Applicants do not need to secure an advisor prior to applying to the program. Applicants are encouraged to email potential advisors prior to applying, with details about an applicant’s academic background and specific research interests as well as their specific interest in the potential advisor’s research topics.
In the ‘Statement of academic goals and research interests’, applicants should specify the faculty advisor(s) with whom they are most interested in working and include how the applicant’s research interests are clearly related to the potential advisor’s research.
PhD Programs
CBEE offers two pathways for the selection one’s PhD Advisor; General Admit & Direct Admit. The difference in these two admission types is when the student is matched with their advisor.
Learn more about this process on Slide 8 in the Doctoral programs via VoiceThread presentation.
Direct Admits.
Direct admits are matched with an advisor during the application review process and the admission offer specifies the applicant’s research advisor. As such the advisor matching process is completed prior to admission and the individual is admitted to the PhD program with a specific advisor. During the student’s first semester, they begin developing their research program with their advisor.
General Admits.
Based on the application review process, two faculty members are identified a potential advisors and the applicant is offered admission as a ‘General Admit’. The student is admitted to the PhD program without a specific advisor and conducts research rotations to determine a match for an advisor/advisee relationship for the student’s dissertation.
The research rotations takes place during the student’s first semester. Each rotation lasts 6 – 7 weeks. In preparation for each rotation, students work with the rotation faculty to develop a rotation plan which includes goals, expectations and measures of success. After each rotation, the student submits a rotation report and self-evaluation of their performance. After the rotations are complete, the Graduate Program Director works together with the faculty to identify the best match for each student.
MS programs
All MS students are admitted to the coursework only or project-based pathway and are advised by the Graduate Program Director. Students interested in pursuing a MS thesis will be advised on the process for selecting research advisor after the initial admission offer.