To assure that students plan their work properly with appropriate advice from the faculty, students are required to maintain an Individual Study Plan. The student submits an initial plan at New Student Orientation, when registering for first semester courses. This plan must be updated every semester, before December 1 and May 1. The plan must be approved by the student’s faculty adviser before it is submitted. It must be approved by the departmental Doctoral Coordinator and the Program Director before the student is registered for the following semester. By the end of the first year, the plan must include a complete plan of course work. By the end of the second year, it must also include a plan for the dissertation.
November and April, the months preceding the due dates for updates to the students’ plans, are the main advising periods for the program.