Independent Study
Example 3:
Graduate School Application Prep + Job Promotion

• Develop a professional CV & Resume

• Prepare graduate school applications for Public & Business Administration Master's Programs

• Create a persuasive business proposal in support of tuition reimbursement as a component of professional development and promotion strategy

Student Name:

Project Advisor:

Project Type:

Project Name:

Goal: Explanation of what the student will achieve through their Independent Study course - the "Why".  

Section 1: Executive Summary:  This student provided information on how their project will benefit their community and the specific leadership gaps they seek to address.

Section 2: Project Background: The student provided information about their career background and explained the history of the setting in which they will apply the results of their independent project. They further describe how their pursuit will contribute to better outcomes for community leadership teams.

Section 3: Solutions to Approach: An excerpt from the student's project plan is provided below. They presented a narrative of their objectives with a list of project deliverables.

Section 4: Conclusion: The student concludes by summarizing their overarching goal, the relevance of their objectives, and why they believe that an Independent Study project will produce positive outcomes for them and their community. 

Solutions to Approach: 

I plan to steadily build up my credentials and education so that I can position myself successfully within the next five years to take a leadership role within the organization. To do this, the first step is to attain a master’s degree to become eligible to be a part of the pool of candidates. I plan to do this with the assistance of the city and their tuition reimbursement policy that, if properly proven that it is within a related field, can pay for this educational endeavor. Before I can do this, however, I must first create a proposal that I can present my employer with the options in master’s degree programs, costs associated with them and timeframe of completion. That is what I plan to use this independent study course for, to create the following products:

• Complete Program Application Requirements for a minimum of two master’s degree programs (Master of Public Administration & Master of Business Administration)

• Prepare a writing sample for submission that I can use for both programs.

• Prepare an appropriate CV/Resume for each submission.

• Prepare a comprehensive proposal for my employer that successfully ties job requirements with program expected outcomes, addresses costs, and expected times of completion.