Department of English, Iowa State University
English 590 provides a way to study important material that is not available to you in the graduate curriculum. For that reason, this Request for English 590 should not include material covered in regularly scheduled courses. Requests for English 590 that fail to adhere to these requirements will not be approved by the Director of Graduate Education. To increase the likelihood that your English 590 request will gain approval, be sure that (1) you meet the eligibility requirements; (2) you submit a request to do work that meets the English 590 criteria; and (3) you provide clear and complete responses to the questions required.
Registration reference numbers or necessary signatures may be obtained from the Graduate Program Staff
Assistnat only after the request is approved.
Deadlines: Submit the completed Request for English 590 to the Graduate Program Staff Assistant,
227 Ross Hall, by the end of the first week of classes of the academic term in which the Engl
590 is to be taken
(or May 1 for summer term Engl 590s)
Name: ID #: Date:
Student’s major
I would like to use this Engl 590 to meet POS requirements (answer question #7, Page 2)
Eligibility (please check requirements that have been met)
To qualify for English 590, you must meet the following requirements:
9 credit hours completed in graduate-level courses (either at Iowa State or elsewhere)
No “Incomplete” grades on record (except in English 599 or 699)
Title of proposed course
Instructor # Credits Fall Spring Summer Year
Please check appropriate course designation:
590A Literature
590B TESL/Applied Linguistics
590C Composition and Rhetoric
List any previous English 590s (title, sem., yr.)
590E Rhetoric and Professional Communication
590F Creative Writing and Environment
590G Applied Linguistics and Technology
This proposed course does not include material already covered in regularly scheduled courses
A reading list in MLA or APA style is attached
Signatures and approvals:
Instructor Date Program Adviser/Major Professor Date
OFFICE USE ONLY BELOW THIS LINE
Director of Graduate Education (DOGE) Date
Copies to:

Adv/Major Prof

Instructor

Student

File Revised 11-2014

Page 2
Please answer the questions below regarding your proposed Engl 590.
1. What is your rationale for proposing this course?
What is the primary issue, problem, or critical question being explored in the course? How will this course differ from course offerings in the graduate curriculum? Note: A particular course not being offered during a given term does not constitute an adequate reason for requesting a 590.
2. What relevance does the proposed course have to your program of study?
How does this course build on, rather than duplicate, the work done in other POS courses? How does this course relate to, but not duplicate work that will be done for the thesis? If the topic is tangential to the POS, what is the reason for pursuing work in this area?
3. What are the course’s objectives?
What skills or content will the course help you master? Please express as learning objectives, for example, “to understand the role played by 19th-century American women novelists in shaping their culture” or “to understand theories of visual rhetoric and to demonstrate their effective application.”
4. What materials will be used to achieve the course’s objectives?
What is the relevance of the primary and secondary sources that will be used to illuminate the course’s central issue, problem, or critical question? The “relevance” of secondary sources, for example, might include a common theme or a certain critical approach.
NOTE: You MUST also attach a reading list in MLA or APA style.
5. What writing will be done?
How much? Of what type (e.g., critical analysis, personal essay, annotated bibliography)? Of what approximate length? Within what approximate time-frame within the semester?
6. What evaluative measures will be used to judge performance in achieving the course’s objectives?
How often will you meet with your instructor? How will the final grade in the course be determined?
7. If you are requesting to use this Engl 590 in your POS (check box on Page 1 is marked), to which
POS requirement will you apply this course if the DOGE approves it?
Please provide information on the specific POS requirement this course will help you to meet.

Purpose
The purpose of English 590: Special Topics (Independent Study) is to provide students an opportunity to explore a critical question, to learn a professional skill, or to study material or texts that lie outside the curricular offerings available in the graduate curriculum.
NOTE : Normally, no more than three credits of English 590 may be used to complete the requirements for any of the MA degrees or the MFA degree in our department; no more than six credits of English 590 may be used to complete the requirements for either of the PhD degrees in our department.
Eligibility
English 590 is open to students who have met the following requirements:
 completed 9 credit hours of study in graduate-level courses (either at Iowa State or elsewhere)
 no “Incomplete” grades on your record (except in English 599 or 699)
English 590 Criteria

Students may use English 590 to explore a critical question, to learn a professional skill, or to study material or texts that lie outside the curricular offerings available in the graduate curriculum or to explore possible topics of interest for a thesis, dissertation, or creative component.

This proposal requesting an English 590 course must
1.
be written by the student, after consultation with the instructor, and all questions answered;
2.
present a realistic amount of work for the number of credit hours specified;
3.
include papers, projects, or tests as evaluative measures appropriate to the number of credits requested;
4.
be accompanied by a reading list in MLA or APA style;
5.
be submitted to the Graduate Program Staff Assistant, 227 Ross, for approval by the Director of
Graduate Education by the end of the first week of the academic term in which the course is to be taken
(May 1 for summer term English 590s);

Substantive changes to the English 590 as approved must be approved by the Director of Graduate
Education by submitting a revised Request for English 590 for approval.
Updated 11-2014