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Dissertation Committee: Roles, Functions, and How to Choose

The path to a dissertation is filled with choices that determine the quality of your experience as a student as well as the future strength of your professional network. 

Choosing your dissertation committee is one of the most important decisions–and one of the most fraught–that you’ll make as a graduate student. With the stakes being so high, many doctoral students worry about making a misstep and getting it wrong. 

Fear not! Putting together your dissertation committee becomes easier once you know the right questions to ask: of potential committee members, of your dissertation chair, and of yourself. While forming your dissertation committee can be challenging, striking the right balance will lead to a richly rewarding academic experience that will pay dividends throughout your career. Do your homework, and you’ll be just fine. 

Dissertation Committee Questions

• What does a dissertation committee do?
• Who serves on your dissertation committee?
• How do you choose dissertation committee members?
• What can you expect from your dissertation committee? 

What Does a Dissertation Committee Do?

The basic function of your dissertation committee, which typically consists of five members, is to guide you through the process of proposing, writing, and revising your dissertation.  

Dissertation committee members serve in a mentoring capacity, offering constructive feedback on your writing and research, as well as guiding your revision efforts. They are also the gatekeepers of the ivory tower, and the ultimate judges of whether or not your dissertation passes muster. 

The dissertation committee is usually formed once your academic coursework is completed. It is not uncommon in the humanities and social sciences for dissertation committee members to also write and evaluate qualifying exams, and of course serve as faculty. By the time you begin working on your dissertation, you may know the faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee quite well. 

Who Serves on Your Dissertation Committee? 

To a degree, who serves on your dissertation committee is up to you. Dissertation committees usually consist mostly of faculty members from the doctoral student’s home department, though this can vary due to the rise of interdisciplinary programs. 

Some universities also allow an outside expert–a former professor or academic mentor from another university–to serve on your committee. It’s advisable to choose faculty members who know you and who are familiar with your work. 

While it’s a good idea to have a mix of faculty members, it’s also important to be mindful about the roles they can play. For instance, I always advise graduate students working in quantitative fields to have a statistician on their committee. When there’s big data to crunch, it never hurts to have a stats expert in your corner. You’ll also want at least one faculty member–besides your chair–whose research is in the same relative area as yours, or adjacent to it. 

How to Choose Dissertation Committee Members

Think Carefully. It’s tempting to approach a faculty member who is a superstar in their field (if not, necessarily, in yours) to lend a little extra sparkle to your own academic credentials. Or perhaps the kindly professor you can always count on for an easy A. Or even the faculty member you’d like to be friends with after graduate school. Right? 

Not so fast. Here are some things to keep in mind when building your dissertation committee dream team: 

• Avoid Superstars. Though the prospect of having your department’s most eminent name on your committee sounds exciting, their star power comes with a price. Between guest lectures, books, keynotes, and conference travel, their time is not their own, and it won’t be yours, either. Choose dissertation committee members who have time for you. 
• Choose faculty members you know, like, and can learn from. It’s not a bad idea to approach a professor whose coursework challenged you. One of the professors who served on my committee was such an exacting grader that my term papers for her courses were accepted for publication without revision (academia’s most coveted mythical creature). 
• Keep your eyes on the future. Members of your dissertation committee can be your mentors, co-authors, and research collaborators throughout your career. Choose them wisely. 

Forming Your Dissertation Committee

Reaching out to potential dissertation committee members and formally asking them to serve on your dissertation committee can be a surprisingly taxing process. It takes some planning, and you’ll want to put some thought into it before making the big ask. While being asked to serve on a dissertation committee won’t come as a surprise to most faculty–they know the drill–these are some considerations to know going in:

• Talk to your advisor before approaching anyone to be on your committee. Remember, your advisor knows their colleagues in a way that you don’t, and is also aware of departmental politics, potential personality conflicts, and which faculty members are a good fit on a dissertation committee. Trust your advisor’s judgement. 
• Know what you’re asking. Serving on a dissertation committee is a big time commitment for any faculty member. If they say yes to being on your committee, it means they are invested in you and your research, and they want to play a role in your future. It doesn’t hurt to send a thank-you note. 
• Don’t sweat it if they say no. It does not reflect on you as a student or a scholar. A good faculty member is aware of their limitations, and they probably just don’t have the time or bandwidth to take on another big commitment. Thank them and move on. 

Expectations

Once your dissertation committee is formed, it’s time to get down to business. As a faculty member, I love serving on dissertation committees because doing so gives me the chance to work with grad students one on one as they journey into new frontiers and carve a place for themselves in academia. It is a deep, rich learning experience, and it’s thrilling to watch students transform into scholars. 

Even though researching and writing a dissertation is the most challenging work you’ll ever do, recognize this time for the opportunity it truly represents. In your dissertation committee, you have a panel of experts all to yourself, and they’re eager to help you knock your dissertation out of the park. This is the experience of a lifetime; take advantage of your dissertation committee’s time and talent, and channel that energy and goodwill into your development as a scholar. 

Related posts:

Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include  Studies in American Culture ,  Dialogue , and  The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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Forming Your Committee

Students should not schedule the proposal defense prior to their committee being finalized and their appointment form being approved by the Graduate School.

It is necessary to have the form approved in advance of the proposal defense, as there are instances in which committee members are not approved (for example, if someone is listed as the Graduate Faculty Representative who the Graduate School does not deem  qualified to serve in this capacity).

The Graduate School's requirements for everything from committee formation to graduation clearance can be found under the Current Students tab on the Graduate School website. 

Composition of the Doctoral Committee: Roles and Responsibilities

The Graduate School requires that doctoral committees consist of no less than four members. These four members must be regular members of the Graduate Faculty or must be granted an exception by the Dean of the Graduate School.  All committees must include a chair and a Graduate Faculty Representative. Assistant Professors are usually not approved to serve as chair unless they have served as a committee member first. Exceptions are granted on a case-by-case basis. 

Graduate Faculty Representative

The primary role of the Graduate Faculty Representative is to ensure that the student is treated fairly and that Graduate School policies are upheld. Expertise in the student's area of research is not a requirement. The Graduate Faculty Representative's responsibilities are explained in greater detail here . Assistant Professors are not eligible to serve as Graduate Faculty Representative. 

The requirement to include an outside member on all dissertation committees is not uncommon among institutions of higher education and is in keeping with best practices in doctoral support. 

Committee Members

Committee members are often chosen to provide topic or methodological expertise. Even without contributing their expertise, committee members may be chosen based on faculty with whom the student has a good professional relationship or who could offer a helpful outside perspective. Committee members are generally not as involved as the committee chair in the everyday progression of the dissertation.  Typically, they read the dissertation only in its final form before the defense, although they should be available for consultation throughout the process and may be more closely involved in sections or chapters in which they have particular expertise. 

The committee members and Graduate Faculty Representative will:

• Approve of the subject matter and methodology of the thesis or dissertation research
• Review and comment on drafts of the thesis or dissertation prior to submission to The Graduate School
• Verify, to the best of their ability, the quality of the data collection and evidence, data analysis, and logical reasoning or interpretation in light of the proposal aims
• Evaluate whether the student’s thesis or dissertation fulfills the requirements of the degree

Henley-Putnam's Dissertation or Thesis Committees

• Getting Started on Finding Your Research Committee

Committee Members Roles and Responsibilities

• Subject Matter Expert
• Committee Member

Committee Chair.   The chair schedules the comprehensive exams, delivers feedback and results of the comprehensive exams, acts as an instructor, oversees the production of the thesis/dissertation, communicates feedback from the subject matter expert and committee member, schedules the dissertation defense, meets monthly via Zoom with the student/candidate throughout the research courses, and reviews work for publication quality.  The chair deals directly with the student on the quality of the paper, the presentation, the flow, the sequence, and the conclusions.  

The role of the committee chair includes the following responsibilities:

• scheduling the comprehensive exams,
• communicating the grades and feedback from the doctoral comprehensive exam,
• overseeing the production of the dissertation,
• managing the timeline and schedule for completion of each phase of the dissertation in the courses.
• acting as an instructor in the courses,
• contacting the student/candidate regarding setting and meeting deadlines in the dissertation process,
• directing the timely and successful completion of each assignment,
• working directly with the SME and committee member to garner added perspective, feedback, and constructive criticism to strengthen the dissertation,
• communicating with the student/candidate to convey feedback, insights, added perspective, and constructive commentary provided by the committee member and SME,
• confirming with the SME that the content of the dissertation is factual and accurate,
• advising the student on formatting, sequencing, and organizing the thesis/dissertation,
• ensuring the academic quality of the thesis/dissertation, including each of the assignments in courses.
• facilitating final approval of the thesis/dissertation by making sure that all committee members sign the approval form, and
• scheduling and leading the thesis/dissertation oral defense and publication.

