EPP GRADUATE EDUCATION
Information and Frequently Asked Questions

The Ph.D. is about learning how to do independent research, how to create new knowledge.  Thus, it is quite different from a BS or an MS.  In those degrees, the objective is to learn a certain body of established knowledge, usually by taking courses.  While courses can also be helpful in learning how to structure research questions and do research, they are really only one of several means to an end.  The way people really learn to do research is by rolling up their sleeves and doing it, usually in collaboration with some mentors who have had a lot of previous experience.

In our research we advance the state-of-knowledge and -art in how engineering policy problems are formulated, solved and interpreted for policy insight and development.  We are highly interdisciplinary, often approaching problems with teams of faculty and students bringing different skills, insights and methods from different disciplines.  We present our results at conferences, publish in the best journals, and communicate our results to decision makers and the public through various government and private committees, councils and advisory boards.  Our results influence both how others think about and do research on similar or related problems, and how decision makers develop and implement policy in government agencies, corporations and non-government organizations (NGO's) in the US and internationally. 

The department is currently involved in several large collaborative efforts.  These include:  Climate Decision Making Center; the Green Design Initiative; the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies; the Center for the Study and Improvement of Regulation; Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS); The Pittsburgh Atmospheric Particulate Matter Supersite Program, the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Center, the CMU Program in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, & Technological Change, a set of activities in internet commerce, telephone service, etc.; a set of activities in risk-analysis, -ranking, -communications; and a set of activities involving energy systems in India. Visit EPP's research page for more information.

Are students limited to a narrow set of research topics in the above areas, or can I influence the choice of my topic and its overall direction?

Much, indeed most of the research in the department is faculty-initiated.  The faculty write research proposals, start centers and conduct research in their areas of interest and focus; the interests of our current faculty are generally covered in the list provided above.  However, the list is always evolving, as are the particular projects within and between the major research domains.  Often this evolution is sparked by a new faculty hire, often by the interests of our students.  We encourage our students to think independently and creatively about their research - this is part of the Ph.D. training process.  Nevertheless, our students must work within the limits of available resources, both intellectual and financial, to accomplish their goals.

Strong advising and research supervision are essential to a good educational program, and we work hard to see that our students benefit from the knowledge and guidance of committed faculty advisors.

Do I get to choose my faculty advisor(s)?

New students are initially assigned two faculty advisors.  These advisors help students choose their initial courses and begin their research planning.  Usually one or both of these advisors are actively involved in the research domain of the incoming student and eventually become their thesis advisor.  Most often, these faculty are the principal (or, co-principal) investigators on the research project that supports the student in their first and subsequent years in the department.  Usually the incoming student will have already met and discussed the project with these faculty during the application and interview process.  As such, there is a mutual agreement and understanding that develops between the department and the incoming student as to who their advisor or advisors will be.  Students with their own support, or the support of a more open-ended fellowship, may have more flexibility in choosing their advisors.  However, for these students as well, we attempt to make a good initial assignment of advisors to allow their research plans to materialize as soon as possible.

In either case, the initial advisor assignments are not set in stone.  Students may change their advisors, either due to a change in research interests or a mutual recognition that the approach and interests of the student and faculty member are not compatible.  This is usually done in consultation with, and the approval of, the faculty involved and some combination of the Department Head, the Associate Department Head for Graduate Education, and the Graduate Education Committee.  The most common time for a change in advisors to occur is following the qualifying exams, after the student's third semester.  However, changes, if needed, can also occur before or after that time.

At EPP we have evolved to a system where many of our graduate students have more than one research advisor, typically two or three.  This has occurred because most of our research projects are now team efforts, involving multiple faculty and students in research centers or interdisciplinary projects.  It has also occurred because students, in the process of developing their qualifying exam research paper, must interact with and satisfy the demands and interests of the full faculty of the department.  Students and faculty now recognize that exposure to a broad range of insights and perspectives is essential for the student to successfully navigate the qualifying exam process. Students thus seek out the input and participation of a number of faculty members, and our faculty are happy to help and have their advice considered.  Occasionally a student will work in the more traditional single-advisor mode.  However, this approach is becoming less common in EPP, and students and faculty seem to agree that the active participation of multiple advisors both benefits the quality of the research and protects and enhances the quality of the student's educational experience.