When the Art History department at Brown University told Colleen Brogan that credits from the Egyptology or Archaeology department could not count towards an art history undergraduate degree because "discussion of slides was not a prevalent part of the curriculum", she decided it was time the Egyptology department proved it could be more than a highly selective, rigorous, and intensely specific field, but a developmental and relevant one as well. 

Thankfully, Brown University provides a wonderful opportunity for students to develop their own course of study in a field they believe the University lacks in their present curriculum. Eagerly in pursuit of an art history degree and fueled by the manpower and resources of her fall 2007 class, Egyptology 1200: Archaeology of Ancient Egypt I, the development of the Group Independent Study Project (GISP) began.

Organizing 6 students to design a full-semester curriculum that was both specific, topically oriented, and up to the rigors of any faculty member's course creation took hard work and many hours of labor that were...not expected. A few points, for future reference, for those who are interested in making a GISP:

1. Choose the Topic/Focus wisely. First, because you will be spending much more time researching and developing the ideas, theses, projects, prospectus, syllabus, reading list, and argument for the creation of this topic as a full Brown accredited course, than you will actually when you get the course approved and take it in the following semester. You don't want to get sick of the topic, or the group members, before the class even starts.

2. You cannot learn anything "real" or "applicable". Ironically, Brown upholds it's credibility as a "liberal" institution and not a "technical" institute, therefore classes such as "Car Mechanic" and "Porn Acting" have been turned down as projects in the past, because of their "real life" qualities. So don't try to learn anything, um, real. 

3. Pick a Professor who Does Exactly what you Need. This does not mean manipulate/slander/ruin/disgust/attack/seduce the professor, because that is wrong and abusive. It also does not mean to pick a professor who knows everything about your topic. Remember that professors do not earn a penny more for working on your GISP with you, and because of that you need to have a strong relationship that is predicated on work coming from both sides.

4. Be Thorough Beyond All Else. Much detail could be gone in to here, but it will remain short and succinct...unlike your proposal if you are considering creating a GISP. Remember that you are not there to express your enthusiasm or excitement about the creation of your GISP when it is being looked at by the deans...make your proposal do the work for you!

5. Use the resources at the GISP Student Resource Center. The students that work there are usually creating their own majors/GISPs at the same time as you, and will be able to let you know how to organize before the deadlines, and are a great way to pitch your ideas in person to someone who knows the system, and get some great feedback.