The pairing of a graduate student and a professor requires agreement between both parties. Both student and faculty member must be willing to work with the other. They need to trust and rely on each other.

I have a few requirements of a graduate student before I will even consider accepting them as an advisee.

• You must have a GPA of 3.0 or better.
• If the project is related to a class that I teach, you must take this class (and achieve a grade of B or better). These classes give you the necessary background needed to work in the area of research.
• You must have time to work on a project. A student who is taking many classes and working elsewhere will probably not have the time to work on a project.

If you choose to work with me, there are several things that I, as your advisor, will do for you.

• I will intervene on your behalf, as much as feasible, to resolve any difficulties you have with the University. Your advisor is your champion in battles with the administration.
• I will assist you in planning your project.
• I will provide you with the resources to complete your project.
• When funding is available, I will attempt to provide monetary support for my graduate students.

In return, I expect several things of the students who work with me:

• You are expected to show up to meetings, prepared and on time.
• You are expected to understand the material you are working on. This may require you to seek additional information and read papers on your topic.
• You are expected to work diligently on your project. You should make steady progress towards its completion. This requires working at least 10 hours on the project every week. If you run into difficulties that you cannot easily overcome, report them to your advisor.
• You are expected to see your project through to the end. Once you have committed to working on a project, you should not quit to go do something else.
• You are expected to write a paper on your work suitable for presentation at a conference or publication in a journal.