View more information below about selecting your graduate advisor, your responsibilities as an advisee, how to make changes to your advisor if needed, choosing committee members and the roles, responsibilities and qualifications of the chair and advisory committee members.

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Advisor

The advisor’s primary responsibility is as a mentor. As a result, it is expected that the advisor will establish the closest working relationship with the student. The advisor must hold an appropriate OSU Graduate Faculty appointment, but need not hold an OSU faculty appointment if not serving as Chair. The advisor guides and counsels the student in the research or scholarly effort, ensuring compliance with applicable research regulations. The advisor serves as the primary resource for the graduate student in identifying potential committee members for the student’s advisory committee. The advisor is responsible for reporting to the advisory committee on the student’s progress. It is the advisor’s responsibility to mentor the student toward a research, scholarly or creative project that is original and worthy of the degree sought. The advisor is typically involved in the preparation of scientific or creative presentations, manuscripts for publication, etc. which may be a degree requirement in some graduate programs.

 

Your advisor will likely be the most important person in your graduate program. Your advisor is often also called your major advisor, professor and/or PI (principle investigator). Your advisor is responsible for your work and is usually paying for your assistantship and research costs. You should strive to have good communication and a professional relationship with your advisor.

 

Advisee

You have responsibilities as an advisee. You likely can imagine what they are. You should be self-motivated and responsible to see that you meet all the requirements for your degree program. You should be professional in your dealings with people. For example, get things done on time (or early) and don’t make a habit of asking people to accommodate your last-minute requests.

 

Advisor Changes

Changing advisors in grad school is more complicated than changing advisors as an undergrad. There are many factors to consider. In general, you should not try to change advisors except in extreme circumstances. If you feel you must change advisors, please consult with the Graduate Coordinator immediately and avoid starting rumors among faculty, grad students, etc.

 

When it is determined that a graduate student and Advisor can no longer work together, and all efforts for conflict resolution within the program have been exhausted, it is the responsibility of the student to identify a new Advisor or change to another degree option or program. The Graduate Program Coordinator can assist with this process, but Oklahoma State University is under no obligation to provide the student with a new Advisor.  If a new advisor cannot be identified in 30 calendar days, the student will no longer be eligible to continue in the graduate program. This includes termination of the student’s assistantship.

 

Should a student's advisor leave OSU before the student completes his/her degree, the following steps may be taken after consultation with the advisor and Graduate Program Coordinator:  

• For a master’s student or doctoral candidate who needs only to complete their research project to finish the degree, the student may complete the research project under the direction of the original advisor. If the advisor is also the Chair of the student’s advisory Committee, a new Chair would be appointed. The original advisor can continue as a member of OSU’s Graduate Faculty, participate in the student's thesis/dissertation defense, and fulfill his/her obligations to the student. At the departing advisor’s option, the student may be invited to transfer to the advisor’s new institution.
• For a master’s or doctoral student (defined as not having met the requirements for doctoral candidacy) who is in the early stages of their program and research project, he/she may choose a new advisor and start a new research project.
• A student may also choose to transfer to the advisor’s new educational institution.

 

If a student is unable to secure a new advisor in 30 calendar days, there is no obligation on the part of the program, Graduate College, or Oklahoma State University to provide a new one. Without an advisor, the student will not be eligible to continue in the graduate program.

 

Committee

Your committee is made up of faculty who have agreed to help you develop your thesis and are responsible to determine if you successfully defend it. M.S. committees are required to have 3 members at a minimum. These are typically the major advisor in AFS, 1 other AFS faculty, and potentially 1 member from outside AFS. Ph.D. committees are required to have 4 members at a minimum and must include 1 member from outside AFS. Committees can include additional members, but these categories must be represented. All members must be Graduate Faculty at OSU. 

