It is a student’s responsibility to find a research adviser. One aim of requiring students to take the 590 course is to ensure that they become acquainted with current research in the department. Students should speak with faculty in whose research they are interested and find out about the possibilities of working with these faculty. Students are strongly encouraged to find a research adviser by the end of the summer after the first year. This adviser will be polled twice a year by e-mail as to whether students are making satisfactory progress toward a degree. If a student has not yet found an adviser by the beginning of the second year, the Director of Graduate Studies will act as that student’s interim adviser.
Second year students who are having difficulty finding a research adviser should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies will assist such students in finding a research area, with the goal that every student has a research adviser before the end of the spring semester of the second year.