We teach students to become researchers through a kind of apprenticeship.
Experienced researchers take graduate students under their wing and tutor them individually on how to do research--a slow and somewhat erratic procedure. This article describes a course that is designed to accelerate the process by imparting professional research skills. It has been taught for three years to incoming graduate students, and includes seminars by experienced researchers, presentations by students in the class, and lectures and discussions on topics that relate to particular research skills. Strong emphasis is placed on the critical analysis and evaluation of research ideas, and students practice by writing reviews, presenting papers, and constructing a thesis proposal.