Selecting a Principal Advisor

Steps to obtain the Ph.D. Degree:

1    Applying for Admission 2    Program Requirements - Coursework 3    Selecting a Principal Advisor 4    Entering Candidacy General Qualifying Exam 5    Application for Candidacy 6    University Oral Exam 7    Dissertation Sumbission
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Selecting a Principal Advisor

It cannot be overemphasized that it is your responsibility to find a principal advisor. The availability of faculty members to serve as principal advisors on dissertations limits the number of students that can be recommended for candidacy. Even an award of financial support (research assistantships, traineeships, and teaching assistantships) for the second or third year of graduate study does not assure that the faculty will recommend approval of your application for candidacy.

• Obviously, faculty members are more likely to accept the responsibility of supervising the research of a student whose abilities, initiative, and originality are fairly well known to them. You should appreciate that both you and your principal advisor incur some serious commitments in agreeing to work together on a dissertation research project.

Change of Advisor or Reading Committee Member

If you must change your advisor or a reading committee member, inform the department's student services office by filing the appropriate form. Failure to do so may result in a delay of approval for the dissertation until student records are correct.