Graduate Program Administration

Graduate Studies Committee

The Graduate Studies Committee shall consist of all members of the Graduate Faculty of the Department and a student representative. The student representative shall have voting privileges and may be involved in all Committee matters except where access to student records is required. The Chairman of the Committee is the Director of Graduate Studies and is appointed by the Chairman of the Biology Department and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

A graduate student may consult the Committee at any time on matters concerning his/her graduate program or on problems involving student-professor relationships. First the student should petition the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Chair who will present his/her case to the Committee.

The Committee shall be responsible for recommending candidates for admission, providing information to the Student Evaluation Committee regarding recommendations for Departmental Graduate Assistantships, providing programs of study, overseeing student progress towards the degree, and recommending students for candidacy.

Guidance Committee

The responsibilities of the Guidance Committee are to set up individual programs of study, guide and assist in research where appropriate, approve dissertation proposals and serve as thesis and dissertation examiners.

The Guidance Committee shall consist of four members: The student's Major Adviser and three other faculty members. One member may be selected from “outside” the department. This committee member will be expected to interact both with the student and other members of the Guidance Committee. This individual may be drawn from another department, the consortium, another university, or an off-campus institute. This individual may not serve as the Outside Examiner during the thesis or dissertation defense. A resume of the “outside” member should be available and he/she should meet the qualifications to be a graduate faculty member at Howard.

A student may be permitted to conduct Ph.D. dissertation research under the guidance of a Research Advisor. This research advisor must meet the qualifications of graduate faculty, have an active and funded research program, and collaborate with the academic (major) advisor. Both advisors, student and guidance committee are expected to meet frequently to assess progress of the student.

Examination Committee

The Examination Committee shall consist of the four member Guidance Committee plus an additional member drawn from “outside” the university. This individual should not have interacted with the Guidance Committee or the student in any substantive capacity. S/he may be drawn from the consortium, another university, or an off-campus institute, must submit a curriculum vita, must meet the qualifications to be a graduate faculty member at Howard, and must receive approval from the Graduate School to serve on the Examination Committee.