Advising

There are several levels of advising. Each entering student is assigned one of the associate directors of the program as a personal adviser. In addition, a three-person Advising Committee meets once each year with each student in the program. During the first year, discussions generally center on the research rotations, progress on the core curriculum, the general direction of the student's research interests, and the choice of a thesis lab. In the second year, discussions concern research progress, course electives and timing of the oral exam. After the second year meeting, the advising committee recommends whether the student is ready to take the oral qualifying exam. The decision is based on the student's laboratory performance, the mentor's evaluation, and on the student's performance the pre-proposal document (see below).

After advancement to candidacy, the most critical advising is handled by the thesis advisory committee, which the student must convene within 3 months after passing the oral qualifying exam. This group of 4 faculty should all be expert in the chosen research field and competent to evaluate research progress. They meet with the student no less than once per year and report on the student progress to the administrator of the program. In addition, the student and mentor must provide a brief written summary of progress to the secretary of the program. The general advising committee consults these summaries before its discussion with the candidate.