Subject Matter Expert (SME).   All members of the committee are subject matter experts (SMEs). The title of this particular member of the committee emphasizes and highlights specific responsibilities within the committee dynamic.  The SME should be in constant contact with the student regarding  content  of the dissertation.  This is the person the student turns to in order to test ideas and conclusions and to ensure the appropriateness, relevance, significance, and accuracy of the dissertation’s content in order to meet university and academic standards.

The SME also certifies the accurate reporting of that material to the chair and determines the factual nature of the work.  The SME knows the subject closely and acts as the student’s sounding board.  The SME does not establish timelines, length of the thesis/dissertation, etc.  The role of SME includes the following responsibilities:

• consistently consulting with the student/candidate regarding the relevance and significance of the research content,
• regularly discussing content with the student/candidate to test ideas and conclusions,
• updating the committee chair about discussions with the student/candidate and about any suggestions or recommendations resulting from those discussions, and
• confirming the accuracy, appropriateness, relevance, and significance of the research focus and content with the committee chair.

Committee Member.   One additional committee member works for the committee chair.  The committee member advises and assists the committee chair in every aspect of the project.  The committee member interacts directly with the chair, not the student.  This prevents conflicting information from being sent to the student and presents a unified stance during the process.  The chair and the committee member work out all responses presented to the student and resolve any conflicting guidance before the student is contacted.  If conflicts cannot be resolved, the chair makes the ultimate decision.  The chair and the committee member work together constantly, but the chair is the face of the university to the student.  The role of the committee member includes the following responsibilities:

• interacting with the chair to provide added insight, perspective, and feedback to be shared with the student, and
• determining responses, suggestions, and constructive criticism that will be shared with the student through the chair.
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The Dissertation Committee

The academic experience is greatly enhanced if faculty members other than the direct advisor are readily and formally available for consultation and discussion with the graduate student. To provide this element of supervision, a dissertation committee must be put in place for the Ph.D. student early in the dissertation stage. The graduate group is responsible for monitoring the progress of the student through the dissertation committee, as follows:

• A dissertation committee must consist of at least three faculty (including at least two members of the graduate group). While some graduate groups require all members of the dissertation committee be members of the graduate group or affiliated department, others encourage/require appointment of a faculty member from another department to encourage an interdisciplinary perspective. Students should be sure to review the policy about the composition of dissertation committee as they are building their committee.
• It is required that the dissertation committee meet with the student, as a committee, at least once per year to assess the student’s progress in the program and to provide advice on future work.
• The committee submits a written report to the graduate group chair, at least once per year, detailing its observations of the student’s progress and its recommendations.
• The student must be given the opportunity to respond to the committee’s report/recommendation and to append a response to the committee’s report.
• Copies of the report shall be given to the student and kept by the graduate group.
• This annual progress report will be used, in part, to determine the mark given for the student’s dissertation status course.

The Graduate Group is responsible for ensuring that the membership of the dissertation committee is recorded in the student’s official University record. The graduate division office at the home school will monitor compliance with this requirement through reports and an annual audit of the official student file.

Advising on Embargo Options

An important point of guidance from the advisor and dissertation committee – that is sometimes overlooked in the later stage of completion -- is to counsel the student on whether to embargo the dissertation. Penn requires open access publication of dissertations in the University’s institutional repository, ScholarlyCommons . Open access publication provides a wide audience, can help to market ideas to potential employers, and can help make plagiarism or theft much easier to detect. The open access dissertation will be available via the internet, including full text searching through search engines like Google. In cases where papers are in press, patents are pending, or where there are other intellectual property concerns, it may be beneficial to delay publication (commonly referred to as an "embargo"). Students should discuss embargo options with their advisor and their dissertation committee who can help to decide whether a delay in publication is necessary or advisable. Refer to the Dissertation Embargo Guidelines for more information about embargo options.

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Division of graduate studies menu, division of graduate studies, dissertation committee policy, dissertation committees.

The dissertation committee supervises a student’s dissertation work, determines the acceptability of the dissertation, and serves as the final examining committee.

Full Graduate Faculty Policy

The dissertation committee must be on file with the Division of Graduate Studies no later than 6 months prior to the final oral defense.

Appointment Procedures

Each department or program determines its own internal dissertation committee approval procedures. After the dissertation committee is approved by the department, the Graduate Coordinator submits the committee recommendation in GradWeb.

Once the Division of Graduate Studies has reviewed and approved the committee, the student and department will receive an email confirming that the committee has been approved by the Division of Graduate Studies.

Departmental policies for membership of doctoral committees should be guided by Division of Graduate Studies policy, but may be more restrictive than Division of Graduate Studies School policy. Petitions for exceptions to Division of Graduate Studies committee policies may be submitted using the general petition form .

Committee Membership

The dissertation committee consists of a minimum of four members , each with a particular role:

• 2 Core Members

Institutional Representative

• Committees in Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics also have an Advisor separate from the Chair

The chair has principal responsibility for advising the student. They should have adequate time available for this work and should expect to be accessible to the student.

If co-chairs are appointed, both co-chairs share the responsibility for the student's progress

The following requirements apply:

The chair must be a tenure-related member of the graduate faculty who holds a doctoral degree.

For a tenure-related member of the graduate faculty from a department other than the student’s degree-granting department, the student’s department must have authorized that faculty member to serve as chair (or co-chair) using the dissertation committee service nomination form .

Once a faculty member is authorized to chair in another department, they remain authorized to chair in that department indefinitely, or until the department asks to change the faculty member’s status.

Once authorized to serve in that capacity for a department, the faculty member can no longer serve as institutional representative for the department on future committees.

In those departments in which dissertation committees have both a chair and an advisor, the advisor(s) of a committee must be able and willing to assume principal responsibility for advising the student.

They should have adequate time available for this work and should expect to be accessible to the student. If co-advisors are appointed, both co-advisors share the responsibility for the student's progress.

In addition, the following requirements apply:

The faculty member must be a member of the graduate faculty with authorization to serve as advisor.

• Professors of practice may be appointed to the graduate faculty and granted authorization to serve as a dissertation advisor in the student’s degree-granting department.

For a member of the graduate faculty from a department other than the student’s degree-granting department, the student’s department must have authorized that faculty member to serve as advisor using the dissertation committee service nomination form .

Once a faculty member is authorized to serve as advisor in another department, the authorization remains indefinitely, or until the department asks to change the faculty member’s status.

Once authorized to serve as an advisor for a department, the faculty member can no longer serve as institutional representative for the department on future committees, except in the:

• Department of Biology
• Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Department of Physics

In these departments, if the advisor is not a member of the degree-granting department, the institutional representative must be from a different department or research institute than the advisor.

Core Members

At least one core member must be a member of the graduate faculty (including non-tenure-related members) from the student’s degree-granting department.

The remaining member may be a:

Member of the graduate faculty from the student’s degree-granting department

• Member of the graduate faculty from another UO department

Non-tenure-track faculty member who is not a member of the graduate faculty

Faculty member from another college or university

• Qualified practicing professional or community member

The institutional representative serves in the role of impartial, “outside” committee member who ensures that all rules and standard practices governing committee procedures are followed.

The institutional representative typically also offers substantive expertise related to the dissertation, although that is not required.

The institutional representative must meet the following requirements:

Must be a tenure-related member of the graduate faculty .

Must be from a University of Oregon department other than the student’s degree-granting department.

In the departments of biology, chemistry and biochemistry, and physics, where there the role of chair and advisor are separate, if the advisor is not a member of the degree-granting department, the institutional representative must be from a different department or research institute than the advisor.

Additional Core Members (optional)

Additional members may be appointed to the dissertation committee, at the discretion of the student’s degree-granting department.

An additional core nember may be a:

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Degree Programs

Each interdisciplinary degree program shall maintain a list of faculty members appointed to the program for purposes of graduate faculty membership and designated by the department as eligible to serve as chairs/advisors and core members or as core members only.

If a faculty member is appointed to serve as chairs/advisors or core members, they may not serve as institutional representatives for committees in that program.

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Selecting your dissertation committee members, published by steve tippins on april 12, 2019 april 12, 2019.

