Regulations: The approved academic policy governing Independent Study provides for two methods under which a student may register for Independent Study. The faculty member and the student shall execute a written statement concerning the level of expectation of the Independent Study. This should include the date due, content and method of evaluation. It is recommended that a student have a cumulative average of 2.00 or higher before attempting an Independent Study.
Processing Time: Please allow 5 to 10 business days after you receive the notification that your Independent Study request has been approved and sent to the Office of the Registrar. Please be aware that full-time undergraduate and visiting students are capped at 19 credit hours per semester with the exception of four credit hours for winter sessions. If this request for independent study puts you above the capped credit hours, you will need to submit the credit overload form request in addition to this request.
**If you have a hold, your request will not be processed. Please ensure there are no holds on your account prior to submitting this request.**
Procedure: A student must complete this online request and receive approval by the instructor and chairperson of the department in which the independent study is taken. This request must be submitted during a prescribed registration period. If approved by all parties, the Office of the Registrar will maintain the record and the department office will also retain its own record for the Chairperson’s and faculty member’s files.
1. The requests will be found through your NEST Portal.
2. Login to your NEST Portal
3. Navigate and click on the “Register for Classes” tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
4. Under the Registrar’s Office Tool, click on the “Manage your record” link.
5. Once you have landed in the student portal, click on the “Student” tab”, then click on “Student Records” where you will find the Independent Study Application in the menu.
6. Click on the “Independent Study Application”.
7. The Independent Study Form will populate. The Montclair State University regulations, processing time and procedure will display along with your information (class level, program, major).
8. You will need to choose the subject and the term in which you want to register for the independent study and then click on “Continue to Select your Course”.
9. Choose/enter the following fields:
- Course
- The part of the term if it differs from being a full-term course = Defaulted Full-term
- Enter the professor/faculty MSU email address. Must end in @mail.montclair.edu or
- Course subtitle if any. *course description/subtitle* is not a mandatory field.
10. Click on submit to continue.
11. Next page, the credit for the course will display. If it is a variable course, you will have a drop-down to choose the number of credits otherwise it will default to the course credits from the catalog.
12. The Faculty information along with the credits will display as a final confirmation, to confirm the information and submit your request please click on “Submit to confirm”.
12. Confirmation that your request has been submitted will display.
13. Please note the next step in the process will be the faculty/instructor for this course.
