Group Independent Study Projects differ from standard courses in that students must take an active role in designing the project before the semester in which the Group Independent Study Project takes place; they also play an active role in teaching and learning the course content throughout the semester. Each Group Independent Study Project is sponsored by a faculty member who assesses the proposed study, provides advice during the semester, and formally evaluates each student's performance in the course. The faculty sponsor attends at least five (5) meetings and serves as a facilitator or guide for the course content, supporting students and their engagement with the material.

Group Independent Studies (GISPs) differ from Independent Study Projects (ISPs) in that (i) more than one student can participate in the GISP and (ii) other students can enroll in the course on Courses@Brown. The application process is almost identical to that for ISPs.

At the end of each semester, students participating in Group Independent Study Projects (GISPs), Independent Study Projects (ISPs), and Academic Internships (AIs) are asked to give a presentation about their work over the semester. These presentations allow you to share what you have learned during your Independent Study experience with an audience of your friends, peers, faculty, and administrators.

The semester before enrollment, students submit proposals for Group Independent Study Projects to the College Curriculum Council's (CCC) independent studies subcommittee, a faculty, student, and staff body that oversees the undergraduate curriculum writ large. Student coordinators at the Curricular Resource Center help students prepare their proposals. To enroll in a GISP, you must be on the original roster submitted with the course proposal, which is written in the semester before the course offering.

The student coordinator and the faculty sponsor of the Group Independent Study Projects may petition to add students not on the original roster to an existing GISP; they may do so before the end of the Add/Drop/Shopping Period. Students not on the original roster who want to join the course must attend the first class session. By the end of the first week of the semester, the GISP student coordinator(s) must submit a petition to add any student to the roster.

You must submit the Independent Studies proposal the semester before the course is offered, by the application deadline for that semester.

• Past GISPs Database - request digital copies of past Group Independent Study Projects. You can also stop by the CRC in the basement of the CareerLAB to browse the earlier Independent Studies proposals.
• Potential GISP Ideas - submit your Group Independent Study Project ideas and find out more about the GISPs your peers are working.