Our students begin research projects in their first semester of the program. Each summer faculty prepare descriptions of possible pre-candidate projects for incoming students, which are distributed to that cohort by the Graduate Program Chair. It is also possible for a faculty member and student to custom-design a project together. Pre-candidate projects should be feasible to complete within the first two years of the program. One of the requirements for advancing to candidacy is a written research requirement that is typically fulfilled by the submission of a first-author paper to an academic journal, based on work resulting from the pre-candidate project.
Students are not obligated to continue working with the same faculty member after advancing to candidacy. Most do, but it is also not uncommon for students to work with a different advisor for their dissertation research, depending on a student's interests and faculty availability. After advancing to candidacy, students develop a dissertation prospectus with their advisor, outlining their research plans for the rest of their time in the program. They form a dissertation committee that will meet at least annually, to provide oversight and guidance during the rest of their time in the program.
To see some examples of research being done by current students, please see our current graduate student profiles.
