A Learning Contract can be understood as an approach in teaching where students are viewed as lifelong learners. It aims to develop students' self-directedness and control of their own learning experience. The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the Learning Contract used in Directed Studies courses for graduate students. The author argues that Directed Studies classes may serve a dual purpose of both exploring students' learning patterns as adult learners and being a scholarly endeavor. This study is an auto-ethnographic account of the author's learning experience as an international adult learner during her first Directed Studies course in a doctoral program in the U.S.