CU Boulder APS Dept.: Graduate Student "Survival Information"

APS Graduate Program ~ Survival Information

Read the Survival Guide (Revised Fall 2010)

Important Information Year-by-Year

First Semester

Find your academic advisor and discuss classes. You should have met them in your entrance interview (during Fall Orientation).

Prepare for in-state tuition: Get a CO driver's license, register to vote, register your car, save your lease or buy a house, and read the tuition classification information.

Second Semester

Find a research group to try. For the last several years, there has been Faculty Research Talks where faculty give a brief overview of what research they do and what openings they may have.

Third Semester

Apply for in-state tuition: Talk to the graduate secretary, and then fill out the In-State Tutition Application. Doing so saves the department and/or your advisor money.

Yes, you do have to take Comps 1, and you do have to inform the graduate secretary that you intend to do so.

Fourth Semester

Comps 1 is taken in January of the fourth semester, before classes resume.

Comps 2 deadline for committe and topic selection: March 31.

Summer funding: Sometimes this comes from your Comps 2 advisor, sometimes from your (possible) thesis advisor. Sometimes grad students will find external funding through a summer fellowship program.

Fifth Semester

You will probably have 1 or 2 courses left that you need to take.

Comps 2 deadline: October 15. You will need to petition the department to extend this if you will not be ready (usually granted).

After Comps and Classes

Sign up for thesis hours and remain a full-time student. You can sign up for 5-10 thesis hours per semester, 5 being typical if you're not taking classes.

At least once a year, you are expected to meet with your advisor and 3-4 of your (potential) thesis committee members for a progress report. This serves the purpose of (1) you get to explain what you are doing (or plan to do), (2) you hear ideas from people who may have a somewhat different perspective than your adviser - suggestions for people to talk to, papers to read, avenues to explore, (3) if your adviser has some rather nutty ideas (no!) then the others provide a sanity check, and (4) you can avoid the situation where a member of your committee tells you that you need to do another 6 months' work a week before your defense. After this meeting, your advisor should write a brief summary and e-mail for your file.

Thesis requirements from the graduate school.

Read the requirements for advanced degrees from CU to make sure you haven't forgotten anything.

Comps do expire, so if you stay here more than 5 years after you have taken them, you may have to take them again (you can petition the department / graduate school to "keep them" valid).

Comps 1 Information

Comps 1 is a one-day written examination designed to test a student's mastery of basic material deemed necessary to proceed to a Ph.D. thesis and research. The Comps 1 will be given each January and will normally be taken by all students about to begin their fourth semester of graduate studies. The test consists of five required questions, covering material in the five APS Core Courses: Atomic and Molecular Processes; Radiative and Dynamical Processes; Introduction to Fluid Dynamics; Mathematical Methods; and Observations, Data Analysis, and Statistics. The questions will be broadly based on material in these classes. The examination will be given in one day, with sessions in the morning (2 questions) and afternoon (3 questions).

Any student who fails Comps 1 will be allowed to retake the written exam once, normally in the next year. All students are encouraged to proceed with their Comps 2 research. By APS faculty vote (Feb 17, 2010) and following current Graduate School rules, there will no longer be any opportunity for a follow-up oral exam, after two failures of Comps 1.

Comps 1 FAQ (Written by faculty member Andrew Hamilton, October 2010)

1. If a student fails Comps 1, what further recourse do they have?

A student is permitted to take Comps 1 twice. Graduate School rules prescribe that a qualifying exam may be taken at most twice. If a student fails Comps 1 twice, they have no further recourse.

2. What rules regarding Comps apply to students who transfer from elsewhere?

There are no set rules. The APS Graduate Admissions Committee may recommend to the APS Chair forgiveness of some requirements. For example, the Admissions Committee could recommend that an exam comparable to one or both of Comps 1 and 2 passed elsewhere be taken as equivalent to having having passed in APS. A transfer student should obtain written agreement from the Admissions Committee about any credits, prior to transfering.

3. Can Comps be postponed for medical or parental reasons?

There is no specific departmental policy regarding leave for medical, parental, or other reasons. Graduate School rules describe the Time Out Program, which offers a way for students to leave CU for up to one year for any extenuating circumstance, including medical or parental reasons.

Comps 2 Information

Comps 2 is designed to examine a Ph.D. candidate's ability to carry out semi-independent research and to encourage students to develop skills in written and oral communication and time management.

The Comps 2 project is also meant to encourage students to become involved in research early in their graduate careers. These skills and experience are critical in the academic and industrial market.

Comps 2 is an independent research project, which student organizes, completes, and presents to a 5-person committee approved by the Chair (or delegated to the Associate Chair). After taking Comps 1, the student selects a Comps 2 committee and a non-advocate chair, who is not his/her research advisor. Early in the process, the student should obtain formal approval from the committee of a short research proposal that describes the scope of the research project. After 4-8 months of work, the student should submit a written research paper or its equivalent and make an oral presentation to the committee. Approval of the Comps 2 project will be made by the APS faculty, upon recommendation of the committee. In the event that the student fails to pass Comps 2,the student and committee will work out a plan to remedy the shortcomings.

The paper and presentation should demonstrate that the student has learned many of the professional skills needed to succeed as a scientist. The goal for the paper is that, after some further development, it could be publishable in a refereed journal or conference proceedings. The committee's judgement of the appropriate level of the project should be based on objective criteria. For example, the project should create new knowledge and utilize significant research skills. In the written and oral presentation, the student should demonstrate a well-defined contribution to the project and should be able to explain the scientific background and context of the research. A grade of "High Pass" will be awarded to students who exhibit strong mastery of these goals.