Last Updated on: 3rd June 2022, 04:36 am

You have finished all of your classwork and maybe even passed your comprehensive exams. The only thing that you have left to do is write your dissertation. In order to do this, you need to select your dissertation chair and the remainder of your committee members.

While a few institutions that I know of assign committees, even those often allow students to give preferences. What should you think about when choosing your dissertation committee members?

What Do Dissertation Committee Members Do?

Your dissertation committee members serve several roles. First, they are charged with helping you through the dissertation process. While this “help” may seem like hinderance when you receive endless comments and requests for revision, your committee members do this to help you come up with a stronger document.

The second major role your committee plays one can be thought of a gatekeeper. Schools have particular requirements and standards that committees must follow before they can accept a student’s dissertation. Many comments from your committee will pertain to adhering to university requirements.

Committee Chair

You will work most closely with your dissertation committee chair . Be sure to find someone that you can work with. There are stories out there about chairpeople who have bullied those under their charge and used their students as minions to help push the chair’s agenda. Avoid this type of chair.

I believe that you should be looking for someone who wants to serve as a chair and who exhibits real concern for his or her students. Choose someone who has filled the role before and has a track record of helping students finish in a reasonable time period. If your goal is to work in academia, I would also look for someone who has had success publishing and flourishing within an academic setting.

Finally, look for someone who is genuinely interested in your topic and who you get along with.

Other Dissertation Committee Members

Depending upon your institution, you will most likely need to add one to four more members of your committee. The number is not overly important, but the composition is. People usually think of committees being made up of people who bring strength in either the subject matter or the methodology.

If your committee chair is strong in your subject matter then at least one additional committee member should be strong in the methodology you plan to use. Putting your committee together in this way can give you a well-balanced support team.

Read also: Dissertation Committee Request: Sample Email and Guide

Avoid Becoming a Battleground

Just like in life, not everyone in academia likes each other. When dealing in the world of ideas, it seems that it is easy to find people who disagree with each other. Sometimes those disagreements are thoughtful and considerate and sometimes they are not.

Make sure that when you choose committee members that you find people who can work together. You do not want two (or more) committee members using your dissertation to fire barbs at each other. This will be very frustrating and slow you down. It is good to consult with your committee chair about the interpersonal relationships between committee members.

Thank Your Committee

When you finish your dissertation you should be very proud of what you have accomplished.  You have accomplished a great achievement. Remember, without your committee’s help and approval you wouldn’t have made it.

Some people look for and give gifts to their committee members to show their appreciation.  As long as the gifts aren’t too overboard, this is acceptable. At many institutions, there is a tradition of putting your chairperson’s name on your first publication that comes from your dissertation as a thank you. When appropriate, this is a great gesture.

Selecting Your Dissertation Committee Members: Conclusion

It is important to find a dissertation committee that is dedicated to helping you reach your goal. Make sure that you take the time to craft a committee that can provide you the support that you will need and not hinder you. Whatever time you take to create your perfect committee, it will be worth it in the long run.

If you need additional support beyond what your committee can offer you, check out my dissertation coaching and dissertation editing services.

Steve Tippins

Steve Tippins, PhD, has thrived in academia for over thirty years. He continues to love teaching in addition to coaching recent PhD graduates as well as students writing their dissertations. Learn more about his dissertation coaching and career coaching services. Book a Free Consultation with Steve Tippins

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• Dissertation Reading Committee

The Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee consists of three faculty members (the principal dissertation advisor and two other readers) who agree to read a student’s dissertation and serve on the orals committee. All members of an approved reading committee are expected to sign the signature page of the completed dissertation. The reading committee normally serves on the oral exam committee, but not always. At the very least, the primary dissertation advisor and one reader from the reading committee serve on the oral exam committee. The student is responsible for obtaining signatures from advisor and readers before submitting the form to the Doctoral Programs Officer for final processing.

The rules governing the composition of the reading committee are as follows: at least one member of the committee must be from the GSE; the principal dissertation advisor must be on the Stanford Academic Council (AC); and any member of the committee that is not a member of the academic council must be approved by the Area Chair and the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs. In the last case, the Petition for Non-Academic Council Member to Serve on Doctoral Committee form (available from the Doctoral Programs Officer) and a current CV of the proposed member are required. This person must be particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and hold a PhD or an equivalent foreign degree. Non-AC members may not serve as dissertation advisors, but may serve as a co-advisor along with a member of the AC. Students may only have one non-AC member on the reading committee. The only exception to this rule is if you have more than the three members required for a reading committee. At least two members of the reading committee must be members of the Stanford AC. Reading Committee members must sign the Doctoral Reading Committee form (all forms located on the GSE website under current students>forms). Email confirmations or digital signatures will be accepted.

The reading committee formation, and any subsequent changes to the committee composition, are reviewed and approved by the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs. This signature is obtained by the Doctoral Programs Officer, not the student.

The University requires approval of the Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form prior to advancement to Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status, or before scheduling a University Oral Examination–whichever comes first in the student’s program. Further instructions for form completion are on the GSE Website.

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Thesis Committee

The Ph.D. Thesis Committee has the responsibility of advising a student on all aspects of the thesis experience, from the proposal process through the preparation and defense of the final document.

The Committee should be comprised of

• the Thesis Advisor(s),
• the Thesis Committee Chair who presides at all committee meetings (must be a BE faculty member), and
• at least one additional member (unrestricted).

The student and research supervisor should agree upon members of a Thesis Committee, and the student is responsible for inviting faculty to sit on their committee. Beyond administration of the Oral Exam, the Thesis Committee is meant to provide guidance on the various aspects of the student’s project; Thesis Committee members should therefore be selected with this goal in mind.

Forming the Committee

During the summer of the second year, the student must submit the BE PhD Thesis Committee form  to the BE Academic Office ) to request approval of the Thesis Committee membership.

Changing the Committee

The Thesis Committee constituted for the Oral Exam/Thesis Proposal may change over the course of the student’s research, as determined by the student and advisor with approval by the Graduate Program Chair. Students should submit a new PhD Thesis Committee form (above) to the BE Academic Office.

4.8.1 Doctoral Degrees, Dissertations & Dissertation Reading Committees: Policy

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• 1. Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee
• 2. Dissertation Preparation and Submission
• 3. Certificate of Final Reading
• 4. Deadlines

Related Content

Last updated on: Monday, March 7, 2022

Completion of a satisfactory dissertation is a university requirement for conferral of a doctoral degree. Policy and procedures for presentation, review and approval of the dissertation are included here.

Submission of an approved doctoral dissertation to the degree program and the Committee on Graduate Studies is required for the PhD and JSD degrees. The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge, to exemplify the highest standards of the discipline, and to be of lasting value to the intellectual community. Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by members of the Stanford faculty to ensure that standards for programmtic and university quality are met. Standards for professional presentation of doctoral work have been established by the Committee on Graduate Studies.

An approved doctoral dissertation is required for the PhD and JSD degrees. Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by the three members of the student’s doctoral dissertation reading committee.

Authority: 

• Committee on Graduate Studies (policy)
• Office of the Registrar  via Stanford Services & Support (implementation)
• Degree Program Office (implementation)
• Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education  (exceptions)

Applicability: 

PhD & JSD students and programs.

Related Pages: 

4.8.2 Doctoral Degrees, Dissertations & Dissertation Reading Committees: Implementation

1. Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee

The doctoral dissertation reading committee consists of the principal dissertation advisor and, typically, two other readers. The doctoral dissertation reading committee must have three members and may not have more than five members. At least one member must be from the student’s degree program. Normally, all committee members are members of the Stanford University Academic Council or are emeritus Academic Council members; the principal dissertation advisor must be an Academic Council member. Professors who have recently become emeritus and have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisors, though they are no longer current members of the Academic Council.

A non-Academic Council member (including former Academic Council members) may replace only one of three required members of dissertation reading committees. However, emeritus faculty, whether recalled to active duty or not, count as an Academic Council member on dissertation reading and oral defense committees (clarified by the Committee on Graduate Studies in 2011; see SenD#6535).

