The ability to customize your learning experience is both liberating and intimidating. One way to do this is to design your own college course or “Unit Study.” When it comes down to buckling down and learning something specific, conceiving a well-rounded course of study is extremely effective.

To some measure, you probably feel like what you design should be “official” and much like a real class – books, articles, tests, papers, grades, etc. However, the whole point of DIY college is to study something your way.

The basic structure of any sort of Unit Study is lots of learning in a set, compact amount of time, with a good balance of input and output. All three vary depending on the subject being pursued, as well as your personal learning style.

By compact time, it could be anywhere between a week and six months. The purpose of the compaction is to have specific goals and intentions which can be attained fairly rapidly. Also, because you will be working on it in such a concentrated manner, you will have the ability to see how much progress you are making even weekly, daily, or hourly. Much different than a real college class spent worrying about essay deadlines and the next test.

As far as input goes, again, it depends on you and your subject. You might prefer to sit down and read information. You might prefer going out and talking to different people who know a lot about the subject. You might prefer to shadow someone in a related field for a few days, or even get a job working under that person.

Output and deliverables show and reinforce what you are learning. They are highly recommended but not necessarily needed for every subject. For instance, let’s say your chosen Unit Study is Art History. This requires lots of reading, maybe some documentary-watching. But in lieu of taking a multiple-choice test, it would be far more valuable (and fun!) to tour some art museums nearby. You probably have a pretty good grasp on how you learn best at this time in your life – for all I know, you may prefer to combine a study of art, anatomy, and business to create elaborate paintings on the digestive system and sell them to school curriculum companies.

A good way to get started is to take a look at Zero Tuition College, which is a free online community of self-directed learners and leaders in their teens, twenties, thirties, and beyond. One of the features of the site is a list of Assignments designed by both students and MAGEs. The Assignments are of all sorts, and I’d highly recommend undertaking a couple at some point. This will also help you when you design your own college-type course. Which, if you become a member of ZTC, you can also submit to join the ranks of the Assignments. Huzzah!

I’ve posted a couple myself:
Undertake a Month-Long High-Yield Writing Project
Become an Amateur Naturalist

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!