After joining a Thesis Lab, students are required to form a Thesis Committee. The completed Thesis Committee Approval Form must be filled out and turned in to the CMB Office by March 15 of the student's first year. Failure to do so will result in a hold being placed on the student's registration.

A. Purpose of Thesis Committee

• Guide the student through the process of earning their PhD

• Determine the requirements the student must meet in order to complete the PhD

• Assist the student in developing a program of advanced study in the student’s area of specialty

• Provide the student with an array of ideas and opportunities regarding the direction of their coursework and thesis

• Evaluate the student’s research proposal, attend preliminary exam, annual progress report, and final PhD thesis defense

B. Composition of Thesis Committee

• A Thesis Committee consists of five faculty members, including the Thesis Advisor

• Three Committee members must be faculty trainers in the CMB Program, including the Thesis Advisor

• Two Committee members must be outside the student’s direct area of expertise

• To have more than five Committee members, the student must submit a formal request to the CMB Office to be approved by the Curriculum Chair

• The Graduate School requires Committee members be tenured or tenure-track faculty members

C. Formation of Thesis Committee

• The student must consult their Thesis Advisor to determine members of the Thesis Committee

• Obtain the Thesis Committee Approval Form from the Forms section of the CMB website
  

• Obtain signatures of all Thesis Committee members on the form and submit it to the CMB Office by March 15 of the student's first year

• If a member of the student’s Thesis Committee changes, submit a revised Thesis Committee Approval Form with the signature of the new member and the Thesis Advisor

• If a student and Thesis Advisor wish to form a committee that does not fulfill one or more of the requirements listed above, they need to request an exemption in writing to the CMB Chair or Curriculum Chair (this should include the Thesis Committee Approval Form and describe the reasons for the request)

• If a student changes labs or Thesis Advisors, they must form a new Thesis Committee within three months of joining a new lab and turn in a new Thesis Committee Approval Form to the CMB Office

D. Chair of Thesis Committee

All CMB meetings need to have a member of the Thesis Committee serve as the Chair of the Thesis Committee meeting. The Chair cannot be the Thesis Advisor. This includes the Curriculum Certification, Preliminary Exam, Progress Report, and Thesis Defense meetings. The chair will be a floating Chair and can be different at each committee meeting.

The duties of the Thesis Committee Chair will be to:

• Maintain the pace of the meeting

• Provide written feedback (discussed by the entire committee) to the student and the CMB Office on the appropriate CMB form