This is quite a good observation: something reasonably close to apprenticeship is already in place. Grad students are given enormous flexibility in their assig

This is quite a good observation: something reasonably close to apprenticeship is already in place. Grad students are given enormous flexibility in their assignments—a little trick to buy them time to try out their own research ideas long before they get to the thesis. Grading is extremely lenient; it's just a formality to keep things within reason. Professors are always eager to help you work on something publishable.