Independent Studies

I am happy to work with you on independent studies and advance your doctoral studies. If you are considering asking me to supervise your independent studies, please refer to the following guidelines. Following these guidelines will help us to figure out a plan that better serves your scholarly needs.

Overall Guidelines


  1. I treat independent studies seriously. My understanding is that independent studies should be proposed and designed with a clear structure and goal. In this way, I can work with you if the goal of your independent studies is to serve one of the following goals: (1) to systematically survey the literature on one specific topic, or (2) to develop a research manuscript on one research question. I would not supervise an independent study if it is used to discuss research ideas or complete some readings.


  1. I strongly recommend that students do independent studies after completing all the required core and method courses, as these courses give you the general knowledge of and the research methods in the field that are necessary to learn one more specific research arena.

Timeline and Procedure

  1. You should contact me with an idea for independent studies ideally one month before the start of the semester. Please clarify what you want to achieve through the independent study.


  1. After both of us agree on the goal of the independent study, you should send me (1) a weekly reading list or (2) a one-page research proposal two weeks before the start of the semester.


  1. After both of us agree on the reading list or research proposal, we should complete the paperwork required by the university and figure out a time that we can meet monthly for a 30-min discussion before the start of the semester.