PhD Dissertation Committees

The committee for the final examination for the PhD degree is appointed by the University dean of graduate studies on the advice of the appropriate associate dean of graduate studies. The committee shall consist of:

  • At least two current full-time tenure-track members with the rank of assistant professor or higher who hold their primary appointments in the department offering the degree program, or are among the core faculty defined for an interdisciplinary PhD program in the role of “inside members.”
    • At least one of these is the advisor. The dissertation advisor or supervisor can have a primary or secondary appointment in the candidate’s program department and must be present for the examination.
  • At least one current full-time faculty member at assistant professor rank or higher from outside or holding a secondary appointment in the student’s department can act as an “outside reader.”
  • A committee made up of faculty members whose primary appointments are all in the same department will not be permitted.

Exceptions to the above must be approved in writing.

Further information can be found in the PhD Committee Matrix and the Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Studies available from the University Graduate Education Office

Interdisciplinary Programs

For interdisciplinary programs, “inside” and “outside” committee members are specifically defined as follows:

  • Materials science: All faculty listed on the material science faculty page are considered “inside” committee members, as defined above. For “outside” committee members, any full-time faculty member at assistant professor rank or higher from outside the student’s advisor’s primary department may assume the role of an “outside” committee member and/or chair of the committee, even if listed on the Materials Science faculty page.
  • Visual and cultural studies: All faculty listed on the faculty page are considered “inside” committee members, as defined above. Any full-time faculty member at assistant professor rank or higher who is not on this list may assume the role of an “outside” committee member and/or chair of the committee.
  • Biomedical engineering: Faculty listed on the biomedical engineering graduate faculty list are considered "inside" committee members, as defined above. For "outside" committee members, any faculty found on the secondary faculty page or any other full-time faculty member at assistrant professor rank or higher who is not on the list may assume the role of an outside member. Secondary faculty members can also superivise master's students and can co-advise PhD students. 

Faculty Approved to Serve on Committees (Senior Scientists)

The following faculty have also been approved to serve on PhD committees as an "inside" member in the specified program:

Name

 Inside Department Designation

 Julie Bentley

 Optics

 Thomas Boehly

 Mechanical Engineering

 Howard Budd

 Physics and Astronomy

 R. Stephen Craxton

 Physics and Astronomy

 Jianming Dai

 Optics

 Jonathan Davies

 Mechanical Engineering

 Pawel de Barbaro

 Physics and Astronomy

 William Donaldson

 Electrical Engineering

 Bill Forrest

 Physics and Astronomy

 Dustin Froula

 Physics and Astronomy

 George Ginther

 Physics and Astronomy

 Valeri Goncharov

 Mechanical Engineering

 Daniel Haberberger

 Physics and Astronomy

 David Harding

 Chemical Engineering

 Stu Jordan

 Political Science

 John Marciante

 Optics

 Andrei Maximov

 Mechanical Engineering

 Jason Myatt

Mechanical Engineering

 Philip Nilson

 Physics and Astronomy

 Judy Pipher

 Physics and Astronomy

 Ryan Rygg

 Mechanical Engineering

 Willis Sakumoto

 Physics and Astronomy

 Thomas Sangster

 Physics and Astronomy

 Ansgar Schmid

 Mechanical Engineering

 Wolf Seka

 Optics

 Tolga Soyata

 Electrical Engineering

 Jody Todd Manly

 Psychology

 Marek Zielinski

 Physics and Astronomy