Independent Study and Mentorship (ISM) is an exciting, rigorous elective offered at Frisco ISD high schools, designed for high-achieving juniors or seniors. The course includes research analysis, original idea generation, product design, and hands-on experiences in a professional environment. After students are entered into the program they must choose a topic of study to research for the entire year. Once their topic is picked students must meet up with professionals in their feel and conduct informational interviews to acquire knowledge in a specific field. Then they will carefully choose a mentor to have for the whole year to guide them through what they need to know. Although most of the year has students doing their duties individually, teachers make sure that they stay on task and gain a multitude of skills such as professionalism, communication, time-management, and public speaking. ISM consists of intense research, topic-related product development, public speaking, resume writing, interviewing skills, business and social etiquette, and hands-on experiences in real work environments.