In most cases the best thing to do is to attend the first class meeting. If the instructor can add you, she or he will give you a slip which has the instructions for authorizing you to be added into the class. I am an Economics Major or Minor, should I take 250 Business and Government No. This course is designed for non majors. You should take 350 Monopoly, Competition, and Public Policy instead which covers the same material but at a higher level.
Independent study is usually open only to majors who have completed the core courses.
Before approaching a faculty member to request an independent study, you should prepare a proposal that indicates the topic, describes your preparation for pursuing the topic, lists tentative readings that you expect to cover, and describes the nature of written work you plan to complete. With regard to preparation, you should have taken all of the courses that provide background for the topic you have chosen. For example, if you want to do research on the impact of taxation on the distribution of income, you should have taken Economics 309 Elements of Public Finance . The better prepared you are and the more carefully worked out is your proposal, the more likely you are to find a sponsoring faculty member. The Economics Department has no internship program and usually does not give credit for internships.