Students taking a philosophy course may be entitled to unique learning experiences in Directed Reading Courses and/or Student Directed Seminars.
Directed Reading
A Directed Reading course is a general reading and/or research undertaking, completed under the supervision of a faculty member selected by the student. In consultation with the supervising faculty member, students are responsible for designing a course syllabus and submitting an application form to the Department of Philosophy prior to the beginning of the term in which the course will be offered.
Applications forms can be emailed to the Department of Philosophy at phil.undergrad@ubc.ca. Faculty members should supervise at most one Directed Reading course per term.
Important Notes: At most two directed studies courses (student-directed seminars or directed reading) may be counted towards an undergraduate degree. Such courses cannot be used to meet the Faculty of Arts Research Requirement.
Student Directed Seminars
A Student Directed Seminar is a collaborative, student-led seminar on a topic not currently offered at UBC. It is initiated by an upper-year undergraduate student coordinator with a faculty sponsor. Students may earn academic credit as a participant in one Student Directed Seminar. Additionally, they may earn credit as a coordinator for one Student Directed Seminar. The minimum enrolment for a Student Directed Seminar is eight students, while the maximum enrolment is 15.
To be considered for Philosophy credit, the student coordinator must complete the Philosophy Department’s Student Directed Seminar application form and a course syllabus, and submit them to the Department of Philosophy via email at phil.undergrad@ubc.ca by October 31st (prior to the Winter Session term 2 in which the course will be offered).
A separate application must be submitted in May to the Student Directed Seminar Program in the Centre for Student Involvement & Careers. To learn more, please visit Student Services’ website.