The candidacy examination committee consists of three members of the earth sciences graduate faculty: the advisor, the minor advisor, and one general earth sciences examiner. All members of the committee must have the appropriate graduate faculty rank as described in the departmental handbook. The dissertation committee, which evaluates the student's dissertation proposal, consists of the candidacy examination committee, plus an outside member who may be from another department on campus or another institution if approved by the Graduate College. All members of the committee must have the appropriate graduate faculty rank as described in the College of Arts and Sciences Rules Regarding the Final Examination.
Upon completion of the dissertation proposal defense, the dissertation final examination committee is formed which consists of the dissertation committee and a graduate representative appointed by the Office of Graduate Affairs of the College of Arts and Sciences. The graduate representative may also serve as the moderator for the defense, or another individual may be appointed. The guidelines regarding the graduate representative and/or moderator are found in the College of Arts and Sciences Rules regarding the Graduate Faculty Representative and Dissertation Defense Moderator.
Requests for an outside committee member from another institution should be made in writing by the advisor to the graduate coordinator and accompanied by a current version of the CV for the prospective outside member. Such requests must be approved by the Associate Dean of the Graduate College.