Students receive 9 credit hours per semester for research during the fall and spring semesters of the research year, and 3 credit hours for the intersession. This aspect of the program will require a waiver of the usual limit of 6 research credits per year. This assignment of credits is quite conservative for the expected full-time research work. The usual formula for assigning credits for independent research is 3 hours of work per week per credit hour. The evaluation of the mentor takes into account the progress of the student on the research project.
Writing is an integral part of scientific work.
Accordingly, one aim of the mentored research program is to train students in scientific writing. Both the initial proposal and the final report are major pieces of work, involving a process of preparing drafts, receiving evaluations from a supervisor, and making revisions until an acceptable version is produced. The mentored research program culminates in the preparation of a written report of the research project in the form of a thesis. This report, to be completed by the end of the research year, is first submitted to the research mentor. The mentor will meet with the student to discuss the content and writing, and will request revisions if necessary.