Directed Study

Questrom School of Business Policy

Undergraduate

A directed study is a coherent, well-defined, substantive reading and research project supervised by a faculty member, usually resulting in a major written document. It is not unit-for-work experience. Rather, it offers the student an opportunity to explore in detail a carefully defined area of special concern, as well as a chance to work under the close supervision of a faculty member. Counting as a Questrom elective, the directed study should be approved no later than the last day of the Add period. A directed study is considered a 4-unit course unless otherwise indicated by the faculty member.

Additional information and the Directed Study Application form can be found on the Questrom Registrar’s Office’s website.

Graduate

Investigation of Area of Interest

Students who wish to conduct research in a specific area of interest under the guidance of a faculty member may apply for directed study. Directed studies can vary in the number of units. A directed study may not substitute for a required course (including all core, Leadership Communications, and Career Management courses) or duplicate an existing elective course. Upon completion of the directed study, the student receives a grade from the sponsoring faculty member.

Graduate students wishing to do more than one directed study during the course of their program must attach copies of any previous directed study applications to any subsequent applications. The subsequent application will be subject to careful review to ensure that the studies are clearly non-overlapping, separate courses. A student may not do more than one directed study in a given term.

To align with degree requirements for number of electives, it is suggested that directed studies for graduate students be designed around either 1.5 or 3 units.

Procedure for Directed Study

• Obtain a directed study application from the Graduate Programs website.
• Discuss plans for directed study with an appropriate faculty member.
• Negotiate area of investigation, requirements, number of units, and evaluation criteria with the faculty member.
• Complete and submit the webform application. It will be sent to the faculty member, department chair, and program liaison, if applicable, automatically. Approvals will be sent directly to the student.
• Before finalizing the directed study with the faculty member, the student should confer with their academic advisor to confirm the planned directed study aligns with their remaining requirements.
• Forward approval confirmation emails to questromreg@bu.edu no more than two weeks after the start of the term. Upon approval, the Questrom Registrar’s Office will assign a course number for the class and process the registration.