Instructions for Students Interested in Independent Study with Professor Vaidya

If you are interested in pursuing independent study with me, please prepare a one-page proposal. This proposal should include:

1. Course Title. You will need a title for your transcript, so you may as well think now about a descriptive title.
2. Course Description. Write a paragraph describing what you expect to learn in the course, at much the level of a course catalog description. An independent study is a course - just one that we don't happen to offer as a regular class. This paragraph describes what you expect that course to be.
3. Your Background. This should cover three things: Your prerequisites for this work (both class and outside experience), your other plans for the semester showing that you will have time for this course, and your career goals. You should plan to spend approximately nine hours per week on a three credit independent study, or the equivalent (i.e., 45 hours total per credit). I wish to know your career goals so I can guide the study in ways that support them - someone planning on a Ph.D. and someone looking toward an M.B.A. should approach the study in different ways.
4. Milestones and Grading. How will I evaluate what you have learned? Will you be writing code / developing a system? Written reports? Giving a presentation? Provide a time line for the semester showing milestones.

When you have prepared the proposal, email it to me with some suggested meeting times.