Except during their first month in the program, each student has a faculty advisor charged with guiding the education and monitoring the progress of the student through the program. This personal student-advisor relationship ensures that every student receives the necessary faculty mentoring. Throughout the program, the advisor is responsible for guiding the student's research and education. Early in the program, the advisor guides the student along some research initiative and helps with strategic planning for courses and other educational activities. Later, the advisor helps to focus the student's research interests towards a thesis topic. Toward the end of the program, the advisor chairs the student's thesis committee, and helps to select the other members of the committee. The advisor also provides the student with career advice.
How are advisors initially chosen? Near the end of their first month, entering students are matched with faculty advisors by the ``handshake'' process. Students list faculty preferences and faculty list student preferences; a committee then matches each student with a faculty member, taking into consideration each of their preferences and other factors. Students base their faculty preferences on research interests. They can learn about an individual faculty member's research interests by attending the faculty's research presentation during the IC, by reading the Department's annual Faculty Research Guide, and from meeting individually with different faculty members during their first month here.
There is flexibility in the kind of relationship a student has with his or her advisor. Some students work more closely with their advisors than any other faculty member, and some students work more closely with another faculty member on a particular research project. A few students have two co-advisors. It is also relatively easy to switch advisors and is often done because of a shift in the student's research interests.
A student may be advised by any SCS teaching or research faculty member. Some faculty from outside SCS may also have advising privileges which are granted by the Department Head.