Students can initiate several kinds of courses: Field Studies (197), Directed or Organized Group Study (98/198), and Independent Study (99/199). Undergraduate students enrolled in courses numbered 197, 198, and 199 must have completed at least 60 units of undergraduate study and be in good academic standing with a 2.0 or better grade-point average. Credit for 98, 99, 197, 198, and 199 courses in a single term may aggregate no more than four units. No more than a total of 16 units of courses numbered 98, 99, 197, 198, and 199 may be used to meet the requirements for a bachelor’s degree. Only a grade of Passed or Not Passed is to be assigned in 98, 99, 197, 198, and 199 courses. Departments may impose additional limitations on 98, 99, 197, 198, and 199 courses, subject to the approval of the Committee on Courses of Instruction. Deans of the student’s college or school may authorize exceptions to the limitations on academic standing, earned credits, or grading.

You can sponsor student facilitators for any of these courses. Such courses will not count toward your official workload, but you will list them in your bio-bibliography and they may be considered in personnel decisions. Berkeley Division Regulation A205 limits the number of P/NP courses an instructor may supervise. It states that "An instructor may be in charge of no more than one such undergraduate course (i.e., P/NP) in any term, exclusive of individual study or research courses, except with the consent of the Dean of the School or College in which the course is offered."

Below are descriptions of these courses. For more information, check with your department and see Senate Regulation A230.

Students wishing to develop course design, planning, and facilitation skills may find a wide range of support (from advising to a semester-long class) at Undergraduate Course Facilitator Training & Resources (UCFTR), housed in the Student Learning Center. Faculty and staff may also find out more about student-initiated and -facilitated courses from the UCFTR Coordinator, 642-3075 or ucftr@berkeley.edu.

Independent Study (99/199) allows a student to work independently on a defined topic. The student’s written course proposal must be approved by the instructor who is to supervise the study and the department chair. Students enrolled in a 199 course must also obtain their major advisor’s approval. The written proposal must specify the nature of the study, the number of units to be credited, and the basis for grading. Only a grade of Passed/Not Passed is to be assigned to Independent Studies.

Field Study (197) is conducted in conjunction with an outside organization whose activities relate to the student’s academic interest. As a sponsor, your main responsibility is to ensure the academic validity of the student’s field work. You must sign the student’s written proposal for the course, which also requires your department chair’s approval, and the student’s add/drop form. As a sponsor, you are also expected to confer regularly with the student and to evaluate the student’s final written report and the appraisal of the student’s work submitted by a responsible official in the affiliated organization.

Directed Group Study (98/198) allows the instructor to define a course of study for a group of students. These courses may be faculty-initiated or initiated and facilitated by students and sponsored by faculty. Courses initiated by students are often listed on the De-Cal website. De-Cal (Democratic Education at Cal) is a program affiliated with the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) to help students create, facilitate, and publicize their own courses under faculty sponsorship. Before agreeing to sponsor a course, you should familiarize yourself with the responsibilities of the sponsoring faculty member, listed on the faculty checklist on the Special Studies website.

Each section of faculty-initiated Group Study courses must receive approval by the department chair based on a written proposal submitted by the instructor. The written proposal describes the content to be studied, the methods of instruction, the number of units to be credited, and methods of evaluation of student performance. A well-written syllabus should address these points.  The proposal should be submitted with the course proposal form (found on the Special Studies 98 and 198 website), which must be signed by the student course facilitator, the instructor of record, and the department chair. These procedures were created by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Academic Senate in order to ensure consistent standards and adequate faculty and departmental oversight. A copy of the approved proposal and form must be submitted for information to the Committee on Courses of Instruction (320 Stephens Hall, MC 5842). The deadline is one month before the end of instruction in the semester (or summer) before the course is to be taught. Late submissions must be accompanied by a letter from the dean or department chair clearly laying out the reasons for the lateness.

Directed Group Studies are only offered on a Passed/Not Passed basis. For more information, check with your department and see Berkeley Division Regulation A230.

last updated on 3/14/07