Approved tutorials will count as courses. Qualifying Exam Students will take this exam in at the end of the first semester of the 2nd year. The primary purpose of this exam is to determine whether the student can independently design a set of experiments and critically evaluate them. The thesis project itself may not be such a test, since it may involve ideas of the thesis advisor and input from collaborators. Because the proposal is put together in a few weeks, it is not expected to be as complete as a thesis project.
Details are in the Appendix.
This decision will be based on the faculty's opinion about the student's ability to do independent research as demonstrated in the overall performance in rotations, courses, and the qualifying exam. If a thesis advisor from outside the Department is chose, then a co-advisor from the Department will be assigned. The student should discuss the choice and the co-advisor with the Director of Graduate Studies before beginning research. The Director of Graduate Studies will appoint a Provisional Thesis Committee after the qualifying exam that will meet with the student once a year to review progress. The first meeting will be at the end of the second year, when the thesis prospectus will be presented.