Thesis/Dissertation Committees

Students are guided by faculty mentors who advise them through their degree program, called supervisory committees. Students should identify their committees early in their graduate career and look to them for guidance in their graduate work. Once students have selected a supervisory committee, they must add each member in their iPOS, in the Faculty Committee section, and submit for approval. Approval then goes through levels of review as needed within SOLS and the Graduate College. 

Your initial iPOS submission only requires your chair or co-chairs be added. You will later need to add the rest of your committee members by the deadlines described for your specific program in the handbook. These deadlines are summarized below. If you need an extension or have questions about these deadlines, please contact your faculty advisor, the SOLS graduate office and your program director(s).

• Must have at least 4 total members (1 committee chair and 3 members, or 2 committee co-chairs and 2 members)

  • • *Animal Behavior PhD is the only exception to this, as it requires at least 5 total members

• 3 of the 4 (or 5 for Animal Behavior) individuals on the committee should be ASU tenure-track faculty

• 2 of the 4 (or 5 for Animal Behavior) individuals on the committee should be ASU tenure-track and program-specific faculty (i.e., if you are a Biology PhD student, 2 of the 4 folks on your committee must be tenure-track faculty in the biology program)

• In some cases, an external committee member may be approved as the 4th (or 5th for Animal Behavior) committee member with justification from the student and approval from the Program Director, Graduate Associate Director, and Graduate College

• While you may have more than 4 (or 5 for Animal Behavior) committee members, please consider your justification for doing so, as coordinating schedules for large committees can place undue burden on students

Certain programs have program-specific rules with their committee expectations. Please review your program's requirements in the SOLS Handbook to ensure you meet requirements. If you have a special request, please consult with your Program Director(s).

• Must have at least 3 total members (1 committee chair and 2 members, or 2 committee co-chairs and 1 member)

• 2 of the 3 individuals on the committee should be ASU tenure-track, program-specific faculty (i.e., if you are a Biology MS student, 2 of the 3 folks on your committee must be tenure-track faculty in the biology program)

• In some cases, an external committee member may be approved as the 3rd committee member with justification from the student and approval from the Program Director, Graduate Associate Director, and Graduate College

• While you may have more than 3 committee members, please consider your justification for doing so, as coordinating schedules for large committees can place undue burden on students

Certain programs have program-specific rules with their committee expectations. Please review your program's requirements in the SOLS Handbook to ensure you meet requirements. If you have a special request, please consult with your Program Director(s).

If you are enrolled in the MS Biology - Coursework & Capstone track, you are not required to have a formal 3-person supervisory committee. Instead, you are required to have 1 committee Chair. Typically, this is the current Program Director for the MS Biology - Coursework & Capstone program: Dr. Stephen Pratt. However, if you are working on an applied project under the guidance of another SOLS faculty member, it may be appropriate to add them as your committee Chair. You must be approved for the Applied Project track prior to the semester in which you take BIO 593 (typically a student's final semester). Please contact your academic advisor or sols.grad@asu.edu if you would like guidance on this matter.