Available as of Winter 2026
About Independent Studies
Caribbean Studies Independent Study Courses are designed both to complement regular offerings in Caribbean Studies and to provide an opportunity for students in any program to enrich their studies. The normal expectation of a project course is that the student, aided and advised by the supervisor, will read relevant literature, and plan, execute, analyze and report on an original and independent investigation of an appropriate topic.
Course Requirements
Before the course begins—
- Students must have completed at least 8.0 credits for registration in a 300-level independent study course, or 12.0 credits for a 400-level independent study course.
- Each student is responsible for finding an appropriate supervisor. Note that the supervisor must be a faculty member with an appointment in an academic department at the University of Toronto. In rare cases a student may propose a non-faculty member to work with, but in such cases an appointed faculty member must also be found to act as primary supervisor. Sessional instructors are not eligible to supervise independent study courses. Both the supervisor and the Centre’s Director must sign the contract.
- If the project requires ethics approval, please be advised that you should find and consult with a supervisor about meeting this requirement at least a semester in advance of the deadlines outlined in #4.
- Once a supervisor has been found and the nature of the project discussed, this contract must be completed and submitted to the Centre for Caribbean Studies for approval. This form must be submitted to the Centre (M145) by July 15 for Fall Term courses; November 15 for Winter Term courses; and April 15 for Summer courses. If any of these dates fall on a weekend, the deadline will be the following Monday.
- Registration of all students will be done through the Centre after the contract has been submitted and approved. Students will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of an application.
During The School Year—
- Supervisors must provide students with meaningful feedback (10% for “H” courses and 20% for “Y” courses) on a significant amount of work prior to the deadline set by the Faculty of Arts & Science (see the marking scheme for details).
At the project end—
- Each project is expected to result in a substantive written report, on which a majority of the final grade (minimum 50%) is based (exceptions must have prior approval via this contract). The report must be submitted to the supervisor with a copy to the Centre in time for the supervisor to submit a report and final grade.
- The supervisor must submit a final grade and a brief (approximately one page) report of the student’s work outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the work, and a rationale for the mark, within one week after the last day of classes. A copy of this report is to be given to the student.
- The final report should preferably be written by the student; a guideline is roughly 15 pages of text for an H course, 30 pages for a Y course. If the final report is in the form of a multi-authored manuscript, it must be accompanied by a statement signed by the supervisor and student describing the contribution made by the student.
If at any time you feel that any aspect of this contract is not being fulfilled, please contact the Caribbean Studies Undergraduate Coordinator at 416-946-0575 or caribbean.studies@utoronto.ca.