Comps 2 FAQ (Written by faculty member John Stocke, October 1996, Ammended in October 2010 by Andrew Hamilton)

1. "The research for Comps 2 can't be part of my thesis research, it must be on an unrelated topic."

NOT TRUE. Often the Comps 2 becomes a portion of the student's PhD thesis but sometimes the student WISHES to broaden her/his reasearch horizons and so ELECTS to take on COMPS 2 research in an area broadly related to or completely unrelated to his/her PhD thesis topic. The choice is left to the student with concurrence by the Comps 2 committee.

2. "My RA advisor cannot be my Comps 2 research advisor."

NOT TRUE. In fact, it is usually the case that the RA advisor (and possible thesis advisor) is also the Comps 2 advisor. But the Comps 2 project should go beyond the work the student does as an RA in the sense that the Comps 2 work should be more independent--it is best done as an extension to or "side effort" of the RA work, if Comps 2 is on a related topic.

3. "I am confused about the role of the chair of my Comps 2 committee, vis a vis my Comps 2 advisor."

The role of the Comps 2 chair is to be both an "impartial" advocate for the student and the official departmental representative. In the former role, the Comps 2 chair advises the student AND the COMPS 2 advisor whether the proposed project is suitable for Comps 2; i.e. substantial enough to determine whether the student can do semi-independent research and yet not too lengthy so it is possible to be completed in the allotted time. In the latter role, the Comps 2 chair is responsible for monitoring the progress of the Comps 2, co-ensuring (with the student) that all deadlines are met and convening progress report meetings during the course of the Comps 2 work.

4. "Since this is the second time that I have to take COMPS 1, I am spending all my time this Fall studying for that exam and have put off Comps 2 until the Spring."

BAD MOVE. The Comps 2 research project is used by the faculty to give us additional information concerning the capabilities of the candidate in our decision to determine if they should "advance to candidacy." Indeed, the Comps rules specifically state: "Students may not retake Comps 1 until after Comps 2 has been attempted."

In addition, the Comps rules also make it clear that: "SHORT delays due to extenuating circumstances will be granted by petition only." . . . and further that any petitions for extension should be by recommendation of the entire Comps 2 committee. The committee should meet by Oct 15th anyway to assess progress and prior to Sept 15th if the possibility of an extension is required. Finally, all attempts at Comps 2 must take place before the end of the 6th semester.

It has come to the faculty's attention that several students have stretched the rules beyond these limits. While it is primarily the responsibility of the student to make sure that these rules are followed (or risk failure), faculty oversight and guidance has also been lacking in these cases. At the last faculty meeting, it was the sense of the faculty that those students who are currently testing these limits should not be overly-penalized because faculty oversight has been slack too. Therefore, the faculty will admit those extensions granted recently by the chair to current COMPS 2 projects. However, this is a one-time pardon.

We are particularly concerned about two types of extensions:

1. Extensions on Comps 2 for those students who failed Comps 1 last winter. In these cases, if Comps 1 is retaken without Comps 2 being attempted, the students should be aware that the faculty will be making their decision concerning the continuing progress of the student with only the Comps 1 results being available.

2. Extensions on Comps 2 which are still pending but were due LAST October 15. Such a long extension is simply unacceptable and, in the future, will constitute a failure on Comps 2.

Summary of Comps 2 Deadlines:

BEGIN COMPS 2 RESEARCH: Anytime after matriculation but no later than Feb of second year (4th semester).

SELECT TOPIC, RESEARCH ADVISOR & COMPS 2 CHAIR: MARCH 31st of 4th Semester; Submit required topic & committee to department.

SUBMIT WRITTEN COMPS 2 REPORT: At least one week prior to scheduled oral exam.

COMPS 2 ORAL DEFENSE: OCT 15TH (5TH SEMESTER)

PETITION FOR EXTENSION: SEPT 15th (WITH COMMITTEE CONCURRENCE) SUBMIT PETITION TO ASSOCIATE CHAIR

HARD DEADLINE FOR STUDENTS RETAKING COMPS 1: Before COMPS 1 retake.

HARD DEADLINE FOR COMPS 2 ATTEMPTS: END OF 6TH SEMESTER

5. If a student fails Comps 2, what further recourse do they have? Can the Comps 2 committee recommend a conditional pass?

A student is permitted to take Comps 2 twice. If a student fails Comps 2 twice, they have no further recourse. The Comps 2 committee may recommend a pass with conditions. The conditions might be, for example, that the student take a certain course, and pass with a certain minimum grade.

6. How many committee members are required on a Comps 2 committee? Who can serve on a Comps 2 committee? Is an "outside member" required or recommended?

A Comps 2 committee should have 5 members. At least 3 of those members should be rostered faculty (Assistant, Associate, Full Professor) in APS.

Other members must have a Faculty appointment in the Graduate School. The latter includes non-tenure track research associates (postdocs). If a prospective member is not Graduate School Faculty, they can apply by filling in a form, and will normally be approved.

An outside member is allowed, but not required.

7. Comps 2 feedback.

The Comps 2 Committee will provide some form of feedback to the student. This could be an informal discussion with the Committee Chair and some other members. Feedback from the advisor is always expected. If desired, a student can request a written summary from the committee, with recommendations.

8. Appropriate decorum during Comps 2.

The faculty will be reminded to try to reserve blackboard-type questions until the audience is dismissed.

Thesis

Thesis work generally begins in the fifth or sixth semester, after passing Comps 1 and 2. Students establish a progress review committee, which meets regularly to evaluate the student's progress. The progress review committee often forms the core of the student's thesis committee. Graduate students are required to write and defend a thesis before their thesis committee. For the curious, university Ph.D. requirements are discussed in more detail in the requirements for advanced degrees section of the course catalog.