In addition to the day-to-day supervision by the group leader in whose laboratory the research is being performed (primary supervisor), each PhD student has a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC is designed to give guidance to the student during his/her thesis work and to evaluate the project and the performance of the student. The primary supervisor and two other members of the PhD program faculty serve on the TAC. One member of the TAC must be a professor at the TUD, who is responsible for determining the faculty through which the PhD degree is granted.
Following the submission of a project proposal after one month, and an initial report meeting after 3 to 6 months, TAC meetings are scheduled on an annual basis. TAC meetings include a written report and an oral presentation covering the theoretical background, research progress, results obtained so far, and experiments to be done in the future. The Initial Report focuses on the detailed outline of the thesis project and planning for future experiments. The 3rd Annual Report meeting defines the work to be done prior to writing and submitting the thesis, and the time frame for obtaining the doctorate.