Undergraduate Academics

Independent Study and Senior Thesis Courses

Independent Study (Research and other projects)

Independent Study (EECE 100, 200, 300, 400 or 500) is a great way for students to explore a topic of personal interest or obtain academic credit for pursuing research.

In order to register for Independent Study, students should:

Find an Independent Study course supervisor (must be an EECE faculty member).
In partnership with their course supervisor (and, if relevant, their research supervisor – see "Projects done outside of EECE" below), complete the proposal for undergraduate Independent Study. This proposal must be submitted for approval no later than five working days prior to the last day to add a course.

The request and proposal will be evaluated by the director of undergraduate studies, Janie Brennan, PhD. Upon full approval, the student will be registered by the McKelvey Registrar, and a copy of the approved proposal will be placed in their file.

Note: only advanced (300 or higher) level Independent Study courses will count towards the chemical or environmental engineerings electives requirement.

Senior Thesis

By completing the Senior Thesis (EECE 423), seniors can earn distinction for research they have been involved in, as well as earn elective credit towards their degree. EECE 423 is similar to an independent study, except it is expected to be done over the course of two semesters (both fall and spring of senior year) with various milestone deliverables due throughout the year. At the end of senior year, the student's thesis will be evaluated by a committee. Like with Independent Study, research for a Senior Thesis can be done outside the department (e.g., at the medical school) – see below for more details. Complete information, including the initial enrollment form (which should be completed prior to the start of the fall semester in the senior year), are in the Senior Thesis registration form.

Other policies for Independent Study and Senior Thesis

The university does not allow undergraduates to work in research labs as volunteers. Students should receive credit when working in labs or be paid.

Engineering Topics can be assigned to these courses based on a review of the project scope and content. Independent Study or Senior Thesis units from other departments will be subject to the overall cap of six units.

Independent Study or Senior Thesis units cannot be used to fulfill the chemical engineering requirement for an advanced laboratory in engineering or the physical sciences.

Projects done outside of EECE

It is possible for a student to obtain Independent Study or Senior Thesis credit for projects/research done outside the EECE department (e.g., as an extra project during an internship, or research with a WashU faculty member outside EECE) with the following requirements:

The project or research must be related to energy, environmental or chemical engineering in a significant way.
The project must have an EECE faculty member serve as the course supervisor. The course supervisor will be responsible for ensuring appropriate progress and assigning the final grade.
The student’s external research supervisor will oversee the day-to-day aspects of the project and advise the course supervisor on the student’s progress, work quality and final grade.