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Dissertation Committee

Dissertation Committee - Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership

In EPPL, the Dissertation Committee includes the Chair or Co-Chairs, and one or more additional members, with a minimum of three members.  The composition of the Committee must include at least one member from the student’s department and at least one committee member from outside the student's program area.  The following guidelines apply in eligibility to serve on doctoral committees.

  • The Committee Chair must be a faculty member within the School of Education; a minimum of two members of the Committee must be faculty in the School of Education.  For Ph.D. students, the committee chair must be a full-time tenured, tenure-eligible, or non-tenure-eligible faculty member from the student’s department. A minimum of one member must be a faculty member in the student’s program area and one member must be a faculty member outside the student's program area.
  • For Ed.D. students, the committee chair may be a tenured, tenure-eligible, or non-tenure-eligible affiliated faculty member who regularly teaches full- or part-time in the Ed.D. program. Affiliated faculty members will be approved using departmental-criteria. A list of approved affiliated faculty will be maintained by the School of Education Registrar.  Affiliated faculty members may serve as chair on Ed.D. dissertations after serving as co-chair with a full-time faculty member on at least two successful dissertations.
  • Members outside of the School of Education must be approved by the Committee Chair as committee members. 
  • The academic advisor originally assigned to the student for program planning may be invited by the student to serve on or chair the Committee, but inclusion of the academic advisor is not mandatory. 
  • All members of the Committee must have terminal degrees and are required to participate fully in review and assessment of the proposal and dissertation.

 Comprehensive/Dissertation Committee - Counselor Education

In SPACE, the Comprehensive/Doctoral Committee includes the Chair or Co-Chairs, and one to two additional members, with a minimum of three members. The members of the Committee, initially selected for the Comprehensive Examination process, ideally should remain on the Doctoral Committee throughout the dissertation and final defense. The composition of the Committee should include at least one member from the student's department, and at least one member from outside the primary field of study. The Chair of the Committee must be a faculty member in the School of Education; a minimum of two members of the Committee must be faculty members in the School of Education. Members outside of the School of Education must be approved by the Committee Chair. The appointed academic advisor may be selected by the student to serve on or chair the Committee, but inclusion of the academic advisor is not mandatory. All members of the Committee must have a terminal degree and are required to participate fully in review and assessment of written and oral examinations and in the dissertation process. The Chair should ensure that current or recent supervisory and collegial relationships between Committee members and the student are avoided.

 Approval Form

All students should complete the Dissertation Committee Approval form and obtain the signatures of each committee member.  The completed form should be submitted to the School of Education Registrar.  Changes in the composition of the dissertation committee, once it has been formed, may be requested by submitting a petition through the Office of Academic Programs.