Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA)

Layout for printing
Policy Number:
UW-1201
Responsible Office:
Graduate School

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

A graduate student’s program arranges for a committee with appropriate expertise to afford the breadth and depth needed to mentor the student in their program, and to approve the student’s dissertation or thesis.

The composition of committees is central to the education of students and the integrity of degrees awarded by the university. Graduate programs may always set more rigorous requirements than the Graduate School’s minimum requirements.

Definitions:
Advisor
A faculty member from the program responsible for providing advice regarding graduate studies and for supervising a student’s degree program (including research).
Graduate Committee
Faculty members who advise graduate students, evaluate satisfactory progress, administer the preliminary examination and dissertation defense (final examination), evaluate a thesis or dissertation, and sign a degree warrant.
Program
Officially approved courses of study and research leading to a master’s or doctoral degree. The programs may be administered from within a disciplinary department or across departments by an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary cluster of faculty members. Some programs offer official areas of concentration, named options or subplans, at the master’s and/or doctoral levels. Both programs and named options appear on the student’s transcript. Some programs offer unofficial tracks, specializations, or concentrations, but these are not listed on the transcript.
Readers
Committee members who closely read and review the entire dissertation. Some committee members are designated non-readers. This facilitates faculty participation which may otherwise not be possible.
Scope:

Graduate students pursuing Master's or PhD degrees in academic programs under the purview of the Graduate School.

Policy:
  1. Graduate School Requirements for Graduate Committees
    1. For doctoral committees/dissertation defense (final examination) committees:
      1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty from the student’s program. Affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement. While an advisor may serve as chair, it is not a requirement. Advisors and chairs are to be designated in the dissertation
      2. The committee must be comprised of at least four members representing more than one UW-Madison graduate program. Affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement.
      3. Three of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty within one year of resignation or retirement.
      4. At least three committee members must be designated as readers.
      5. The fourth member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program’s executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program, academic staff (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
      6. All committee members have voting rights. To receive a doctoral degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.
    2. For Master of Fine Arts (MFA) final committees:
      1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty from the student’s program. Affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement. While an advisor may serve as chair, it is not a requirement.
      2. The committee must be comprised of at least four members.
      3. Three of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty within one year of resignation or retirement.
      4. The fourth member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program, academic staff (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
      5. All committee members have voting rights. To receive an MFA degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.
    3. For Master’s thesis committees:
      1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty from the student’s program. Affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement.
      2. The committee must be comprised of at least three members.
      3. Two of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty within one year of resignation or retirement.
      4. The third member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program, academic staff (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
      5. All committee members have voting rights. To receive a master’s degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.
    4. For Master’s non-thesis committees:
      1. The committee must be comprised of at least one graduate faculty from the student’s program. Affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement.
      2. To receive a master’s degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.
Related UW-Madison Policies:
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Dean of the Graduate School
Policy Manager:
Director, Academic Services, Graduate School
Contact:
Degree Coordinator -- Xania Walter, alexandra.walter@wisc.edu, (608) 262-2433
Effective Date:
03-13-2017
Revised Dates:

04-26-2023

Retrieved:
05-18-2025 00:03:00