The reading committee, as proposed by the student and agreed to by the prospective members, is endorsed by the chair of the major department on the  Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form . This form must be submitted before approval of Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status or before scheduling a university oral examination that is a defense of the dissertation. The reading committee may be appointed earlier, according to the degree program timetable for doctoral programs. All subsequent changes to the reading committee must be approved by the chair of the major department. The reading committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

Principal Dissertation Advisors and Co-Advisors

Any member of the Academic Council may serve as the principal dissertation advisor. A non-Academic Council member, former Academic Council member, or emeritus Academic Council member may serve as co-advisor with the appointment of a principal dissertation advisor who is currently on the Academic Council. This is to ensure representation for the student in the degree program by someone playing a major advisor role in completion of the dissertation. Professors who became emeritus within two years of the student’s anticipated degree completion and who have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisors, though they are no longer current members of the Academic Council. The reading committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

Requests for further exceptions to the requirement that the principal dissertation advisor be a current member of the Academic Council, for example for recently retired emeritus professors who are still actively engaged on campus, but not recalled to active duty, will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

At their discretion, students may request the appointment of co-advisors who are both members of the Academic Council.

Non-Academic Council Dissertation Reading Committee Membership

The student's department chair or faculty director of graduate studies may, in some cases, approve the appointment of a reader who is not a current or emeritus member of the Academic Council, if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and holds a PhD or equivalent foreign degree, via the  Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members . Former Stanford Academic Council members and non-Academic Council members may thus, on occasion, serve on a reading committee. However, the majority of the examiners must be current or emeritus Academic Council members. More specifically: 

• If the dissertation reading committee has three or four members, only one non-Academic Council member (including former Academic Council members) may be appointed to the dissertation reading committee. 
• If the reading committee has five members, up to two non-Academic Council members may be appointed to the dissertation reading committee.

Emeritus Stanford faculty, though no longer current members of the Academic Council, count as Academic Council members on dissertation reading committees (see SenD#6535, 2011).

Prospective committee members in the following categories may be approved without submission of a curriculum vitae: former Academic Council member, visiting professor, visiting associate professor, visiting assistant professor, and senior Stanford University officer who holds a PhD but does not have an academic appointment. 

A curriculum vita is required for prospective committee members in the following categories: senior research associate, senior lecturer, consulting professor, consulting associate professor, consulting assistant professor, acting professor, acting associate professor, acting assistant professor, senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, members of the professoriate at other universities, and distinguished scholars who may currently hold no academic title. The curriculum vita should include a summary of education, professional experience, publications, and academic or other honors.

Exceptions for individuals whose terminal degree is not the PhD or equivalent foreign degree may be granted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE). Requests for this exception must be approved and submitted to VPGE by the student’s department chair or faculty director of graduate studies. The prospective committee member’s curriculum vitae and a brief description of their contributions to the student's research should be submitted  via email  to the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

Changing Membership

Students may petition to add or remove members of the reading committee or change principal dissertation advisors. The resulting committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

In the rare case where a student’s dissertation research on an approved project is in an advanced stage and the principal dissertation advisor is no longer available, every reasonable effort must be made to appoint a new advisor, usually from the student’s reading committee. This may also require that a new member be added to the reading committee before the draft dissertation is evaluated, to keep the reconstituted committee in compliance with the university requirements for its composition. Advisor changes are made with the  Change of Dissertation Adviser or Reading Committee Member form  (see  GAP 3.3 Academic Advising ).

In the event that a student’s principal dissertation advisor leaves Stanford University or becomes emeritus and has not been recalled to active duty, that advisor may continue to work with the graduate student as a co-advisor and serve on the oral and dissertation reading committees, with the appointment of a principal dissertation advisor who is currently a member of the Academic Council. Professors who have recently become emeritus and have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisor, though they are no longer members of the Academic Council. Requests for further exceptions to the requirement that the principal dissertation advisor be a current member of the Academic Council (for example for recently retired emeritus professors who are still actively engaged on campus) will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

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2. Dissertation Preparation and Submission

The doctoral dissertation must be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge and must exemplify the highest standards of the discipline. If it is judged to meet this standard, the dissertation is approved for the degree program by the doctoral dissertation reading committee. Information about dissertation format, references, use of published and co-authored work, as well as copyright is on the Registrar's Office website on Format Requirements for eDissertation .

Approvals should be obtained through the electronic signature process (students may submit email confirmations of dissertation approvals from each member of their committee).

Dissertations should be submitted electronically, following the guidelines in:

• Directions for Preparing Doctoral Dissertations for Electronic Submission
• Directions for Preparing Engineer Theses for Electronic Submission

Previously published dissertations should not be used as a guide for preparation of the manuscript. The signed dissertation copies and accompanying documents must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar on or before the quarterly deadline indicated in the university’s academic calendar. A fee is charged for the microfilming and binding of the dissertation copies. 

Students are required to either be enrolled full-time or on Graduation Quarter in the term they submit the dissertation (see  GAP 3.1 Registration, Enrollment, and Academic Progress ). The period between the last day of final exams of one term and the first day of the subsequent term is considered an extension of the earlier term. At the time the dissertation is submitted, an Application to Graduate must be on file (filed in Axess), all of the degree program requirements must be complete, and candidacy must be valid through the term of degree conferral.

Dissertations in a Language Other than English 

Dissertations must be in English. Exceptions to permit dissertations in a language other than English are granted by the school dean upon a written request from the chair of the student’s major department.  The student is required to submit directly to the Student Services Center a paper copy of the approval letter (or email message chain) from the school dean.  Approval for writing a dissertation in another language is normally granted only in cases where the other language or literature in that language is also the subject of the discipline. Approval is routinely granted for dissertations in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, within degree program specifications. Dissertations written in another language must include an extended summary in English (usually 15-20 pages in length). 

When submitting electronically a dissertation in a language other than English, the student should upload the English summary as a supplemental file.  When submitting such a dissertation on paper, the student is required to submit the abstract for ProQuest in English.

3. Certificate of Final Reading

One reading committee member, who must be a current member of the Academic Council, reads the dissertation in its final form and certifies on the  Certificate of Final Reading  that degree program and university specifications, described below, have been met. Typically, the principal dissertation advisor serves as final reader though another member of the committee who is a current Academic Council member may provide the final signature.

• All suggested changes have been taken into account and incorporated into the manuscript where appropriate. 
• If the manuscript includes joint group research, the student's contribution is clearly explained in an introduction.
• Format complies with university requirements.
• If previously published materials are included in the dissertation, publication sources are indicated, written permission has been obtained for copyrighted materials, and all of the dissertation format requirements have been met.
• The dissertation is ready-for-publication in appearance and ready for microfilming and binding.

4. Deadlines

The deadline for submission of dissertations for degree conferral in each term is specified by the  university academic calendar . The final dissertation must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar on or before the quarterly deadlines if degree conferral is desired. 

Some degree programs may set earlier deadlines for the submission of dissertations.

Dissertation deadlines are strictly enforced and no exceptions are made. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their dissertations at least two weeks prior to the deadline to ensure that all requirements can be met in time for the conferral of the degree.

Related Policies

• GAP 3.1 Registration, Enrollment, and Academic Progress
• GAP 3.3 Academic Advising
• GAP 4.7 Doctoral Degrees, University Oral Examinations & Committees

Related Student Services Sections

• Doctor of Philosophy: Dissertation

Related Information and Forms

• Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form
• Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members
• General Information on Dissertation and Thesis Submission
• Directions for Preparing Engineer Theses for Electronic Submission
• Certificate of Final Reading of Dissertation
• Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form - UMI/ProQuest
• Change of Dissertation Adviser or Reading Committee Member
• Application to Graduate  (in  Axess )
• Request for Statement of Completion
• Format Requirements for eDissertation

The Graduate College » Faculty/Staff » Graduate Handbook » Doctoral Degree Policies and Procedures » Dissertation

Dissertation

Each PhD and EdD student must produce and defend a dissertation showing high scholarly achievement based on their original research. The student is required to submit an electronic document as evidence of this research. Students in all other doctoral programs should consult their academic programs regarding requirements and procedures for the capstone experience required in their programs.

Dissertation Adviser and Committee

When the student has been admitted into doctoral candidacy and has selected a dissertation subject and dissertation advisor, a dissertation committee should be appointed as soon as possible. The dissertation advisor must be qualified to serve as the chair of the dissertation committee, meaning this faculty member must be a member of the university graduate faculty and all members of the committee will be appointed by the Graduate College upon recommendation of the program director or director of graduate studies (in consultation with the committee chair and student). Students have the right to request a change in the committee but must do so in consultation with the graduate program director and their program must make the change in GradTracker. Preferably, the dissertation committee will include at least one person from outside the program, who might be faculty from the University of Cincinnati or another institution.

