Doctoral & Master's Committees

A doctoral committee conducts the qualifying examination, supervises the preparation of the dissertation, passes the dissertation, and administers the final defense. An advancement exam or defense must not be scheduled unless the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) has approved the student's committee. Students are advised to consult the department graduate advisor and/or coordinator at least six weeks prior to the exam.

The following policy is a general one for all doctoral students at UC San Diego. A department may have more specific requirements for appointments (e.g., a departmental ladder rank faculty member on each committee) and the department chair has final departmental authority to recommend a committee.

Completed committee form must be electronically submitted to GEPA no later than two weeks prior to the date scheduled for the qualifying examination or doctoral defense. 

The department chair’s electronic approval of the committee form is certification that the composition of the doctoral committee is in compliance with Senate Regulations concerning Requirements for Higher Degrees.

 Membership of the Ph.D. committee must comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate, Regulation 715. Effective for Fall 2021, committee membership rules have been updated to reflect the following significant changes:

• Minimum of 4 members with UC San Diego faculty appointments
• At least 1 member must have a primary appointment in a different department than the chair's primary department
• At least 2 members must be from the student's home department or program
• At least 1 member must be tenured or emeritus
• Proposed members from other UC campuses, other universities, or industry are exceptions and must be requested in writing

Senate Regulation 715 states in full:

In consultation with their faculty dissertation advisor and following their Ph.D. program
guidelines, candidates shall request to appoint a Doctoral Committee consisting of at
least four members with faculty appointments at UC San Diego. Eligibility of faculty in
different academic series at UC San Diego to serve on and/or chair Doctoral
Committees is determined by the Graduate Council. At least one Doctoral Committee
member must have their primary appointment in a different department than the one in
which the candidate’s dissertation advisor/Doctoral Committee Chair holds their primary
appointment. (Doctoral Committee Co-Chairs from different departments or programs
satisfy this requirement; note that, even with evenly split appointments, faculty are
primary in one department). At least two Doctoral Committee members must be from the
department or program in which the student is enrolled and at least one Doctoral
Committee member must be tenured or emeritus.

Additional committee members beyond the required four members can be requested to
serve, including from another UC campus, non-UC academic institutions and industry.
Appointment of such external members who will participate in Doctoral Committee
decisions must be justified with a written explanation at the time of requesting committee
constitution and must be approved by the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA). Willingness of external
members to serve on the committee must be verified prior to nomination and efforts
should be made to maintain continuity of service on the committee for the duration of
candidacy.

Departments and graduate programs that have received approval from the Council for exceptions to the membership requirements for Ph.D. committees remain in effect (e.g. Div. of Biological Sciences, Neurosciences Graduate Program).

Membership of the DMA doctoral committee must comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate Regulation 717. 

Academic Senate regulations: 

http://senate.ucsd.edu/operating-procedures/educational-policies/academic-degrees/

A master's thesis committee supervises the preparation of the thesis, passes the thesis, and administers the final defense. For programs that require a defense, it must not take place unless the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) has approved the student's committee. Students are advised to consult the department graduate advisor and/or coordinator at least four weeks prior to the defense.

The following policy is a general one for all master’s thesis students at UC San Diego. A department may have more specific requirements for appointments (e.g., a departmental ladder rank faculty member on each committee) and the department chair has final departmental authority to recommend a committee.

Completed committee form must be electronically submitted to GEPA no later than two weeks prior to the date scheduled for the thesis defense.

The student should work with their department/program on finalizing their committee constitution, and then the department/program will submit the committee request to GEPA via the online committee form. The department chair’s electronic approval of the committee form is certification that the composition of the master’s committee is in compliance with Senate Regulations concerning Requirements for Higher Degrees.

Please use the Doctoral Committee Membership Table to determine which academic titles may serve on Master's committees and in which capacity.

 Membership of the master's thesis committee must comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate, Regulation 700, which states:

a master's thesis to be approved by a committee of three faculty members appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies. [Am 12/9/14]

The Graduate Council confirms that that at least 2 members must be from the candidate's major department.

Please note: There is no requirement for a tenured or emeritus member, and a 4th member is considered an additional member. MFA committees consist of 4 faculty members: 3 from the department and 1, preferably tenured, from outside the student's department.

A doctoral committee conducts the qualifying examination, supervises the preparation of the dissertation, passes the dissertation, and administers the final defense. An advancement exam or defense must not be scheduled unless the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) has approved the student's committee. Students are advised to consult the program's graduate advisor and/or coordinator at least six weeks prior to the exam.

 Completed committee form must be electronically submitted to GEPA no later than two weeks prior to the date scheduled for the qualifying examination or doctoral defense.

The department/program chair’s electronic approval of the committee form is certification that the composition of the doctoral committee is in compliance with Senate Regulations concerning Requirements for Higher Degrees.

Per San Diego Senate Regulation 715: Guidelines on Doctoral Committee composition are modified for joint Ph.D. programs offered collaboratively by San Diego State University and UC San Diego with the approval of the Graduate Council. Joint Doctoral Program rules vary by program. Please consult the program directly or contact Sara Miceli in the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) with any questions.

