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Faculty Mentors

IVSP Overview

What is IVSP?

The Individual Studies Program (IVSP) is a degree-granting academic program under the direction of the Office of Undergraduate Studies that enables students to create new interdisciplinary curricula leading toGloribel and her mentor at Spring Graduation 2013 the B.A. of B.S. degree. The program is founded on the belief that education is sometimes best approached from outside the boundaries of a single academic major or program. To apply for IVSP, Students must first select and gain the support of a faculty mentor.

IVSP attracts students who are intentional learners with a passion for asking big questions that cannot be addressed through a single discipline. IVSP students are often awarded national scholarships, pursue graduate degrees, or start their own businesses. Recent majors include Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Data Analytics in Biotechnology, Science and Technology Policy, Global Public Health, Disability and Advocacy Studies, and Computational Biology.


What is an IVSP Faculty Mentor?

The Faculty Mentor helps the student design their curriculum, serves as an academic resource throughout the student's time in the program, and assigns and submits the grades for all of the student's special IVSP coursework (see below). Mentors are generally members of the teaching faculty with the title of Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor; on occasion, instructors and lecturers with significant expertise in the student's field of study and an ongoing relationship with the University may serve as faculty mentors.

Faculty Mentors and students should work together regularly in an academic partnership throughout the student's involvement with IVSP, but especially

  1. as the student is designing the program,
  2. as the student is completing independent studies, and
  3. as the student completes the senior project.

The Faculty Mentor must also approve requests for changes in the approved curriculum for the major, but are not responsible for tracking the student’s major progress. The IVSP staff provides administrative support for both the student and the Faculty Mentor.

Image on this page by Lisa Helfert