During a student's first two years, he or she should be doing directed research at least half time; once all coursework is completed and before doing thesis research, full time (except when teaching). Different students, and different advisors, have different ideas of what directed research means and how progress can be demonstrated. It is the responsibility of both the student and his or her advisor to formulate for each semester a set of reasonable goals, plans, and criteria for success in conducting directed research.
At each semi-annual faculty meeting, the faculty review the student's previous semester's research progress and the student's next semester's research plans to ensure that the student is making satisfactory progress. The evaluation of a student's progress in directed research often depends on the student having produced some tangible result; examples include the implementation of pieces of a software system, a written report on research explorations, an annotated bibliography in a major area, or, as part of preparation for doing research, a passing grade in a graduate course (beyond the required 96 required units).
Advisors are individually responsible for adequately supervising this portion of the Ph.D. program.