A dissertation committee must be composed of a minimum of three UC faculty members. Members of the university graduate faculty are eligible to serve on all thesis and dissertation committees. In addition, all tenured and tenure-track faculty members may serve on all thesis and dissertation committees (even if they are not members of the university graduate faculty, meaning they may not serve in the chair role and cannot act as primary advisors). Other types of UC faculty members may serve on committees if the appointing unit demonstrates that their expertise is beneficial for the dissertation project. Programs should make such requests to the Graduate College in advance, to be ascertained on a case-by-case basis.

Neither an emerit faculty member nor a faculty member from another institution may serve as the chair of the committee. Emerit faculty may remain on the committee if they were members when the proposal was accepted. A faculty member originally on a student’s committee who leaves UC to take an academic position elsewhere may also continue to serve on the student’s committee if both the faculty member and the student agree to continue the relationship. If a non-UC faculty member or appropriate professional practitioner has special expertise in a dissertation topic, such a person may be added to the dissertation committee if they are nominated by the candidate and approved by both the chairperson of the dissertation committee, the director of graduate studies for the academic unit involved and the Graduate College. All such individuals serve as a full voting member of the dissertation committee without compensation from either the university or the candidate and would serve in addition to the minimum number of three qualified full-time UC faculty.

A copy of the completed dissertation must be submitted to each committee member for critical evaluation, with sufficient time for review as determined by the dissertation committee. If it is considered satisfactory with respect to form and content by the committee, a final defense of the dissertation can be scheduled.

Final Defense of Dissertation

Students should check with their program office for the final deadline for their dissertation defense. The student’s final defense of the dissertation will be open to the public and all members of the academic community. Students are required to enter details of their dissertation defense, such as time, date, and location, online at the Graduate College website through the Graduation checklist steps. Begin at the Graduation webpage . One can also browse scheduled dissertation defenses by visiting the Upcoming Dissertation Defenses page .

The candidate answers questions posed by members of the committee and other members of the audience following an oral presentation of their dissertation. At the conclusion of the defense, the committee will withdraw, make a decision with regard to the acceptability of the dissertation and its defense, and report its decision to the candidate. At least ¾ of the voting members of the dissertation committee (including at least one representative of each major area involved, in the case of interdisciplinary programs) must approve the dissertation.

When the student’s dissertation committee chair has approved a defense, the student should assure that they have met all requirements for graduation including those in the graduation information obtained online.

Use of a Moderator

Although an outside moderator is not required, a moderator may be assigned by the Graduate College dean upon the request of the candidate, the chairperson of the dissertation committee, or the person empowered to approve the composition of a dissertation committee (the director of graduate studies for the academic unit involved). Moderators should be members of the university graduate faculty from outside the academic unit involved. The duties of the moderator are limited to observing the oral defense of the dissertation and reporting in writing to the Graduate College dean on the academic propriety of the proceedings.

Submission of Dissertation

After a dissertation has been approved, the candidate for the doctoral degree must submit their electronic dissertation by following the current instructions found at the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Information webpage . Students in all other doctoral programs should consult their academic programs for the capstone experience required in their programs. Deadlines are posted at the Graduation Deadlines page .

• All thesis/dissertations must be electronically submitted by the student and approved by the advisor. Students log in via the link available on the Graduation webpage . 
• Advisors are sent an email when the student submits for their approval, and the advisor then logs in to review/approve.
• Once approved by the chair, the student is notified by email.
• A Graduate College approval email is sent to the student once reviewed.
• The program is copied on all email correspondence during the Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ETD) approval process.

• Doctoral Writing Center
• Dissertation Process

Dissertation Committee

Committee makeup.

Dissertation Chair

Role: Primary project manager of the committee. The Chair will have both subject matter and general methodology expertise and will guide the student through the dissertation process.

Selection: Doctoral students will offer suggestions for their Chairs, and if the Chair is available, they will be matched (see below for how to select a Chair)

Committee Member One

Role: Read the dissertation manuscript and provide suggestions on substantive editoral changes. Will attend Preliminary and Final Defense. Duration: DIS 901, DIS 903

Selection: The Dissertation Coordinator will assign this committee member after matching expertise with student focus in DIS 901.

Committee Member Two

Responsibilities by roles.

The responsibilities of the Chair include:

• Being familiar and current with dissertation policies and procedures
• Advising the candidate from the first dissertation course until the completion of the dissertation and graduation
• Guiding the candidate to set a project schedule for completion of the dissertation
• Guiding the candidate toward achieving a high level of technical qualtiy and ensuring ethics in research is achieved
• Assisting the candidate in developing a quality prospectus and in navigating the IRB approval process
• Providing guidance on the dissertation structure, formatting, content
• Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis
• Preparing the candidate for the preliminary and defense process

Committee Members

All members of the candidate’s committee share responsibility in ensuring that the candidate produces high-quality scholarship. The responsibilities of the Committee Members include:

• Providing guidance on disseration topic selection based on student’s interest
• Reading manuscripts within the agreed-upon time frame, suggesting substantive editoral changes, and providing rationale for their support and critiques
• Providing guidance on subject matter expertise
• Directing student to editors list

Doctoral Candidate

The responsibilities of you as a doctoral candidate include:

• Proposing a viable project that has collectible data to support conclusions.
• Managing the doctoral research process, including initiation and continuation of communications with the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
• Completing weekly work plans and contact form in GAP and bi-weekly meetings with the Dissertation Chair.
• Meeting and abiding by the deadlines in the written and approved work plan and contact form.
• Completing a successful preliminary defense.
• Conducting ethical research that adheres to the approved written methodology received by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
• Completion of CITI certification
• Completing a successful final defense.
• Incorporating any feedback and recommendations from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
• Having a deliverable, scholarly written, edited, and properly formatted final draft of the dissertation research meets the university’s content and quality standards. (This is the completed Dissertation that must be successfully defended.)
• Keeping the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members informed of developments as the research study is conceptualized, designed, conducted, and written. A Doctoral Candidate may consult with an additional statistician, Methodologist, or editor, but in no case should any person other than the Doctoral Candidate conduct the work associated with the dissertation research.

Note: If an event occurs that prohibits the dissertation research’s progression and completion; the Doctoral Candidate must communicate with the Dissertation Chair to obtain advice, service, or assistance. If any significant modifications need to be made to the timeline, the Doctoral Candidate must seek approval from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Director.

Selecting Your Dissertation Chair

Doctoral students will complete the Chair Selection form in their final research course. This form is integrated into the GAP course for all doctoral students to access. The Dissertation Chair serves as the committee lead, providing expert support structure in content, methodology and guidance throughout the dissertation process.

For advice on what to consider prior to offering selection options for a Chair, please see here .

To see a list of the available Dissertation Chairs and their subject matter expertise and qualifications, please see here for DBA Chairs and here for Ed.D. Chairs

Additional Support

Doctoral writing center specialists.

Doctoral Writing Center Specialists are available to assist students from the time they begin their prospectus until the end of your dissertation. The specialists are able to guide the process of writing, organization and revising the dissertation.

The responsibilities of the Doctoral Writing Center Specialists include:

• Provide suggestions and considerations for the author on organization, mechanics, cohesion, or flow.
• Focus on the areas that the author has specified the need for.
• Discuss aspects related to writing, not content.

How to Get in Touch: Book an appointment easily here !

Common Questions

For a list of responses to common questions regarding the chair selection process, please see here .

Contact Options If you have questions regarding any element of this process, please reach out to:

Dissertation Department – [email protected]

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Dissertation and Thesis Committees: Student and Faculty Responsibilities

All doctoral programs and some master’s programs at UA Little Rock culminate in the completion of a dissertation or thesis. The purpose and content of dissertations and theses varies by program area, but their supervision is universally handled by a member of the UA Little Rock graduate faculty as chair and by a committee of graduate faculty. This sections outlines the Graduate School’s expectations for graduate student and graduate faculty interaction and responsibilities on dissertation and thesis committees.

Graduate Student Responsibilities

Concerning Rules and Requirements

• Be familiar with the Graduate Catalog and the rules and guidelines of the specific program they are enrolled in.
• Be thoroughly familiar with the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines , the core document that describes what is expected in a dissertation/thesis, including UA Little Rock’s unique conventions. This document includes all post-proposal and post-final defense steps that are required of students.
• Be aware of and comply with established defense and manuscript submission deadlines held by individual programs and the Graduate School.
• Obtain and maintain appropriate research certifications. Students may be required to complete human subject research training and responsible conduct of research (RCR) training. Students conducting research involving human subjects, animals, or biological materials must submit research protocols for review to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) before they begin their research.

