The Independent Interdisciplinary Research Seminar allows motivated, responsible students to study topics not included in the Horace Mann curriculum or to continue research on a topic covered in a previous course. Each student in program designs a research project and pursues it through independent study guided by a faculty mentor. Students meet with their mentors at least once a week and with the seminar director at least once every two weeks. Indpendent Study members also convene three times per cycle for an interdisciplinary seminar.
All participants keep journals in which they record their research.
Each trimester they must produce evidence of their work, usually a research paper, a literary or artistic work, a scientific experiment, or a performance. The project's content determines the form of the final result. Project grades are commensurate with the Horace Mann grading policy and comprise two-thirds of the trimester grade. During seminar sessions students teach each other about the knowledge acquired through their independent work. They also discuss a limited number of common readings.