Program Variations and Options
In addition to majors and minors, Elizabethtown College offers a number of alternative learning opportunities both on and off campus. On-campus study includes special learning options that emphasize individual study and close work with a member of the faculty. Off-campus opportunities include internships or joint programs with academic institutions or clinical facilities.
Independent Study
Independent Study (IS) is designed for students to pursue individual investigations and/or reading in an area of special interest, or to advance competencies in the major/minor area. Independent Study is initiated by the student and progresses largely unsupervised. Students pursuing independent study are expected to do extensive research, reading, writing, and/or creative work resulting in a major paper, presentation, work of art, or other learning outcomes agreed upon by the supervising faculty member and the student.
Independent Studies may not be used to replace a course listed in the curriculum, to fulfill any Core Program requirements, or to substitute for registering an internship, co-op, or field work/experience. Independent Studies counting toward major credit must be letter graded. Independent Studies must demonstrate significant emphases on academic involvements, activities, and outcomes.
To apply for an IS, students must have junior or senior status, plus a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. Independent Studies are registered between one to four credits per study. Please note: the ISC expects at least 4-5 pp. of writing per credit plus a detailed bibliography. Typically a student may carry only one Independent Study at a time. Two Independent Studies may be approved at the discretion of the Independent Study Committee. A maximum of 12 credits of independent study can be applied toward graduation. If study abroad is part of the IS, an approval from the study abroad office must be attached to the application. Any requests for exceptions to the Independent Study policy must be made to the Academic Standing Committee.
Independent Studies are not tied to the academic calendar; application deadlines are to be determined based on the completion dates of an IS. A completed Independent Study Application including the Independent Study Proposal must be submitted to Independent Study Committee via the Registration and Records Office. Registration for the spring semester begins in November and registration for the fall semester begins in April.
a) For Fall and Spring semester registrations, the IS application must be submitted during open registration but no later than 4:30 pm on the 1st day of classes for the Fall/Spring semester in which it will be completed.
b) Students who plan to register an independent study in the Summer or Winter term must submit their proposal to the Registration and Records Office at least two weeks before last day of the Spring or Fall semester prior to the Summer or Winter term.
c) The Independent Study Committee does NOT meet during the Summer or Winter term; therefore, IS Applications submitted after the dates listed above will not be accepted or reviewed.
Following approval by the Independent Study Committee, the Chair of the Independent Study Committee will forward the ISA to the Office of Registration & Records during the official registration period for the semester during which it will be completed. Students must add and register an independent study during the regular course add period of each semester. Forms are available in the Office of Registration and Records. Independent Studies will not be added to students’ schedules after the regular “add” deadline of the semester (i.e., 4:30 p.m. on the fifth day of the semester).
Directed Study
In contrast to independent study of a special topic, directed study is undertaken for a regular course in the curriculum that is not being offered in a given semester. This method of study should be used by the student who needs rather frequent conferences with the professor.
An additional surcharge of $100 per credit is assessed for the full-time student who registers for directed study. Part-time students granted permission to register for a directed study course pay the same surcharge. Full-time undergraduate students whose course load exceeds 18 hours as a result of the directed study registration are charged the current part-time rate for tuition for those hours in excess of 18 plus the surcharge for all directed study credits. Note: Students must register for directed studies prior to beginning course work and no later than the end of the first week of classes (i.e., during the official Add Period for the semester). Registration forms are available in the Office of Registration and Records.
Tutorials
The tutorial is used to register a course that is not offered in the Catalog. In this respect, it is different from a Directed Study, which is used to register a course that is in the Catalog but is not offered in a given semester. The tutorial is also different from the Independent Study. With an Independent Study, the student is responsible for proposing the content of the project (which is not in the Catalog) and then works largely independently on the project of their design. With a Tutorial, the faculty member is responsible for developing the content of the course and then works closely with the student to provide instruction in the topic. Tutorials must be registered during the regular course Add Period and are assigned a 379 course number. An additional surcharge of $150 per credit is assessed for the full-time student who registers for a tutorial. Full-time undergraduate students whose course load exceeds 18 hours as a result of a tutorial registration are charged the current part-time rate for tuition for those hours in excess of 18.
Internships
Through internships, Elizabethtown College offers students the opportunity to apply and augment their classroom learning with real-world experience. Internships can assist students with deepening and sharpening their personal learning and career goals. They provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge in work and practice settings, gaining confidence and skill as they integrate the abstract/theoretical with the practical and applied.
Guidelines
Internships will be registered in the Academic Department of the supervising faculty member.
Internships will normally be graded Pass/No Pass. Departmental exceptions must be approved by Academic Council and be noted in the Catalog as letter-graded experiences.
Students enrolling in internships must have minimum cumulative and major grade point averages of 2.00. If a Department sets a higher grade point average standard, and if the internship is required for graduation, the higher standard must be approved by Academic Council.
Internships must be registered during the semester in which the work is completed. In the case when internship hours clearly overlap two terms (e.g., begins in April and ends in June), the registration of the internship can be split (e.g., two credits registered in the spring term and two credits registered in the summer term for an internship experience that is four total credits). Summer internships cannot be registered during spring or fall semesters.
An internship can be taken for up to 12 credits. To be awarded academic credit, students must work a minimum of 40 hours over the course of the term in which the internship is registered for each credit awarded. This is a minimum expectation; some Departments or internship sites may have higher work expectations. At least two-thirds of these hours should be spent at the internship site, with the remaining one-third spent on related activities.