Concerning the Dissertation or Thesis

• Craft and execute the dissertation or thesis through all its phases, including completion of a final manuscript that has been properly edited and that follows all of the conventions described in the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines published by the UA Little Rock Graduate School. Students with inter-institutional (e.g., UA Little Rock and UAMS) should check with their program coordinator to determine which institution’s guidelines to use for thesis and dissertation formatting.
• Submit only original work and properly cite the works of others that inform the study. Students should be familiar with UA Little Rock policies on academic dishonesty and plagiarism. Misconduct in these areas is treated seriously and may result in a range of penalties up to and including academic dismissal.
• Make substantive progress towards completion of their degree requirements, especially while being supported by a graduate assistantship. This applies even during the summer when the student may not be enrolled in classes.

Concerning the Committee

• Use the committee chair as the primary point of contact for developing ideas, selecting an appropriate committee (in consultation with the graduate coordinator), and developing early drafts. The committee chair should also serve as the gatekeeper for submitting materials to the committee and submitting a final manuscript to the Graduate School.
• Use the committee members as secondary points of contact for developing ideas, reviewing drafts, and submitting a final manuscript.
• Schedule regular meetings with the committee chair to discuss the project and its development. With the chair’s approval, students may also schedule meetings with members of the committee.
• Take personal initiative to move the project forward and discuss with the chair any problems that arise. If issues arise that cannot be resolved with the committee chair or that are best discussed with another person, the student may opt to discuss them with (in this order) the graduate coordinator; program or department chair; dean of the college; and the dean of the Graduate School.
• Recognize that crafting a dissertation is an ongoing process between the student and the chair and, often, between the student, the chair, and the committee.
• Maintain contact with their committees and make timely revisions when requested.
• Be mindful of the academic schedule of their chair and committee members. Students who want to finish and defend work over the summer (when faculty members’ availability may be limited) must get permission from their chair and committee members during the spring semester. Once permission has been granted, regular contact with the chair and committee members should continue over the summer. Before the end of the spring semester, the student and the chair should agree upon a method of contact and communication for the summer months.
• Check with their chair and committee members to find out if and when faculty may be unavailable due to off-campus duty assignments (OCDA). Depending on the faculty member’s schedule, students may be able to make arrangements to work with a chair or committee member on OCDA. Alternatively, the student may need to consult with the chair to identify a temporary or permanent replacement. Students must also be respectful of the fact that chairs and committees have many other time-intensive duties. Students must maintain realistic expectations about faculty workloads around holiday and vacation times as well as normal busy periods (e.g., beginnings and ends of semesters).
• Students who do not meet with their committee chairs over the summer should schedule an appointment with their chair within the first two weeks of the fall semester to provide evidence of their progress.
• Negotiate expectations early in the research effort regarding the publication of research and the ownership of research results generated as part of the dissertation/thesis project. Issues to be negotiated include authorship, the number and frequency of submissions, and any programmatic expectations concerning works published prior to the dissertation/thesis defense.

Committee Chair Responsibilities

• Recognize that, as the committee chair, he/she is a mentor who works closely with the student and has significant impact on the student’s training during his/her dissertation/thesis.
• Provide timely and thorough guidance on all aspects of the student’s graduate study, including the development of projects, the development of manuscript drafts, and the ethical conduct of research.
• Recommend appropriate members to serve on the committee and indicate when the student may circulate the drafts and the final version of the manuscript to members of the committee.
• Advise the student on proposal and final defense protocols.
• Ensure that students and their manuscripts are adequately prepared for the proposal and the defense.
• Facilitate the defense, take notes for the student at the defense, and discuss with the student any revisions that may be needed after the defense has been concluded.
• Help students develop appropriate timelines and procedures for completing dissertation or thesis. Students need to know how to schedule a defense date, how to prepare their manuscripts for the defense, how far in advance of the defense date the finished manuscript must be submitted to the committee, and the Graduate School’s deadlines for submitting the manuscript for review.
• Be accessible to students for dialogue and meetings as needed.
• Respond to student drafts in a timely manner. In general, committee chairs should provide feedback within 10 working days of receiving a draft. If more time is needed, the chair should contact the student to acknowledge receiving the draft and indicate how much additional time may be required for a response.
• Graduate faculty members who are chairing multiple committees should discuss their workload honestly with their students, setting clear, realistic expectations about how often and how quickly students can expect to receive feedback.
• Be thoroughly familiar with the Graduate Catalog as well as the rules and guidelines of the student’s specific program.
• Be thoroughly familiar with the material found in the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines , the core document that describes what is expected in a dissertation or thesis, including UA Little Rock’s unique conventions. This document includes all post-proposal and post-final defense steps that are required of students by the Graduate School.
• Maintain UA Little Rock graduate faculty status and certifications in the areas of human subjects research, animal research, biosafety, and the responsible conduct of research, if applicable.
• Monitor the student’s progress towards fulfilling all federal, state, local, and institutional compliance requirements. These include, but may not be limited to, IRB, IACUC, IBC, and RCR training (as defined in Item 4 under the section on “Graduate Student Responsibilities: Concerning Rules and Requirements”).
• Provide the editorial and citation support that students need to prepare a correctly edited manuscript or refer students to an outside resource for this purpose. Manuscripts with errors that are received by the Graduate School will be returned to the student for corrections.
• Respect the power differential that exists between the student and chair and not abuse the trust placed in the chair as a member of the graduate faculty and research mentor.
• If the student is a doctoral candidate, the chair should be present at graduation to hood the student unless alternative arrangements have been made.
• The chair can continue advising and assisting the student as normal, in which case the chair and the student must agree upon a method of communication while the chair is absent.
• The chair, in consultation with the student, may identify another qualified graduate faculty member–either temporarily (for the duration of the OCDA) or permanently–to serve as chair.

Committee Member Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the committee chair to provide timely and thorough guidance to the student as a mentor on all aspects of his or her graduate studies, including the development of projects, the development of manuscript drafts, and the ethical conduct of research.
• Respond to student drafts in a timely basis. Generally, committee members should provide feedback within 10 working days of receiving a draft. If more time is needed, the committee member should contact the student to acknowledge receiving the draft and indicate how much additional time may be required for a response.
• Graduate faculty members who are serving on multiple committees should discuss their workload honestly with students, setting clear, realistic expectations about how often and how quickly students can expect to receive feedback.
• Inform the committee chair of any feedback being provided to students outside of the formal defense settings.
• Respect the power differential that exists between a student and a committee member and not abuse the trust placed in the chair as a member of the graduate faculty and research mentor.
• Maintain UA Little Rock graduate faculty status and certifications in the areas of human subjects research, animal research, biosafety, and the responsible conduct of research, as applicable.
• The committee member can continue advising and assisting the student as normal, in which case the member and the student, in consultation with the committee chair, must agree upon a method of communication while the member is absent.
• The committee member, in consultation with the student and the committee chair, may identify another qualified graduate faculty member–either temporarily (for the duration of the OCDA) or permanently–to serve as his or her replacement on the thesis/dissertation committee.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts occasionally arise between students and their dissertation/thesis chairs or committee members. Sources of conflict may include but are not limited to disagreement about a timeline for completing the project, disagreement about the direction of the study or the interpretation of the results, and disagreement about the content, style, and editing of the dissertation or thesis manuscript.

If a conflict is disrupting the progress of the dissertation/thesis, the student should follow the procedures below.

• The student must first make a documented attempt to resolve the issue with the chair or committee member who is involved in the conflict.
• If unable to resolve the conflict, the student may follow up with the chair (except in those instances when the conflict is with the chair), followed by the program coordinator or the department chairperson.
• If the conflict cannot be resolved within the department to the satisfaction of all parties, the chair or the student may forward the disagreement in writing to the dean of the Graduate School for further mediation.

Students should be aware that some committee members (including chairs) may resign from a committee if the student does not make timely progress toward completion. In addition, some students find that even without overt conflict, they may not be satisfied with their chair or with a committee member and wish to make a change.

Both students and faculty members can initiate action to change the membership of a committee, but this should be a collaborative, consensual process whenever possible. Students who wish to change committee members should demonstrate courtesy by communicating about the change directly with the faculty involved. Likewise, faculty who wish to resign from a committee should demonstrate courtesy by directly informing the student.

