Putting your team together: the thesis
committee
Author: Kathy Bell
Published on: April 6, 1999
You've survived four years of college, so you're
pretty savvy about surviving university life, right?
Well, welcome to graduate school, which has a culture
and set of bureaucracies all its own. Just when you
thought you knew how to write papers, take courses
and deal with professors, you will find that the system
has somehow changed. In last week's column we discussed
one of the first responsibilities of the graduate
student: choosing a supervisor. This week covers the
second responsibility: putting together a thesis or
dissertation committee.
At the end of this column I've attached a sampler
list of sites where committee roles and guidelines
are outlined. Every graduate department is a little
different, but the basics are essentially the same.
If you enter the process with some understanding of
your role, and your committee members' roles, then
the selection process will be easier for you. Your
team relationship could last four or more years, so
you want to make sure you choose people who will benefit
your program, and perhaps even your future career,
the most.
Committee members will be guiding you through the
various stages of your research, from research design,
piloting, statistical analysis, literature review,
research reporting, and thesis defence. They may also
have input on course selection and examinations, if
these are required. These people may also be offering
you moral support during those tough times when your
research and writing seem hopeless, useless and interminable
("Why did I ever start this??"). You'll survive, but
it can be challenging!
Departments differ in how much flexibility is offered
in terms of making changes to your committee once
it has been officially set up. It can be difficult
and time-consuming to make changes once your research
has begun, since new members will have to become familiar
with you and your work in progress. It can also be
uncomfortable to "dump" a committee member if you
still have to study or work in the same department
together.
The best advice for committee members will probably
come from your supervisor, who will have a great deal
of experience in your area of research. He or she
will know who the leading experts in that field are,
and whose style of research will best match yours
(quantitative vs. qualitative, for example). Your
supervisor might even suggest people outside your
department or university, if your program allows external
committee members.
The key thing to remember is that your thesis will
be developed by a team of people, not just you. It's
in everyone's best interest to work together constructively
to create and write up a piece of original, scholarly
research that will advance the field.
Glance through the following sites to get a sense
of the "committee culture" of graduate school, then
be sure to check your own department's requirements
carefully.
http://cim.aamu.edu/AAMU/Graduate_School/Graduate_Catalog/
THESIS_DISSERTATION_REQUIREMENTS/CoverThesis.html
Some dissertation requirements and students' responsibilities
regarding their degree program. From one university,
but pretty standard.
http://acm.cs.byu.edu/grad-info/old/grad-hb.bak/backup/node13.html
Some information on the role of committee members.
http://www.bme.jhu.edu/phd/adv.htm
From Johns Hopkins University, how committee members
are chosen and their respective roles.
http://www.oberon-res.com/survdiss.htm
Point 2 on this list gives helpful advice on choosing
committee members, taking into account the personalities,
as well as the levels of expertise, involved.
http://www.engl.iastate.edu/main/pos-form-phd.html
The English Dept. at Iowa State University gives its
guidelines for choosing committee members.
© Kathy Bell 1999
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