Formation, Approval and Responsibilities for PhD Committee

Formation of Five-Person PhD Committee

By the end of the fifth semester of study, students should finalize their five person PhD committee, which is responsible for planning, scheduling, supervising, and evaluating work leading to the PhD degree.

In most cases the committee chairperson, is also the student’s primary thesis or dissertation advisor. It is possible to assign co-chairpersons, under particular circumstances. Along with the committee chairperson, who must be a tenured, tenure-track, or adjunct member of the department, the committee should include two additional members of the anthropology faculty. An emeritus professor can be a full member of the committee. One committee member can be chosen from outside the university. Please consult with your committee and the DGS on the selection of outside members. Students must formally constitute their PhD Committee by submitting the “Report of Doctoral Committee Composition” form to the Director of Graduate Studies by the end of their fifth semester.

Approval of PhD Committee

Procedurally, the dissertation committee is nominated to the Graduate School by the Director of Graduate Studies and appointed by the Dean. All subsequent changes in the composition of a doctoral dissertation committee must be similarly approved. Students proposing a committee, or change in an existing committee, must inform the Director of Graduate Studies. If it is desirable to have an off-campus member of a PhD committee, the committee chairperson should submit to the Director of Graduate Studies the “Recommendation for Fixed Term Appointment” form for nominating the individual to the graduate faculty and a copy of the nominee’s vitae.

PhD Committee Responsibilities

A student’s PhD committee is responsible for supervising progress and for periodic consulting (formally or informally), as either party feels necessary, but certainly once each semester. When a committee member is absent from the university for an extended period of time, that member is responsible for arranging for a replacement in consultation with the committee, the Departmental Chairperson, and the student involved. When the student is carrying out research away from the department, hence not in residence, the committee should continue to review the progress of the student’s project. Should the committee have any concerns about a student’s progress, the committee chairperson should notify the DGS and Department Chair. Students concerned about the functioning of their committee or any particular member thereof should bring those concerns to the DGS or Department Chair. Upon its constitution, the PhD Committee is, in sum, responsible for guiding the student’s intellectual development and progress through the program.