项目介绍

2022年10月19日

Advising

All entering students are assigned to a first-year advisor who works closely with the student through the first two years of graduate study, or until a thesis advisor is found. The first-year advisor advises the student on courses of study, helps familiarize them with the department and provides guidance in finding research opportunities. In the beginning of each fall semester, the department holds a “research jamboree” where incoming students are introduced to the research in the department through a series of brief talks, lab tours, and research group open houses. Thus, the students are familiar, immediately upon their arrival, with the scope of research in the department and can identify prospective research advisors they may wish to work with.

Program Requirements

The Ph.D. program has strong emphasis on early and active involvement in graduate research. Thus, students are required to have a research advisor and file a research summary every semester they are enrolled in the program, starting with the first one. Furthermore, students must complete the required courses with a grade of B- or better; the coursework is typically done over the first two years. In the beginning of the second year, students complete the research examination, and in the beginning of the third year – the University’s Graduate Board Oral examination, both of which are based on completed or proposed research. During the first two years, students are typically involved in introductory research projects, which may or may not be related to their thesis work, and sometimes work with several different advisors, but they must identify (and have an agreement with) a thesis advisor no later than the beginning of their third year in the program, after which point students focus on their thesis research. The thesis is to be completed by no later than the end of the 6th year, ending with an oral presentation of the thesis to a faculty committee.