Dissertation Committee

The faculty advisor is not required to be on the dissertation committee although the advice of this individual is often sought when the committee is being assembled. A dissertation committee is composed of four faculty members: a chair (who must come from the department), two additional committee members (at least one of whom must come from the department), and a cognate member (who is not a member of the department but is a full voting member of the committee). The proposed Committee should be reviewed and approved with the Faculty Advisor and the proposed Chair of the Committee if distinct from the advisor. Once the composition of the Committee is agreed upon and all members have consented to participate, the proposed Committee must be approved by the HBHE Department Chair and the proposed Committee is then submitted in writing to Rackham Graduate School for final approval. For more details on the requirements related to composition of the dissertation committee, please refer to the Guidelines for Dissertation Committee Service.

Students must enroll for at least 8 credit hours of dissertation research (HBEHED 995) with their Dissertation Chair. Only one additional course can be taken with HBEHED 995 enrollment as part of candidacy tuition. Finally, students must be enrolled in HBEHED 995 during the semester in which they defend the dissertation, including during the spring/summer term.