This nearly unique combination represents the culmination of a long tradition of close collaborative interaction between students and faculty. In particular, the graduate programs allow us to provide superior research resources through significant external research funding, and the graduate students are key contributors to the intellectual life of the department.In particular, the graduate programs allow us to provide superior research resources through significant external research funding, and the graduate students are key contributors to the intellectual life of the department.

Undergraduate students participate fully in faculty research programs. Under the guidance of their faculty mentors, they design and conduct experiments and interpret the results. They may present the results of their research in a departmental seminar or at a national conference. Many research students coauthor papers published in the scientific literature, and most produce a senior thesis based on their research.