Advisory Committees for Master’s and Doctoral Students Co-major Professors. Co-major professors, limited to two, may be appointed to an advisory committee provided both parties are appointed members of the Graduate Faculty. Both parties must sign all forms requiring the chair’s signature. Co-major professors count as one member of the committee, therefore, an additional member must be added to a master's student's advisory committee. Advising Members of Immediate Family. The nepotism policy defines members of the immediate family as the following: spouse/partner, siblings, children, and in-laws of the same. When a member of the immediate family is involved, a faculty member may not serve as major professor or as a member of any committee which plans a program of study or evaluates the educational progress of the student. Adjunct Faculty. If a person is approved as an adjunct member of the general faculty with Graduate Faculty status, that faculty member may assume responsibilities normally performed by a regular member of the Graduate Faculty. These responsibilities include direction of a student’s dissertation or thesis, service on doctoral and master’s level committees, and teaching graduate courses open only to graduate students. Adjunct faculty may supervise any number of Genetics graduate students funded by RA’ships or the NIH training grant. Retired Faculty. If the chair of a doctoral/master's student’s advisory committee retires during the period of the student’s degree, she or he may continue in that capacity if the student has been admitted to candidacy, and if the student and the department wish for the relationship to continue. If the student has not been admitted to candidacy at the time of the chair’s retirement, another chair must be selected following regular procedures. A retired professor will not assume chairmanship of an advisory committee for a student. Consideration will be given to a waiver of this rule on petition from the department to the dean of the Graduate School if the professor has skills of a highly specialized nature, which are not otherwise available in the department. A retired professor may continue to serve as a member of a doctoral/master's committee provided that the student has been admitted to candidacy, the student and the department wish for the relationship to continue, and the professor is in a position to perform the required services. A retired professor may be appointed to serve on a doctoral/master's committee following regular procedures if the professor is in a position to perform the required services. back to main page
