After a student has been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, the student's adviser in consultation with the candidate will recommend a doctoral supervisory committee to the Department Head.
The Graduate Student Committee Policies and Procedures and Committee Appointment Signature Form will now be used to appoint and/or revise a doctoral committee (Please see back of handbook). The signature page of the form should be returned to Graduate Enrollment Services soon after the student is admitted to candidacy.
If a committee change is necessary, the signature page must be resubmitted but only with the signature(s) of the new committee member (s). A doctoral examination will not be scheduled until the signature page is completed and on file in the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services.
Each Ph.D. student shall have an appointed Ph.D. Committee to guide their research training. The Dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendation of the Department Head, will appoint a doctoral committee. Each Committee shall have a Ph.D. Committee Chair, Outside Field Member, Outside Unit Member, and include the student's Dissertation Adviser. The Ph.D. Committee Chair and Dissertation Adviser may be one and the same. For students pursuing a graduate minor, the Ph.D. Committee shall include a Minor Field Program Member representing each graduate minor. Ph.D. Committees may also include other participants who are not members of the Graduate Faculty but are otherwise qualified and have particular expertise in the student's research area. All Ph.D. Committee Members are expected to participate fully in the affairs of the Ph.D. Committee.
The committee is responsible for
- Approving the broad outline of the student's program of course work and research.
- Approving the student's communication abilities.
- Approving the student's plan of research.
- Administering and evaluating the comprehensive and final examinations, and approving the thesis.
