Advising

The Department of Applied Physics is committed to providing academic advising that supports graduate students’ scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the advisor and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the advisor and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

The Applied Physics Front Office is also essential to the advising team. Staff in the office inform students and advisors about university and department requirements, procedures, and opportunities, and maintain the official records of advising assignments and approvals. 

Faculty academic advisors guide students in critical areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

See Graduate Advising for a statement of university policy on graduate advising.

At the start of graduate study, each student is assigned a master’s program advisor: a member of our faculty who guides course selection, course planning, and the exploration of short and long-term academic opportunities and professional pathways. The program advisor is the first resource for consultation and advice about a student’s academic program. Usually, the same faculty member serves as a program advisor for the duration of the master’s study. In rare instances, a formal advisor change request may be considered. See the Applied Physics Front Office for additional information on this process.