A Doctoral Committee of five or more members shall be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies under the authority of the Graduate Council. At least five of the committee members shall be officers of instruction and no fewer than four shall hold professorial titles (of any rank). The committee members shall be chosen from at least two departments, and at least two members shall represent academic specialties that differ from the student’s chosen specialty. In all cases, each committee must include one tenured or emeritus UCSD faculty member from outside the student’s major department. [Am 10/26/93]

Membership of the AuD doctoral committee must comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate Regulation 716.

Membership of the Ed.D. doctoral committee must comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate Regulation 718.

Academic Senate regulations: 

http://senate.ucsd.edu/operating-procedures/educational-policies/academic-degrees/

Per San Diego Senate Regulation 715: Guidelines on Doctoral Committee composition are modified for joint Ph.D. programs offered collaboratively by San Diego State University and UC San Diego with the approval of the Graduate Council.

The Doctoral Committee Membership Table specifies which academic titles may serve on doctoral committees  and in what capacity. The faculty titles listed on the chart refer to UC San Diego faculty members only (with the exception of the "Professor from another UC campus" title). 

The Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) will consider exceptions to individual committee membership with plausible justification from the graduate program.

Applicable to JDP Committees, and PhD Committees constituted prior to Fall 2021

*Only one person in this category per committee unless there are more than five members.
**May serve as a member inside or outside the student's home department.
#Adjunct professors and Professors of Practice of all ranks may serve as chairs of doctoral committees as long as a ladder rank faculty member serve as a co-chair.
##Voluntary basis.
⁺Teaching Professors of all ranks may serve as chair or co-chair with exception by Dean of GEPA or Graduate Council.

Printable JDP committee table

When submitting a new or reconstituted committee, the student must consult with their committee chair to ensure that the committee meets their research needs. The student must also consult with their department/program coordinator to ensure the committee meets the standards of their graduate program.

For a variety of reasons a doctoral or master’s committee may need to be reconstituted. The request to reconstitute the membership of a committee must specify the reason/s for the change and must be approved by the department chair and the committee chair. The reconstitution request must be submitted to the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) no less than two weeks prior to the qualifying examination or defense of the dissertation or thesis.

All requests for new or resconstituted doctoral or master's committees are submitted electronically. The department/program graduate coordinator will submit a reconstituted committee request to GEPA via the Committee Membership tool.

San Diego Senate Regulation 715, Requirements for the PhD Degree at San Diego, requires that the doctoral committee conduct the qualifying examination and final oral examination (the dissertation defense). The Graduate Council approved the following rules for the scheduling and administration of Master’s and Doctoral qualifying exams and defenses. (The rules detailed below replace the previous rules approved by Graduate Council on 10/8/2018.)

Effective Fall 2022:

The default method for the doctoral and master’s committee to conduct graduate examinations (doctoral qualifying examination and final dissertation/thesis defense) is when the student and all members of the committee are physically present in the same room.

The Graduate Council recognizes, however, that practical exigencies do not always make this possible. Therefore, the Graduate Council will defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation. The graduate program must ensure that when an exam is approved to be held entirely remote or in a hybrid format (i.e., some members are physically present and some are remote) that the student has agreed to this format.

It is expected that there will be synchronous participation by all committee members in the scheduled exam. If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members to examine the student. If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam.

 Graduate Council Action 4/8/93

A professor who leaves UC San Diego may continue to be on the committee and may serve as co-chair, but may not continue as chair.

Graduate Council Action Regarding Committee Participation at the Doctoral Qualifying Examination and Doctoral and Master's Final Oral Examination (Defense) 5/26/22

San Diego Senate Regulation 715, Requirements for the PhD Degree at San Diego, requires that the doctoral committee conduct the qualifying examination and final oral examination (the dissertation defense). The Graduate Council approved the following rules for conducting PhD qualifying exams and defenses, effective Fall 2022. (The rules detailed below replace the previous rules approved by Graduate Council on 10/8/2018.)

The default method for the doctoral and master’s committee to conduct graduate examinations (doctoral qualifying examination and final dissertation/thesis defense) is when the student and all members of the committee are physically present in the same room. The Graduate Council recognizes, however, that practical exigencies do not always make this possible. Therefore, the Graduate Council will defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation. The graduate program must ensure that when an exam is approved to be held entirely remote or in a hybrid format (i.e., some members are physically present and some are remote) that the student has agreed to this format. It is expected that there will be synchronous participation by all committee members in the scheduled exam. If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members to examine the student. If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam.

Graduate Council Action Regarding Teaching Professors Chairing MA/MS and Doctoral Committees 12/17/18

The Dean of the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) may review and make a decision on requests that involve allowing a Teaching Professor to chair or co-chair an individual student’s committee. If there is a second request to allow the same Teaching Professor to chair or co-chair another student’s committee, the Graduate Dean will forward the request to the Graduate Council. The Council will review the request for consideration of a blanket exception for that specific Teaching Professor to chair or co-chair any MS or PhD committee in their program.

Departments and programs may submit a request to the Graduate Council, via the Graduate Dean, to review and make a decision on requests to grant a blanket exception to allow an individual or group of Teaching Professors to chair or co-chair any MS or PhD committee in their program.

The criterion for approval of all the above exceptions is the demonstration of the Teaching Professor’s research expertise in their field. After a blanket approval has been granted, if the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) receives a report from a student, a Master or PhD committee, or a department, that the Teaching Professor does not have adequate research expertise in their  field, the Graduate Dean will bring the case forward to the Graduate Council. The Council, with input from the department, will re-examine the case and can revoke the blanket exception.