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• Graduate Info
• For prospective students:
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Graduate Info

Mentoring Program

The department wishes to ensure that all students make adequate progress. Being a small department, we are able to work closely with students to help them successfully complete their degree.

The departmental plan for mentoring has the following components:

• Each student is assigned a faculty advisor upon entrance into the program. Meeting with that advisor is encouraged at a minimum on a semesterly bases.
• The faculty meets every spring semester to evaluate the progress of each doctoral student. Each doctoral student is notified in writing of the results of the evaluation. Students are encouraged to discuss their situation with their advisor before this meeting.
• Upon entering the graduate program, each student is to review the graduate handbook, which contains, among other information, checklists for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees with stated deadlines.
• Student participation in many of the departmental committees is actively encouraged.
• Faculty, including the department head, have an open door policy, and students are encouraged to talk to members of the faculty whenever they have problems or would like to discuss research or courses in the program.
• We have an active colloquium series. We attempt to include prominent women and minorities in this series. All students, especially doctoral students, are encouraged to attend these research colloquia to further their understanding of ongoing research in the field of Computer Science.
• While not always required, some faculty members request that their advisees write a thesis proposal. Other aids to developing writing skills include fairly extensive literature surveys and participation in writing grant proposals. These activities are assigned on an individual basis, depending on the needs of each student.
• One Friday each month, a Graduate Tea is held to incourage interaction between students, faculty, and staff. We also have occasional socials and picnics attended by faculty, staff, and graduate students.