Return to Graduate Coordinator Handbook

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May 15, 2024

Tips and Resources for a Successful Summer of Dissertation Writing

By Yana Zlochistaya

Summer can be a strange time for graduate students. Gone are the seminars and workshops, the student clubs, and the working group, that structured the semester and provided us with a sense of community. Instead, we’re faced with a three-month expanse of time that can feel equal parts liberating and intimidating. This double-edged freedom is only exacerbated for those of us in the writing stage of our dissertation, when isolation and a lack of discipline can have a particularly big impact. For those hoping not to enter another summer with lofty plans, only to blink and find ourselves in August disappointed with our progress, we’ve compiled some tips and resources that can help.

According to Graduate Writing Center Director Sabrina Soracco, the most important thing you can do to set yourself up for writing success is to clarify your goals. She recommends starting this process by looking at departmental requirements for a completed dissertation. Consider when you would like to file and work backwards from that point, determining what you have to get done in order to hit that target. Next, check in with your dissertation committee members to set up an accountability structure. Would they prefer an end-of-summer update to the whole committee? A monthly check-in with your chair or one of your readers? Setting up explicit expectations that work for you and your committee can cut through the aimlessness that comes with a major writing project.

For those early on in their dissertation-writing process, a committee meeting is also a valuable opportunity to set parameters. “One of the problems with the excitement for the discipline that happens post-quals is that it results in too many ideas,” says Director. Soracco. Your committee members should give you input on productive research directions so that you can begin to hone in on your project. It is also important to remember that your dissertation does not have to be the end-all-and-be-all of your academic research. Ideas that do not fit into its scope can end up becoming conference papers or even book chapters.

Once you have a clear goal that you have discussed with your committee, the hard part begins: you have to actually write. The Graduate Writing Center offers several resources to make that process easier:

• The Graduate Writing Community. This is a totally remote, two-month program that is based on a model of “gentle accountability.” When you sign up, you are added to a bCourses site moderated by a Graduate Writing Consultant. At the beginning of the week, everyone sets their goals in a discussion post, and by the end of the week, everyone checks in with progress updates. During the week, the writing consultants offer nine hours of remote synchronous writing sessions. As a writing community member, you can attend whichever sessions work best for your schedule. All that’s required is that you show up, set a goal for that hour, and work towards that goal for the length of two 25-minute Pomodoro sessions . This year’s summer writing community will begin in June. Keep your eye on your email for the registration link!
• Writing Consultations : As a graduate student, you can sign up for an individual meeting with a Graduate Writing Consultant. They can give you feedback on your work, help you figure out the structure of a chapter, or just talk through how to get started on a writing project. 
• Independent Writing Groups: If you would prefer to write with specific friends or colleagues, you can contact Graduate Writing Center Director Sabrina Soracco at [email protected] so that she can help you set up your own writing group. The structure and length of these groups can differ; often, members will send each other one to five pages of writing weekly and meet the next day for two hours to provide feedback and get advice. Sometimes, groups will meet up not only to share writing, but to work in a common space before coming together to debrief. Regardless of what the groups look like, the important thing is to create a guilt-free space. Some weeks, you might submit an outline; other weeks, it might be the roughest of rough drafts; sometimes, you might come to a session without having submitted anything. As long as we continue to make progress (and show up even when we don’t), we’re doing what we need to. As Director Soracco puts it, “it often takes slogging through a lot of stuff to get to that great epiphany.”

Yana Zlochistaya is a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of Comparative Literature and a Professional Development Liaison with the Graduate Division. She previously served as a co-director for Beyond Academia.

• Doctoral Program

Individuals admitted into the doctoral program generally have earned an MA degree in anthropology. In the event that the master's degree has been earned in another field, a student is normally admitted on a provisional basis. A faculty provisional committee meets with the student to plan an appropriate initial program of study to bring the student to the same level of preparation as those Ph.D. students who have earned the MA in anthropology. When the MA has been earned in a field outside the social sciences, the committee may recommend that the student complete an MA in anthropology before proceeding in the doctoral program.

PhD guidance committee

On admission to the program, the student sets about without delay to form the PhD guidance committee. Committee members are selected on the basis of their capability to guide the student's development in the "three fields of specialization" described below. The composition of this committee is wholly independent of the composition of the student's MA advisory committee.

As a rule, the student completes the formation of the PhD guidance committee within one semester after being admitted to the doctoral program. The committee consists of at least two departmental graduate faculty members and one UMass graduate faculty member from outside the department who is not an anthropologist. Additional members are often added to the committee to meet the student's need for specialized expertise. The committee designates one of its members from within the department as its chairperson, to serve as the student's advisor of record.

On occasion, students may form an interim PhD guidance committee. This committee shall consist of no fewer than two members of the graduate faculty. It may oversee the preparation of the outline of the PhD program (i.e., the statements of field, the tools of research, and the prospectus). As a rule, however, the full committee shall be formed within one year of a student's entering the doctoral program.

The student is required to consult with the advisor at least once a semester in planning coursework, but more frequent consultation between the student and advisor is strongly encouraged. The student should convene the entire guidance committee at the time of its formation and whenever the formulation or change of substantive matters relating to the student's overall program is under consideration. Students are encouraged to complete graduate coursework in at least three of the four subfields of anthropology. The specific courses should be determined in consultation with the advisor.

Statements of field and tools of research

As soon as possible after entry into the PhD program the student, in consultation with the guidance committee, designates "three fields of specialization" that reflect the individual's career goals and intellectual interests. These fields may be defined very broadly or may be highly specialized, but must be outlined with care. The topics of these field statements will subsequently define and designate general areas of professional competence when the candidate completes the doctorate; accordingly, they ought not to be too general or narrowly constructed. One recent example of this middle road — between specificity and generality — was an essay on the biology of poverty; another was a course syllabus on the political economy of African development.

Preparation for each field selected by the student is under the supervision of a different committee member. Thus, there are at least three field representatives on the student's guidance committee. Students are normally expected to spend two or three semesters taking specialized courses and otherwise achieving mastery of the literature in their designated fields and preparing their statements of field. The three statements of field may take several forms. An essay synthesizing and evaluating trends in the field of inquiry, a bibliographic essay, and a course outline are some of the forms that doctoral students have used in the past to demonstrate their competence in the defined field.

At the same time the fields of specialization are being designated, the guidance committee must consider what tools of research (e.g., mastery of a computer programming language, competence in one or more relevant foreign languages) shall be required of the student. The issue of tools of research is something the guidance committee must weigh at the time the doctoral program is defined. The committee may decide not to require mastery of any tools of research, but in any event, this issue is to be decided at this point. Further, the committee must at this point decide how it will ultimately assess mastery of any research tools it may require.

Once the student and the guidance committee (or the interim guidance committee) have decided on the content, form, and preceptors of the statements of field, and the tools of research, if any, the student prepares an outline summarizing these decisions and obtains the approval of the chair of the guidance committee and the GPD, after which the outline is then placed in the student's file.

The prospectus

As part of the doctoral program, the student prepares a prospectus of the dissertation. The prospectus outlines (1) the intellectual issues that converge in the dissertation topic, (2) the pertinent literature, and (3) the methodological strategy and timetable for accomplishing the research objectives.

The prospectus thus serves a different intellectual purpose from a statement of field. Guidance committees may allow students to combine one of the statements of field and the prospectus in one document, or they may specify that they remain as distinct forms. When combined, both intellectual objectives must be incorporated: a statement delineating a field of inquiry and the research rationale, methodology, timetable, and anticipated results. While each statement of field has a distinct preceptor, the prospectus is assumed to be developed in consultation with all the members of the guidance committee. If the student combines one statement and the prospectus, one member of the guidance committee precepts the field statement portion of the document while all members of the committee guide the creation of the prospectus per se.

Once the prospectus has been prepared, the student is expected to make a public presentation of it in a departmental seminar. The presentation is not an examination. Its purposes are to provide information on a specialized topic to members of the department at large, to stimulate discussion, and to engender useful feedback to the presenter. The student has the responsibility for distributing copies of the prospectus to faculty and interested students at least two weeks before the scheduled presentation, so that others may be well prepared for it. The official announcement, also to be made no less than two weeks before the event, is issued by the GPD. After the presentation of the prospectus, the guidance committee may require the student to make changes to it before accepting it as the definitive outline of the doctoral dissertation.

Oral preliminary comprehensive examination

As each statement and the prospectus are completed and approved, copies are filed with the GPD. When the dissertation prospectus and all statements are completed they must be approved by the committee as a whole. Then, after completing any required research tools and/or languages, the student takes the PhD oral preliminary comprehensive examination. This examination is customarily held at the end of the student's fourth or fifth semester (but generally no later than the end of the sixth semester) of study beyond the MA and should be conducted during the academic year unless prior approval of the GPD has been secured.

