Guarini School Policy on Research Advisory Committees

Policy Statement

• From the day they arrive at Dartmouth, all PhD, MS, MA, and MALS students must be made aware that some form of a Research Advisory Committee is available to them.
• Clear and easily accessible descriptions of the committee make-up and structure needs to be available on program websites, and in any program-specific graduate student handbooks.
• A minimum of two Dartmouth faculty members (which includes full-time tenure track and research faculty), normally from the student's graduate program, must be on the committee. Additional faculty members from Dartmouth or another institution, Dartmouth staff, or Dartmouth postdocs or students may also sit on the committee, as determined by program specific policy.
• The nature and make-up of the committee can change as students progress through their academic program, e.g. from a program-wide Graduate Student Advisory Committee before selection of a lab/mentor, to a student-specific Research Advisory Committee once a lab/mentor is chosen, and finally to a student-specific Thesis Committee for the final defense.
• Programs must communicate their Research Advisory Committee policies and practices to the Guarini School, and notify the school of any changes.