Ph.D. students are required to submit a thesis for their degree. All graduate students will have an academic advisor. For those students submitting a thesis, the thesis project supervisor will also serve as the academic advisor. The selection of the advisor is a mutual agreement by the student and a faculty member after consultation with each other.
Students normally select an advisor prior to admission.
Potential graduate students are urged to contact faculty they would like to work with well ahead of their final decision to enroll in the university. The areas of research and interests of the faculty are available on these web pages, as well as how to contact individual faculty. If possible, students should personally visit the Department and the laboratories of several of the faculty before final decisions are made. The advice and consent of the advisor is necessary on all matters pertaining to the student's academic program while at the University. These areas describe broad areas of specialization of the faculty in the Department.