Students must submit a research proposal and present it to their advisory committee. The student advisory committee consists of at least three faculty members, including the advisor; at least two of whom hold primary appointments in EEE (with one being a tenured Full Professor).
A 10-page report (single-spaced) will be submitted to the committee seven days before the exam and used as part of the evaluation.
Students are generally expected to submit their thesis proposal after three semesters of doctoral studies.
The student advisory committee considers the scope of the proposed research, its suitability for doctoral research, and the appropriateness of the research plan.
The outcome of the evaluation of the thesis proposal is pass or fail. The student and advisor will confer on a plan to finish or exit the program after the exam, depending on the result.
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The thesis defense committee consists of at least five faculty members (at least three must be from EEE, one from another department within SEAS/Columbia and one must be an outsider (outside of Columbia). At least one of the department members has to hold tenure, preferably of full professor position.
The thesis must be submitted to the thesis defense committee 4 weeks before the defense.