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Home > Graduate : Advising

Advising

The First Year

First-year students are assigned a temporary advising committee prior to their arrival. The assignment of the committee is made on the basis of the student’s stated interests and/or who is most available to advise the student. The temporary advising committee will provide the student with academic advice; including advice on what and how to study, the shape and scope of the student’s academic program, where to go for additional instruction, and so on. Students should seek advice early and often. The assignment of an initial advising committee, and the committee’s willingness to meet with the student several times during the first semester, is a framework designed to allow students ample opportunity to discuss their program of study with faculty and to learn about the expectations of the program. Students need to take advantage of this arrangement and be proactive in the advising process, arranging meetings, for example, with their committee as necessary.

Choosing a Permanent Advisor

By the end of a student’s first year, he or she will reach an agreement with one faculty member to be their permanent advisor. (The may or may not be someone from their initial advising team.)  Our department traditionally has employed a single-advisor system; one faculty member is formally responsible for both advising the student and approving the student’s academic path and progress. Within this system, the student and advisor design the student’s program together. It is also permitted to have co-advisors, one of whom may be from another department. The approval of the DGS, Chair, and examining committee is only required at formal junctures. The great diversity of views, approaches, and backgrounds within our faculty means that each advisor approaches the advising relationship differently, and has different advice to give. While progress through the program requires the student to reach mutual agreement with his/her advisor on how to proceed, he/she will be wise to seek information and opinions from several faculty members, of diverse backgrounds and subfields, and synthesize all of this information along with their own judgment in formulating their plans.