Student Initiated Courses (SIC) in Anthropology

Student-Initiated Courses (SIC) are courses proposed by undergraduates and sponsored by faculty members. Students who wish to propose a SIC in Anthropology must adhere to the procedures and guidelines below as well as University Policies.

Eligibility

To propose a SIC, a student must:

Be a declared Anthropology major or minor
Be in good academic standing
Have secured sponsorship from an Anthropology faculty member for the course
Have received or will receive relevant training at Center for Teaching and Learning

Anthropology SIC Application Process at a Glance

Meet with SSO least 1 QTR preceding the SIC to discuss proposal

Prepare proposal, secure faculty sponsorship, obtain stmt on faculty responsibility

Submit proposal via the Anthropology SIC Form by week 3 of preceding quarter

Anthropology Curriculum Committee evaluates SIC

Student is notified of the decision by week 5 of preceding quarter

The Anthropology SIC Proposal Form

All SIC proposals should be submitted through the Anthropology SIC Proposal Form. Note that all proposals need to be submitted by week 3 of the preceding quarter. If the course is to be taught in the Autumn quarter, then the proposal should be submitted by week 3 of Spring quarter of the previous academic year.

View SIC Proposal Form

Proposal Requirements

Student name and faculty advisor
Course title, quarter of proposed SIC, preferred meeting date and time
Name of faculty sponsor
Rationale for the proposed course
Unit count (1 or 2 units)
Syllabus that includes a course description, learning goals, a schedule of readings and assignments, and a description of how the instructor will assess student learning
A statement from faculty sponsor accepting responsibility for the academic quality of the course, including instruction and evaluation, as well as how they plan to fulfill this responsibility.

Other Important Information About SICs

Are classified as activity (ACT) courses
Have an enrollment cap of 20 students and may not be audited
May be offered only on an S/NC grade basis
Any revision to an approved proposal (for example, updates to syllabus) must be reviewed and approved by the sponsor
At the discretion of the sponsor faculty, the student instructor may be eligible to receive units in a prior quarter for preparatory work associated with the course. Once student instructor has obtained consent from their faculty PI, they should register in Anthro 96, Directed Individual Study for 1 unit.
Faculty sponsor is the instructor of record; undergraduate students are not eligible to be set-up as instructors or co-instructors