Supervisory Committee - Doctoral

The supervisor will maintain primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the student’s program. The supervisor and the student should meet regularly and work closely in matters such as course selection, development of a reading list, pilot research and selection of the members of the supervisory committee. The supervisory committee must be in place by the end of the first year of a doctoral program. The supervisor must submit the composition of the Supervisory Committee to the Graduate Program Office. Supervisory Committees must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

The supervisory committee will include at least two members in addition to the supervisor. The main role of the supervisory committee is to provide academic and technical support to the research trainee, so members should be accessible to the student during the program. The committee shall work closely with the student to develop a program of research. The same committee shall arrange for the necessary examinations and for adjudication of the thesis.

Normally, supervisory committee members are professors at the University of Alberta, and may be from any Faculty. It is also possible, with the approval of the Associate Dean, to appoint professors from other institutions to serve on a graduate committee however, the majority of the committee members must be from the University of Alberta. There is provision for faculty members who do not hold a PhD (e.g., MD) to serve as members of a PhD supervisory or examination committee. In this case, the supervisor will present a written request to the Associate Dean detailing the qualifications of the individual and a rationale for committee membership. Refer to the FGSR’s Examining Committee Membership Checklist for further information: https://www.ualberta.ca/graduate-studies/about/resources-for-faculty-and-staff/resources-for-graduate-coordinators

The supervisory committee must meet at least annually to review the student’s progress. The supervisor should keep minutes of the meeting(s) which should then be distributed to the student and committee members in order to document agreement on progress and program planning.