- not for class type instruction. Permission for graduate students to enroll in 599 work presupposes prior approval by the supervising professor of the project or special study to be undertaken. Such approval should be based on a preliminary plan or proposal of its intended nature, duration, and depth.
2. Departmental graduate advisors are expected to maintain adequate records of 599 enrollments and credits.
3. 599 enrollments may range form 1 to 6 units. Exception to this limitation should be requested by petition to the Director of Graduate Studies.
   

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