During the first year of enrollment, each student selects an advisory committee and takes a battery of standardized examinations. The results of these examinations are used to determine course levels at which each student should commence study. Remedial undergraduate courses are sometimes recommended.
Students meet with their advisory committees yearly to discuss progress.
Masters students must present at least one departmental seminar during their tenure. Oral defense of the M.S. thesis is required before graduation. Doctoral candidates must also present two departmental seminars and take cumulative examinations, given 8 times per year. Oral defense of an original research proposal is also required, normally during the third year, and oral defense of the Ph.D. dissertation is required prior to graduation. Research Research is the most important, rewarding, and time-intensive component of a graduate student's training.