 

You are responsible for identifying and recruiting faculty members to your committee. You absolutely should discuss potential committee members with your major advisor. Once you have agreed on a committee membership roster, you should speak to those faculty and ask them if they are willing to serve on your committee. Most are happy to serve. Don’t be offended if someone can’t serve because they don’t have time, etc.

 

You should recruit committee members who can provide valuable expertise and guidance to your research. Don’t select members just because you personally like them, or it is tradition, or what your friend did, etc. Realize that you will be asking the member to attend your committee meetings, read your thesis and comment on it, provide help and advice on research, attend your defense, etc.  It is a significant commitment.

 

Selection of Advisory Committee Members:  Recommendation of Advisory Committee members should be a collaborative activity between the graduate student and their Advisor and/or Committee Chair. Although the student has the ultimate responsibility for recommending his/her Advisory Committee membership, his/her Advisor is a valued resource that can provide insight that will help the student make informed decisions. The student should meet with potential Advisory Committee members prior to recommending them to better understand their experience, availability, mentoring style and willingness to serve as an Advisory Committee member.

 

You should have a committee selected by the middle of the second semester of your program.

 

Roles, Responsibilities and Qualifications of the Chair and Advisory Committee Members:

 

Chair

The primary responsibility of the Chair of a graduate student’s Advisory Committee is to monitor the progress of the student toward degree completion. The Chair is commonly the research Advisor, but this is not a requirement. The Chair must have a strong familiarity with the academic requirements appropriate to the degree sought. The Chair must hold an appropriate OSU Graduate Faculty appointment, typically a tenure-track appointment in the academic unit in which the graduate degree is housed. The Chair’s duties include convening meetings of the Advisory Committee, as appropriate; ensuring compliance with University and Graduate College policies, procedures and requirements; overseeing the Plan of Study and thesis/dissertation submission processes; and ensuring that the research topic undertaken is appropriate to satisfy degree requirements with the results openly accessible. If the Chair is not also the Advisor, the Chair should serve as a liaison with the Advisor with regard to progress of research in fulfillment of degree requirements.

 

Expert Committee Member(s)

The Advisory Committee must include at least one Expert Member whose expertise and counsel serve the graduate student in attaining the research, scholarly, creative or professional preparation goal that is worthy of the degree sought. Expert Members must hold an appropriate OSU Graduate Faculty appointment. Typically, such individuals are faculty members in the student’s graduate program. An Expert Member’s responsibilities include guiding the research, scholarly or creative activities throughout the process, approving the Plan of Study, reviewing draft documents, attending regular meetings of the Advisory Committee, and interacting regularly with Advisory Committee members to facilitate and monitor degree completion progress.

 

Outside Committee Member

The Advisory Committee must also include one Outside Member who serves as the representative of the Graduate College and ensures a high level of integrity in the processes that the Advisory Committee utilizes to review and evaluate the student throughout the graduate program. The Outside Member must be a member of the OSU faculty and Graduate Faculty.  The Outside Member must not be a faculty member from the academic unit or graduate program of either the graduate student, Advisor or the Chair of the Advisory Committee. The Outside Member ensures that appropriate academic standards are applied in evaluating the student, and that the student is dealt with in a fair manner consistent with OSU policies. The Outside member also provides expert advice when appropriate to the student in the conduct of research and writing of the dissertation.

 

Resources

• Graduate Faculty Database
• Associate Graduate Faculty
• Associate Graduate Faculty Nomination form

 

Committee meetings

You should have a committee meeting towards the end of your second semester. At this meeting, you should be prepared to discuss your background, goals, plan of study for courses, and research topics. Then, you must have a committee meeting at least annually, with updates on these topics. You should schedule these meetings, and not rely on your advisor to remind you.

 

Committee changes

Committee members can be changed when necessary. Usually, this is due to a change in a committee member’s availability, or a change in the research direction. Students may not replace a committee member ad-hoc, because they want to, etc. Committee changes must be approved by the advisor, and communicated to the committee, the graduate program coordinator, and the Graduate College immediately.