At the conclusion of Year 2, graduate students ideally focus on the specialized areas for their dissertations. These students occasionally take advanced and/or special topics courses to deepen their understanding of their specialty areas.

Once per year, each student will meet with her or his dissertation committee, which covers a broad spectrum of knowledge and acts as an advisory board to assist the dissertation research project. At the same time, the dissertation committee will work to maintain departmental standards of achievement. This Annual Committee Meeting will measure the progress of your work and redirect as necessary.