Student Advising and Committees

Advisor:

An advisor will be identified through the admission procedure. The advisor is the student's primary contact at the University. It is very important that the student and their advisor work well together. On rare occasions students discover that they are not well matched with their advisor for various reasons. If a change is necessary, that change must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and the new advisor in consultation with the previous advisor and the student.

The advisor chairs meetings of the SAC and makes final decisions. She/he also assumes advisory and administrative responsibility for an individual student's program, including recommendations regarding program content and student progress. Advisors for students in the Fisheries and Aquatic Biology track must be members of this track.

Student Advisory Committee (SAC):

The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) must have members from more than one department . The student is responsible for assembling the Student Advisory Committee, in consultation with the advisor. A SAC for an MS student is composed of the student's advisor and two other faculty members who can give advice on the student's professional direction. One of these should be on the CB faculty, the other should represent a different field. For PhD students, the SAC includes three faculty members other than the advisor, 2 from CB and 1 from another field. The purpose of the SAC is to assist the student to develop a degree program (e.g., list of coursework) and provide advise on research. The student's principal advisor is responsible for helping the student to identify faculty representing both the biological dimensions and social dimensions of conservation biology to serve on the SAC.

Typically the advisor assists new graduate students in selecting courses for their first semester; the SAC should meet during the first semester of a student's residency to assist in selecting courses for the next term and to offer some general guidance for research and the degree program. The SAC should be convened in the second semester to provide input the research proposal and to finalize the degree program (see the section on filing a degree program). Students should develop a research proposal (with literature review) for SAC review. This proposal is developed in close coordination with advisor and is provided to SAC members prior to the meeting that occurs in the second semester.

The student must schedule a meeting of the SAC at least once a year to review his/her progress. In general, the membership of the SAC does not change during a student's program. However, if the direction of student's research changes and/or if the advisor and a SAC member agree that another faculty can better assist the student, a change can be requested. These changes need to be approved by the DGS and Graduate School .

The SAC often serves as the Master of Science Examining Committee, the PhD Preliminary Oral Examining Committee, or the Final Oral Examining Committee (although these are all formally appointed by the Graduate School ).

Preliminary Oral Examining Committee (doctoral students):

The Prelim Oral Examining Committee conducts the Preliminary Oral Exam. The examining committee has a minimum of four members: three (including the student's adviser) from the major field and one from the minor field or supporting program. All assigned members must be present at the preliminary oral examination; the absence of any member results in an invalid examination. If substitutions on the examining committee are necessary, the advisor or DGS must request approval from the Graduate School . All students scheduling their preliminary oral examination should contact the Graduate School to obtain the necessary forms.

Final Oral Examining Committee (doctoral and masters students):

The final oral examining committee is formed in the same way as the preliminary oral examining committee. However, members of the two committees need not be the same. The committee must consist of at least three members for the MS and four members for the PhD : two (MS) or three (PhD) (including the student's advisor) from the major field and one from the minor field or supporting program. At least one committee member from the minor field or supporting program should represent a graduate program and an academic unit other than that of the student's major.

Although the student's advisor serves as a member of the final oral examining committee, another member of the committee is designated as the chair and functions in this capacity at the final oral examination. The chair must be a full member of the graduate faculty and may be from either the major field or the minor field or supporting program. All committee members must be present at the examination; the absence of any member results in an invalid examination. If substitutions are necessary, the advisor or DGS must request approval from the Graduate School . All students preparing for their final oral examination should contact the Graduate School to receive detailed directions about degree completion procedures.