Definitions
a) Individual Directed Reading and Research Course:
A true individual reading or research course is a course created when an individual student (or a very small group of students) wishes to explore a topic not currently offered as a graduate course. The student is responsible for finding a faculty member who is willing to work with the student; together they will create the learning goals, deliverables, resources, timeline, and mechanism for feedback. The supervising faculty member must have a Graduate Faculty (SGS) Appointment through the Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences.
Procedures for Directed Reading and Research Course
- The course should be equivalent in terms of reading, organized academic activities and written assignments to a regular (0.5 FCE) graduate course, and written work should be a requirement.
- With input from the supervising faculty member, each student will submit the SGS Reading and/or Research Course form along with a brief course outline that includes all of the following:
- course title (max 60 characters) and a paragraph describing the body of work to be studied;
- learning goals and objectives;
- required readings (journal articles, book chapters, (non) governmental documents, etc.) necessary to meet learning goals and objectives;
- deliverables/methods of evaluation with corresponding due dates and relative weights;
- a statement regarding the penalty for late submission of work; and
- planned contact with instructor and mechanism for obtaining instructor feedback.
- The form and outline should be submitted to the Graduate Office, for approval by the Graduate Coordinator, at least 5 working days before the sessional deadline to enrol in courses.
b) Pilot Course:
A pilot course is a course that a faculty member creates for a specific one-time only offering, or in order to develop course content and determine the student interest for a permanent course. The course may be offered to a small group of students to start, with the intention of converting the course to a regular numbered course following the pilot phase.
Procedures for Pilot Course
- A Reading course should be equivalent in terms of reading, organized academic activities and written assignments to a regular graduate course.
- The pilot course requires a course syllabus, including rationale, readings, assignments, grading policy, and academic integrity statement. A syllabus template has been developed to assist instructors with the preparation of course syllabi and act as a guideline during the creation of new courses.
- The proposal for the course should be reviewed by the appropriate Divisional Curriculum Committee and then submitted to the Graduate Coordinator for review, ideally by early April, in order for a suitable classroom to be booked and for the course to be listed in the PHS timetable for the upcoming academic year. Room assignments for pilot course requests received after April are subject to availability.
- The syllabus should be submitted to the Graduate Office at least 5 working days before the sessional deadline to enrol in courses.
- Ideally, a pilot course may be offered in its “pilot” form for two academic years, after which the faculty member should consider its suitability for approval for a permanent course number and name.
c) Course Codes:
Directed Reading course: CHL7001H
Directed Research course: CHL7002H