Before they can take the qualifying examination for the doctorate, students must complete an early research project. This independent piece of research is conducted under the oversight of a faculty member during one or more of a student's required rotations. As the resulting manuscript stems from research often conducted under time constraints, the program grants some latitude on the amount of data required and/or the success of experiments undertaken. Thus, a manuscript may not meet standards required for actual publication, although a majority of the manuscripts submitted to the committee have been published. Publication is not a requirement of the program, however.
