Guide for
Graduate Contacts
Ph.D. Committees, Exams,
and Faculty Information
This is a quick checklist to confirm that preliminary examination committees and final examination committees meet the Graduate College requirements. For more information, see the Graduate College Handbook, www.grad.uiuc.edu/gradhandbook/.
Preliminary Examination Committees
Preliminary examination committees follow the rules for final examination committees (below) except it is very unusual to have non-voting members on a preliminary examination committee. The Committee is dissolved if the Graduate College is not informed of the result of the preliminary examination within six months after the scheduled examination date (committee may be reinstated in certain circumstances; see the Graduate College Handbook).
Final Examination Committees
Final Exam Committees require:
- A minimum of four voting members,
- At least three of these four voting members must be members of the Graduate Faculty
- At least two of these four voting members must also be tenured
- If there are more than four voting members on the committee, at least half of the voting members must be members of the Graduate Faculty
- The Chair must be a member of the Graduate Faculty
A January 2004 revision to the Policy on Doctoral Committees, allows the Graduate Faculty requirement to be met by term members of the Graduate Faculty who retired or resigned with tenure for a period of three years following their resignation or retirement; that period may be extended at the request of the unit, so long as the faculty member remains actively involved in the graduate program.
Final examination committee membership is requested by the unit head via the Request of Appointment of a Doctoral Committee form www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/appointdec.htm, which must to be submitted to the Graduate College at least three weeks in advance of the examination date. After approval by the Graduate College, final examination committees are officially appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College.
Graduate Faculty
To determine if a person is a member of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate Faculty, see www.grad.uiuc.edu/policies/gradfac.htm. Faculty members appointed to a tenure-track position are automatically recommended for membership in the Graduate Faculty. The process for nominating individuals who are not tenure-track faculty for membership in the Graduate Faculty involves writing a letter to the dean of the Graduate College explaining why the department believes the appointment is appropriate. Included should be information about why Graduate Faculty status is necessary, what the person's role will be as a member of the Graduate Faculty and the person’s academic background that would justify such appointment. The letter should also state the length of time for which the person is to be appointed and include a CV.
Individuals who are not on tenure-track appointment must have the level of credentials expected of tenure track faculty to be granted membership in the Graduate Faculty. In particular, there should be significant evidence of professional achievement, such as current publications, grant support, conference contributions, and teaching. Additional information is provided at www.grad.uiuc.edu/policies/gradfac.htm.
Voting Non-Graduate College Faculty
If a non-Graduate College Faculty member is to serve as a voting member of a committee, a justification must be provided on the second page of the Request for Appointment of the Doctoral Committee form, and a CV should be included.
