APPLICATION FOR
READINGS AND CONFERENCE (BMI 590)
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS DEPARTMENT
PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
Last Name
First Name
10 Digit Student ID #
Email Address
Credit Hours
Semester
Year
Date
Cumulative GPA*
*Student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to register for independent study hours.
*MS students are allowed to use 3 hours of BMI 590 toward their degree.
*PhD students are allowed to use 9 hours of BMI 790 toward their degree.
*Please read guidelines on the following page.
Student and faculty to provide a topic description, purpose, meeting schedule, deliverables and
reading list in order to be considered:
The department suggests that the student produce no fewer than three 5 to 7 page papers synthesizing the materials read over the
course of the semester.
Name (Please Print)
Title/ Department
Signature/Date
Student
Supervising Instructor
Graduate Program Director
Graduate Program Director, BMI
Please submit form to Academic Success Coordinator, Laura Kaufman, for processing.
Last Updated: March 2012
BMI 590/790: Readings and Conference
Department of Biomedical Informatics
Reading and conference courses (BMI 590/790) are independent study courses in which a student meets
regularly with a faculty member to carry out specific assignments that permit the student to gain deep
understanding in a targeted area where there are no ASU courses that would permit them to gain the same
understanding. Assignments could be intensive reading in a specialized area, a synthesis of literature on a
specific topic, or a literature review.
An application for approval of the course must be prepared by the student working with the faculty
member who will oversee the course. The application must include a description of the purpose of the
course and a reading list. The application must describe a schedule for regular meetings between the
student and the faculty member. The application must describe “deliverables” for the course. It is
recommended that these deliverables comprise between 5 and 7 papers that describe the readings and/or
synthesis (as interim steps) and a final summarizing paper.
Reading and Conference courses must be planned BEFORE the semester in which credit is sought and the
application for approval of the Reading and Conference course must be submitted for approval to the
Academic Program Director BY THE END OF THE WEEK OF THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES. For
example, if classes start on Thursday, the application is due the following day, Friday.
Reading and Conference courses are not research courses. Students cannot enroll in a Reading and
Conference work to obtain academic credit to conduct research.
PhD students are allowed to use only 9 hours of BMI 790 (Reading and Conference) toward their degree.
If a student started the program as a MS student and completed BMI 590, that course will be counted
toward the 9 credits hours Reading and Conference as a PhD student.
MS students are allowed to use only 3 hours of BMI 590 (Reading and Conference) toward their degree.
Both PhD and MS students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to register for BMI 590/790 (Reading and
Conference).
Last Updated: March 2012