Landau developed a famous comprehensive exam called the "Theoretical Minimum" which students were expected to pass before admission to the school. The exam covered all aspects of theoretical physics, and between 1934 and 1961 only 43 candidates passed, but those who did later became quite notable theoretical physicists.

Sometimes, when Landau was dissatisfied with the presentation of a paper, he would stop the speaker and ask him/her to go to the next issue. If such an event occurred two or three times during a given report, Landau would say: “You did not prepare your lesson! Who is the next speaker?” In the worst cases, when the speaker failed a few times, he was ostracized — excluded from the list of the seminar participants, and Landau would refuse to have discussions with him, but, of course, he (the ostracized person) could attend seminars.

There were exceptional persons, however: Ginzburg and Migdal. Once upon a time Landau said about Ginzburg: “Ginzburg is not my disciple — he just jumped onto the bandwagon.” Indeed, Ginzburg came from Tamm’s school, but was a very active participant of Landau’s seminar. He did not follow the standard seminar routine with presentations of review talks, etc. Each time he arrived, he was full of new facts and ideas and presented them with brilliance and sharp wit.