PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATION.  During the first academic year (three
quarters) a graduate student is expected to take a total of ten courses
(seven in astronomy and three outside astronomy; details of the outside
courses are given elsehwere).  The purpose of these courses is to give
the student a sound pedagogical foundation in astronomy and appropriate
background in physics.
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The student is expected to be obtain B or better grade in each of these
subjects.  It is expected that the lecturers of the astronomy courses,
in the spirit of the need for a sound pedagogical foundation, will
design the grading scheme to test the knowledge acquired by the
student. The favored grading method is a closed-book final exam.
Each lecturer will not only report the grade but also strengths
and weaknesses of the student (based, for example, on the homeworks)
to the EO.
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At the discretion of the Executive Officer (EO), students who have
failed to obtain B grade or better will be retested in specific
courses during Qualifying exam (see below).

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RESEARCH.  The option holds the strong view that students should be
involved deeply in research as soon as possible. After all, undertaking
research is the prime goal of any graduate program. We do recognize
that some students come from an undergraduate program with little or no
astronomy background.  The best plan for such students may often be to
concentrate on the course work during their first three quarters.  On
the other hand, students with strong astronomy backgrounds are
encouraged to undertake research during the academic year. In
particular, such students are strongly encouraged to start on the
"Proposition" as soon as possible.

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Starting the beginning of the Summer quarter, all students are expected
to undertake serious research. They are free to choose their research
advisors. In consultation with their advisor the student is expected
to define a small research project, hereafter "Proposition".
While not absolutely essential, we do recommend that the propositions
be chosen so that the end result is a publishable paper.


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Preparation for independent research requires not only deep
familiarity with a particular specialised field, but also a broad
understanding of other areas of astronomy and their interconnections.
To this end, we expect students to broaden their horizon by attending
(at the very least) the weekly colloquim and participating in the
Journal club and seminar courses (e.g. Ay 215) and engaging in self
study of review papers.