HDFS Degree Committees

The purpose of degree committees is to support student success by providing expert consultation and guidance across the breadth and depth of content areas relevant to the student’s scholarship and career goals.  Below you will find information about:

• General guidelines about committee selection and formation
• MS Degree: Master’s Committee Requirements
• PhD Degree: Prelim Committee Requirements
• PhD Degree: Dissertation Committee Requirements

Important Action Step: When you determine the membership of your Committee (Master’s, Prelim or Doctoral), you should complete the Graduate Student Advisor and Committee Form and submit it to the SoHE Graduate Program Coordinator

General guidelines about committee selection and formation

Committees have the responsibility of overseeing your progress in the department with respect to a range of hurdles or benchmarks including the completion of your coursework, the development of a research/dissertation proposal, your oral defense of your research, and for Ph.D. students, the defense of the preliminary examinations.

The Graduate School sets minimum requirements for the composition of all degree committees, found on the Graduate School website, and defined further in UW-Madison’s Faculty Policies and Procedures. Note that the Graduate School offers an online tool to help you determine whether the proposed committee would meet the formal criteria.

Your advisor is the Chair of your degree committee and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty (see Graduate School policy above). In special circumstances a co-chair situation may be worked out so that a member of the committee works together with your advisor to chair your committee. In consultation with your advisor, you select the other faculty members to invite to your committees.

Although it is recommended that you form a committee as early in your graduate career as possible, in practice, it is usually easier to invite members to a committee after you have become better acquainted with faculty through classes and once you have settled on a specific research topic. In selecting committee members, do not expect that all of the faculty members will have a specific expertise in your chosen research topic. We are a small department and our faculty expect to serve on committees where their own research may not be directly relevant to yours.

While committee members are generally all members of the Graduate Faculty, when there is a rationale for inviting someone outside of the Graduate Faculty to serve on a committee (e.g., faculty from another university, retired faculty, scientists, research associates, academic staff, professionals) the HDFS Executive Faculty can approve the outside member. Submit the following information to the Chair of HDFS via email, for approval by the HDFS Executive Committee:

Student’s name:
Advisor:
Committee type (MS, PhD):
Name of non-graduate faculty appointee (attach CV):
Current affiliation of appointee:
Rationale for the appointment:
Attach the non-graduate faculty member’s CV

When you determine the membership of your Committee (Master’s, Prelim or Doctoral), you should complete the Graduate Student Advisor and Committee Form and submit it to the SoHE Graduate Program Coordinator. If a circumstance arises that requires changing the membership of a committee, the decision should be discussed with your advisor, the relevant parties should be informed, and the change should be noted in the department’s official records by submitting a revised Graduate Student Advisor and Committee Form to the SoHE Graduate Program Coordinator.

For Graduate School policy on forming your committees, please go to the Graduate School website: Academic Policies & Procedures.

Masters Committee

The HDFS Master’s Thesis Committee consists of at least three members. The chair of your committee (also your advisor) must be a Graduate Faculty member and from HDFS. At least one other thesis committee member must also be Graduate School Faculty.

Your thesis committee will serve to guide you in the process of developing your research thesis and they will evaluate your work. Your masters committee will:

• Review your MS checklist and verify that you have completed all course requirements
• Provide support and guidance as needed as you develop your thesis proposal
• Approve your thesis proposal
• Provide support and guidance as needed as you complete your thesis research
• Carefully read your thesis and ask probing questions at your thesis defense
• Complete the “Master’s Thesis Evaluation Form” following your thesis defense (Qualtrics link that can be shared with committee members), they will,
• Sign your MS degree warrant.

Prelim Committee

PhD students are required to form a Prelim Committee, which is responsible for preparing your preliminary examination within the department guidelines and evaluating your written and oral performance. The committee consists of the chair of your committee (also your advisor) and at least two other members who must be Graduate School Faculty.

Your prelim committee will:

• Help prepare your personalized preliminary exam question during the prelim preparation (candidacy) meeting, based on your research interests and career goals
• Review your coursework to ensure that all degree requirements have been met before you move into the dissertation phase
• Carefully read your prelim paper and ask probing questions at your prelim defense
• Complete the “HDFS Preliminary Examination Assessment Form” (Qualtrics link that can be shared with each committee member).

Dissertation Committee

Your dissertation committee, also referred to as the “Final Oral Examination Committee” by the Graduate School, will serve to guide you in the process of developing your research dissertation and they will evaluate your work at both the proposal stage and the final defense.

Your dissertation committee must meet the following requirements:

• Including your advisor, the HDFS Dissertation Committee consists of at least four members
• Three must be members of the UW-Madison Graduate School faculty or former UW- Madison Graduate School faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
• At least two must be HDFS Faculty
• At least one must be from another department (outside SoHE)

If you would like to include a committee member who is not Graduate School faculty, you must submit a written (email) request to the HDFS Chair (see above)

A faculty member holding a joint appointment in HDFS with a primary home in another department may serve as either an “outside” member or as one of the HDFS members. It is common for students to ask all three members of their Prelim Committee to continue on their dissertation committee and then invite at least one additional member to their committee. Circumstances can arise that require a change of committee membership between the proposal and defense stages, but in general this is discouraged unless you are changing topics from your prelim focus. If you do change the membership of your committee, you should complete a revised “Graduate Student Advisor and Committee Form” and inform all parties.

Your dissertation committee will:

• Approve your dissertation proposal
• Provide support and guidance as needed as you complete your dissertation research
• Carefully read your dissertation and ask probing questions at your defense
• Complete the“PhD Dissertation Evaluation Form” (Qualtrics link that can be shared with committee members)
• Sign your degree warrant and welcome you as a Doctor of Philosophy!