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Purpose: The "Special Projects" course is intended as an opportunity in
independent study, or to participate in special projects of an educational
nature, which cannot be accommodated readily in the standard, lecture-type
classroom settings. Students select a topic of their own interest on which to
do an in-depth study through library or computer work; or students may seek
out internship possibilities among Greater Cleveland agencies dealing with
public policy problems and may, with prior approval, use the internship as the
basis of study. (See "Types of Projects," below.)
Contribution to Major Requirements: POSC 395 may be taken for up to 6
hours of credit, depending upon the nature of the project. Because all majors
must take 3 hours of POSC 396, only 3 hours of POSC 395 will count towards the
30 hours needed for the major. Further POSC 395 credit can, however, count
towards the electives for graduation.
Prerequisites: The course is open to juniors and seniors, and
requirements are the same for all enrollees, regardless of academic major.
Political Science majors, however, must have completed at least 18 hours of
courses in the Department. All students must obtain approval from a faculty
project advisor prior to registration, and must list that faculty member's
name on the registration form.
Requirements: All POSC 395 projects must result in the submission
of written work. The amount of work required will be commensurate with the
number of POSC 395 credit hours for which the student is enrolled. The amount
and nature of the work must be determined in advance and approved by the
faculty project supervisor, as follows:
No later than the end of the second week of classes for the semester of
POSC 395 enrollment, the student must submit to the Department office a POSC
395 project prospectus form, signed by the faculty project advisor. (This
form may be obtained from the Department office.) The prospectus will outline
the goals of the project, the research methodology to be used, and the nature
of the written work to be submitted. Thus the prospectus will be part of the
basis for grading. Failure to submit an approved prospectus by the designated
deadline may result in the student's name being stricken from the POSC 395
enrollment list. This form will become a permanent part of the student's
Department file.
Students are reminded that the faculty must be allowed sufficient time to
read and evaluate the written work, in addition to exams and papers for other
classes, before the University's deadline for submission of grades. Therefore,
the date assigned for completion of the final POSC 395 project must be noted
in the appropriate space on the prospectus form by the supervising professor;
and failure of the student to meet this deadline, without prior written
consent of the supervising faculty member, constitutes a violation of the
prospectus agreement. The professor will inform the student, at the time of
prospectus approval and signature, of any grading demerits to be invoked
should this violation occur.
1. Types of Projects: Educational activities which fall within the
scope of POSC 395 may vary but generally are limited to the following:
2. Research Paper: An in-depth study of a topic in the field of
Political Science, of particular interest to the student, is the primary
goal of an independent study project. Such research may be oriented toward
library, computer, field work, etc., but it must result in the submission of
a research paper.
3. Directed Readings: A student may propose to read and discuss with
a faculty member a selection of Political Science literature not included in
the syllabi of regular course offerings. The submission of written book
reviews, summaries, and bibliographic commentary is required.
4. Internships: Participation in an approved internship is an
acceptable basis for a POSC 395 project. A written report, summarizing the
experience gained, must be submitted by the student to the supervising
faculty member. In addition, an evaluation of the student's performance will
be solicited from his/her immediate supervisor in the agency or governmental
office which had sponsored the intern-ship. Both the report and the
performance evaluation will be the basis for grading.
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