The PhD preliminary comprehensive examination is conducted by the student's PhD guidance committee. Together with the GPD, the student selects a faculty member to chair the examination. Any member of the examination committee is eligible except for the guidance committee chairperson. The examination chairperson is responsible for arranging the examination. A notification of the time and place of the examination must reach the GPD (via Form 5) in time for public written notice to all faculty at least two weeks before the event. The examination is open to all members of the departmental faculty.

The preliminary comprehensive examination focuses on, but is not necessarily limited to, the fields of specialization as represented in the statements of field described above and the proposed dissertation research as represented in the prospectus. Prior to the commencement of the examination, the examination committee reviews the student's file. The examination procedure lasts no more than three hours, during which anyone attending has the right to question the student. At the completion of the examination, the student temporarily leaves the examination room while the results are evaluated. Anyone present may comment on the student's performance, but only the members of the examination committee may vote on the outcome. On the basis of performance, the student is granted "pass" or "fail;" in the latter case, there is an automatic option to repeat the examination one time. A unanimous vote is required for a grade of Pass. The student is informed of the outcome immediately after the examination.

A student who fails the oral examination twice is dropped from the program. The student who passes the oral preliminary comprehensive examination begins to devote full attention to dissertation research as outlined in the prospectus.

The dissertation committee

As soon as the student has passed the preliminary comprehensive examination, a dissertation committee is appointed by the graduate school upon the recommendation of the GPD. The dissertation committee consists of a minimum of three members of the graduate faculty, a minimum of two from within the department, plus a minimum of one outside member, who is not an anthropologist. The outside member must be a member of the graduate faculty at UMass. It is customary, although not necessary, for the dissertation committee to carry over members of the student's PhD guidance committee.

It is the responsibility of the chairperson of the dissertation committee to arrange a conference with other members of the committee and with the student for the purpose of discussing the research problem before approving the dissertation outline. This conference should be held as soon as possible after the appointment of the committee.

Each member of the dissertation committee must sign the cover page of the student's dissertation outline (prospectus). The signed copy is then sent to the graduate school by the GPD. The approved outline must be received in the graduate school at least seven months before the dissertation defense may be scheduled.

The committee has direct charge of all matters pertaining to the dissertation, which must have the approval of a majority of this committee before arrangements are made for the final oral examination. As a rule, about one year is devoted to field or laboratory research under the guidance of the student's dissertation committee; after that an additional year is needed to write the dissertation.

Students are required to complete at least ten dissertation credits (Anthropology 899). No more than nine dissertation credits may be registered for in any one semester. There is no upper limit on the cumulative number of dissertation credits that may be earned.

The dissertation and its defense

When the dissertation is complete and approved by all the members of the committee for form and content, and a date is agreed upon, the chairperson of the committee informs the graduate school through the GPD of the date, time, and location of the dissertation defense. The memorandum must reach the graduate school at least three weeks prior to the date of the examination. At the same time, the student places a copy of the defense draft of the dissertation in the care of the graduate secretary, so that interested readers may look at it prior to the defense.

The final oral examination (i.e. dissertation defense) is conducted by an examining committee consisting of the dissertation committee and such other members of the graduate faculty as choose to attend. At the discretion of the candidate and the committee, the examination can be opened to individuals other than those on the graduate faculty. However, such guests are not expected to participate in any appreciable degree in the questioning or discussion. In order to pass this final examination, the degree candidate must receive the unanimous vote of the dissertation committee.

While the student must present to the dissertation committee a draft of the dissertation completed in form and content, the defense itself may open up areas that require the text to be revised after the defense.

Once the committee-mandated changes have been made and approved, the student completes the final copy of the dissertation. The format requirements for the dissertation are spelled out in the Typing Guidelines for Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations, available in the Office of Degree Requirements. Normally committees expect the dissertation to follow the reference and citation style of the American Anthropologist, though this is neither a Graduate School nor a departmental rule. Be sure to check with the committee on this point before drafting the dissertation, as the members may recommend a different style.

The department requires that students submit an unbound final copy of the dissertation on acid-free paper to the GPD for the departmental library. It is the student's responsibility to supply this copy to the department prior to the date of the awarding of the degree. The GPD will not sign the Certificate of Degree Eligibility form until this copy of the dissertation has been received.

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Doctoral program requirements

• Candidates must complete a minimum of 10 credits of Anthropology 899 (dissertation credits).
• There are no specific course or credit requirements beyond what may be mandated by the student's guidance committee.
• There is no maximum on the cumulative number of dissertation credits that may be earned overall, although not more than nine credits may be earned in any one semester.
• Must fulfill the residency requirement, a minimum of two consecutive semesters (fall/spring, spring/fall) in residence at the university. The student must spend some part of each week physically on campus and may not be employed on more than a one-half time basis.

See the Graduate Student Handbook  for further details.

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New Graduate Student Orientation 2024

Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH Mānoa)!  Your journey to an advanced degree begins now! Graduate Division is excited to welcome you and invites you to attend New Graduate Student Orientation (NGSO). Participating in NGSO is a great opportunity to prepare for a successful graduate student experience. Session topics include learning about what to expect in grad school, developing good relationships with mentors, planning for funding opportunities, and much more.

Register Here

Event Schedule

Dates: August 5, 2024 to September 7, 2024

On-Demand Topic Sessions (August 5th)

NGSO topic sessions will be available on-demand starting August 5, 2024 . Participants have the flexibility to select which topics they would like to learn about at their convenience. Current topics include:

• What to Expect in Graduate School
• Finding Mentors & Building Effective Relationships
• Funding Your Graduate Studies
• UH Library: Basic Library Resources

Live Q & A with Topic Session Presenters (August 15th)

Spend 20 minutes per topic engaging with presenters in a facilitated Question & Answer session. Participants may attend in-person on campus or virtually during this synchronous event scheduled on August 15, 2024, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Hawaii Time) . Please check back for a detailed schedule of the day and location information.

Resource Fair & Activities (August 19th)

An in-person graduate student only resource fair and activities will be scheduled on campus for August 19, 2024, 9:00 – 11:30 am . Connect with key offices, programs, and services who support you during your graduate career. Also be sure to stop by the Campus Center to pick up your UH Student ID Card and make any last purchases at the UH Bookstore to prepare for school. Stay tuned for more details!

Community Work Day (September 7th)

Gather as a community on September 7, 2024, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm to engage and mālama ka ʻaina at Ka Papa Loʻi ʻO Kānewai on the Mānoa campus. Part of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, this site is a vital resource and home to the loʻi approximately 800 years old. Learn what to expect during this group visit . Registration will be limited.

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Additional Graduate Student Events

Teaching Assistant Training 

Dates: August 19-21, 2024

If you will be a new Teaching Assistant (TA), you are required to participate in the free Teaching Assistant Training (TAT). Sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Graduate Division, and the English Language Institute, this program includes sessions to help TAs prepare for their teaching responsibilities. For details and to register for TAT, please visit the CTE website .

International Student Welcome

Dates: August 19-23, 2024

Presented by the International Student Services (ISS) Office, the Welcome Week for new international students is the ISS version of orientation. Programming consists of information sessions and social opportunities, leading up to a “The Welcome Orientation and Reception.” All events are optional, but you are highly encouraged to participate and get the chance to gain important information and meet other international students and the ISS staff before school starts. For details and to register Welcome Reception, please visit the ISS website .

Admitted Student Steps to Enrollment

Visit our  admitted students webpage  to help you prepare for your enrollment at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Campus Resources for Graduate Students

Start browsing through a list of Selected Campus Resources for Graduate Students to make connections before the semester begins.

Need to find a classroom, office, or water refill station?  Our virtual campus map will help you navigate UH Manoa and provides a general campus map as well as specified resource maps.

All incoming UH Mānoa students may receive a UH ID card known as the Mānoa One Card.  Cardholders are eligible for certain university privileges and benefits.  For details on how to obtain your card in person, please visit the Mānoa One Card website . If you wish to submit your card request online, you may do so via the Mānoa One Card Upload site . Please note, however, that all UH ID cards must be picked up in-person at the Campus Center ID Office and will not be mailed. Summer ID Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

UH Bookstore

The UH Bookstore is the authorized on-campus retailer for books, UH spirit merchandise, school supplies, and commencement regalia.  They also provide copying and printing services, office supplies, snacks, and sundries.  Educational pricing is also available for Apple computers with proof of UH ID.

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