Each Department will establish its own criteria for related activities and expectations for awarding academic credit to internships, including whether students can engage in multiple internships over the course of their college career and the maximum number of credits that students in their programs can accrue through internships.
To prevent potential conflicts of interest, students must disclose any familial relationships with employees or owners of the organization at which they want to intern. Students may not intern at a company owned or managed, fully or in part, by a family member, nor may the on-site supervisor be a member of the student’s family or anyone working under supervision of a family member. In addition, continuation of a part-time or summer job may not serve as an internship. Any exceptions to these prohibitions would be unusual and require the approval by the Associate Academic Dean.
All internships must have a faculty supervisor and an on-site supervisor. The intern must have regular contact with the on-site supervisor during the term of the internship. At the end of the internship, the on-site supervisor will be asked to submit a written evaluation to the faculty supervisor, describing the work and responsibilities of the intern and providing an evaluation of the intern’s level of performance and progress during the internship.
Internships must be registered no later than the third Friday of the regular fall or spring term. This additional registration time is provided to enable students to collect their on-site supervisor’s signature on the Internship Contract form. For summer internships, registration must be by the end of the first week of the internship.
The Internship Contract or syllabus must specify the goals and objectives of the internship, the activities necessary to reach those goals, and the methods by which the student will be evaluated. An Internship Contract must be signed by the student, the on-site supervisor and the faculty supervisor.
Consult the appropriate Academic Department for more detail on its internship policy.
Affiliated Institution Programs
In Affiliated Institution Programs, students study at Elizabethtown College and at affiliated academic institutions or clinical facilities in the United States. The following programs are offered in conjunction with other academic institutions:
Forestry with Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Cardiovascular Invasive Specialty with the Lancaster Institute for Health Education
Biology health professions and pre-allied health with Thomas Jefferson University and with Widener University
Premedical Primary Care Program with The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Osteopathic Medicine with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Dental Medicine with Temple University School of Dentistry (D.M.D.)
Biotechnology (B.S.) and Molecular Medicine (M.S.) with Drexel University College of Medicine
3+4 Doctor of Optometry Program with Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University
Washington Semester and World Capitals Program with American University. The Washington Semester provides an opportunity to study in Washington, D.C., and take advantage of the resources of the nation’s capital. Students in the program work with the policymakers and business professionals who play a vital role in American government and culture. Full semester credit is earned by studying in one of 10 areas: American politics, international politics, peace and conflict resolution, economic policy, journalism, justice, international business and trade, international environment/development, public law, and transforming communities. All programs include internships, and several involve three weeks of study abroad. Students interested in the program should contact Dr. Fletcher McClellan in the Department of Political Science. Students participating in the program must acquire off-campus course approvals from the Office of Registration and Records.
The College also offers a number of majors in which work at affiliated clinical facilities constitutes an important part of the student’s education. In music therapy, occupational therapy, social work, and clinical laboratory sciences, students combine work at the College with first-hand experience in hospitals, clinics, and social work and therapy programs. For detailed descriptions, see the appropriate Department for more information.
Study Abroad Programs
Elizabethtown College, through the Study Abroad Office, provides guidance and support to students in all majors who want to study abroad in a semester, summer, or short term program. The Study Abroad Office promotes, supports, and coordinates all study abroad programming and works with faculty to encourage overseas experiences.
Students may participate in a wide variety of semester-long, study abroad opportunities with our affiliated programs, which currently include BCA Study Abroad; CIS Abroad; The School for Field Studies; Globalinks; KCP International; Nihon University; Northumbria University; The Gambia-Saint Mary’s College of Maryland; and Queen’s University Bader Center. More information about applying to participate in study abroad programs can be found on the Study Abroad Office website at www.etown.edu/offices/study-abroad or in the Academic Policies section of this Catalog.
In addition to these opportunities, Elizabethtown faculty members regularly lead short-term educational experiences to locations around the world to make international study more accessible to our students. These programs typically provide credits to students who successfully complete all the requirements. In past years, faculty-led, short-term programs have traveled to China, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Honduras, Ireland, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam. More information on those programs for which students can earn credit is contained on the Study Abroad Office webpage.
For more information about the Study Abroad Office, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/study-abroad.
English Language Learning Program
The English Language Learning Program at Elizabethtown supports an increasingly diverse group of students from around the world who wish to immerse themselves in the rich learning environment available at Elizabethtown College. Students will be taken from their current level of English language mastery to advanced levels of mastery, enabling full integration into the complete range of curricular and co-curricular programs. Specifically, the English Language Learning (ELL) courses will:
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Advance students’ English speaking, writing, reading, and comprehension proficiency
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Foster critical thinking skills
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Instill intellectual curiosity and interest in further learning
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Introduce American culture and expectations of the Elizabethtown College community
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Provide opportunities for integration of diverse world views
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Prepare students for success in degree program coursework
International students who are non-native speakers of English are eligible for English Language Learning courses. A minimum official TOEFL (or equivalent test) score is required for admission as we do not offer Beginner or Low Intermediate English Language courses (see “Admission to the College”). Upon arrival at the campus, all students who are non-native speakers of English will be given a placement test to determine the appropriate level of ELL or EN classes. The following ELL courses are offered and are required of students whose placement test results indicate that greater proficiency is needed before full integration into degree coursework.
Courses Offered at the Intermediate Level:
Courses Offered at the High Intermediate Level:
Courses Offered at the Advanced Level:
Refer to Department of Modern Languages for / courses.
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