Unlike most units, we need the details planned in detail well before the start of a trimester. This means you and the supervisor need to have your IGS contract approved, with all details of assessment, reading and direction, locked in BEFORE you enrol in your unit.

Once those details are locked in you can start work, i.e. you begin reading and taking notes on those books you have committed to read. Next, you start work on your assessments. You will normally have an assignment due around week 3-4, or about a third of the way through the study period. This is to make sure that you are making healthy progress, and allow you to get some feedback from your supervisor. From here it is basically the same as any other units – 2-3 pieces of assessment and readings spread through the trimester.

If you are interviewing people, this is probably steering the work towards a Research Project or Essay, where the interviews will require an ethical clearance from the AUCD. Have a conversation with ACOM staff to work out what will be required in your situation.

Students can complete an IGS or any research unit in any area of the sub-disciplines of the AUCD. In practice this means you can select from the following areas: Biblical Studies, Theology, History, Christian Spirituality, Mission, Pastoral Theology and Counselling. The most common sub-discipline is Pastoral Theology, as it easily allows for a practical application of theological concepts, and more of our existing units fall into that area. As a general rule, you should not consider doing an IGS in a subdiscipline unless you have developed some expertise in that area from other units.

There really is no limit to what you can explore. Here are some suggestions from other students:

• Providing spiritual care for people with dementia by focusing on individual identity
• Integrated wellness as a goal of wholistic Spiritual Formation
• How could a theology of Spirit Christology help the Church address the faith and life disconnect for millennial's?
• To ascertain the current aspects of hospital chaplaincy and provide directions for the individual and possibly the system.
• Toward a biblical-theological framework for human rights
• Exploring the church's role in supporting people with mental health issues, such as past and current support, biblical perspectives, expectations of the church and community, understanding of mental health issues, and strengths and weaknesses of the church in providing support to people and their families.
• Seeking to understand Spiritual Direction as a form of pastoral care from a theoretical basis in order to apply in a variety of ministry contexts

Normally students interested in an area will have some books that they know they are considering. These should be books that you have not read before, so that you can ensure you are actually learning in this unit. Once you have an idea of the overall direction, you might want to ask other Christian leaders for their suggestions too. ACOM’s online library will be very helpful for finding journal articles and eBooks that you might not have considered. The articles in particular are crucial in elevating the academic rigour of your work. After you have made a start, your supervisor will also work with you to make sure your readings are appropriate.

When it comes time to submit your assessment, it will be slightly different to a normal unit. You will see a unit in Moodle (under My Courses) called “Independent Guided Study Submission Point” which will have places to submit your assignment called Assignment 1, Assignment 2 etc. Please submit each of your assessments, in order, in those places.