The doctoral committee must include a chair and at least two other permanent tenure-track faculty members with the advisor serving as chair of the committee. An additional member who holds the highest appropriate degree and whose special knowledge is particularly important to the proposed program, but who is not a member of the faculty, may be appointed to the committee and shall vote. At least one faculty member of the committee must be from the minor department/program if a minor is declared on the doctoral program. When no minor is declared, no outside member is required. However, when outside supporting work is included in the program, an outside member is recommended.
The doctoral committee is subject to approval by the
Chair of the major and minor (if applicable)
departments/programs and the Dean of the Graduate School.
This committee, once approved, has the responsibility of
directing the student’s progress, supervising the
dissertation, and participating in the preliminary and
final examinations. Other faculty members of the major
and minor departments/programs may participate in the
preliminary examination and any faculty member may
participate in the final examination.