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Students should consult with the MASS Program Director at
the earliest opportunity on the choice of their
Graduate Committee Chair. A student's Committee Chair will be the most
important professor in the student's program and may frequently be known by a
number of names: "Major Professor," "Thesis Advisor," "Graduate Advisor,"
etc. The Committee Chair will be the student's guide and mentor through
the graduate school process and should be the first person the student goes to
about any problem or issue. For administrative reasons the Program
Director remains the "official" advisor in University records, but once a
faculty member has agreed to be a student's Chair that faculty member becomes
the primary advisor on intellectual, programmatic, and career questions.
The
student will consult with his or her Committee Chair on the composition of the
Committee which must have at least three members. At least two members of
the Committee should be from the academic department responsible for the
student's concentration. In certain cases, however, the Committee Chair,
in consultation with the Program Director, may determine that it may be
appropriate to have only one faculty member from the concentration department
for a thesis student whose thesis is strongly interdisciplinary.
Individual faculty members are not required to serve as
Committee Chairs or on a student’s committee.
Should the student desire
to pursue the Thesis option the full committee must unanimously recommend the
Thesis option not later than the end of the student’s second semester (or
eighteen credit hours). Student's desiring to pursue the Thesis option are
expected to provide perspective Committee members with a substantial writing
sample in order for them to make an informed decision about approving this
option.
Graduate
Committee Contract (Exam)
Graduate
Committee Contract (Thesis)
The Committee Chair is responsible for notifying the
Program Director in writing (hard copy or e-mail) that the student has successfully fulfilled all
requirements of the Program and has scheduled his or her Comprehensive Exam and
Final Oral Exam. Upon completion of all requirements it is the student's
responsibility to provide the following to the program Director:
Thesis Students:
- A copy of the signed thesis signature page, and
- A receipt from Baron-Forness
Library acknowledging receipt of at least four copies of the thesis for
binding.
Non-thesis Students:
Failure to notify the
Program Director in a timely manner may result in a delay in Records and
Registration posting the student’s graduation.
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