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Checklist for Dissertation Chairs
The dissertation committee chair, working with department administrative staff, helps steer the student through the intellectual stages and institutional requirements of doctoral degree work. Advising practices vary from discipline to discipline. However, the outline that follows provides widely applicable guidelines to a chair’s key responsibilities.
The Student-Advisor Relationship
- Coach the student about your working style and what the student can do to contribute to a good working relationship. (See and refer the student to, How to Get the Mentoring You Want , especially “How to Be a Good Protege,” in Chapter VIII.)
- If you become aware of significant problems or weaknesses (e.g., in the student’s writing, research-related skills, or personal life), refer the student to appropriate resources .
- Be aware of students’ individual situations and working style. Occasionally assess how they are doing (e.g., whether they are working well with you and seeking appropriate mentoring from others). See Part Two of Rackham’s, How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty in a Diverse University .
The Dissertation
- Help the student to select and refine the dissertation topic, avoiding overly ambitious goals and expectations.
- Help the student formulate a long-term plan for the research and writing of the dissertation, including a timetable and tentative completion date. Ask the student to revise the plan, if needed.
- Reach agreement with the student as to how often he or she will consult with you and submit work for you to critique.
- Seek a progress report from the student at least once a term.
The Dissertation Committee
- Assist the student with selecting faculty members to serve on the dissertation committee ( membership guidelines ).
- (For Co-Chairs) Consult with each other to divide up your supervisory responsibilities, and then inform the student.
- Make sure everyone on the committee is familiar with the roles of Chair or Co-Chair, cognate, and the other members. How closely and frequently members other than the Chair(s) engage with the student’s work varies, all should be in regular contact.
- Work with the student to schedule and plan for committee meetings, taking into account the norms of the department or program.
- If a member of the committee is not responding to the student’s communication or failing to review the draft sections of the dissertation in a reasonable amount of time, coach the student about how to proceed, or intervene directly if the problem is severe. If all efforts fail, encourage the student to consider finding a replacement.
- Take responsibility for dealing with conflicts among committee members. (e.g., personal conflict and intellectual disputes that create a roadblock for the student).
Supervising Research
- Emphasize data collection and record keeping.
- Go over ethical issues, including human subject and animal care protections.
- Build backup ideas into any research project.
- Follow the student’s development and make adjustments in assignments.
- Be aware of conflicts in a research group, and when they arise, take steps to mediate.
Administrative Matters
- Tell the student to work with the department or program administrative staff to meet Rackham requirements such as filing an up to date Dissertation Committee Form .
- Where feasible, assist the student in securing funds, such as fellowships, GSIs, GSRAs, research and travel funds.
- If the Candidate needs to petition Rackham for an extension to the seven-year time limit, provide the necessary support but require the student to develop a plan for completing the degree.
The Oral Defense
- Tell the student to seek help from the department or program administrative staff about fulfilling Rackham requirements in the final stages of earning the degree.
- Be sure the student and the committee know that Rackham policy requires that the oral defense must be conducted as a public event, (except for the Committee’s private deliberations either before or after the defense), open to all interested persons.
- Before the student schedules the oral defense date, be sure the student knows the date in the term of final registration by which the defense must be held. Also, the student must be able to give the entire dissertation to the committee sufficiently in advance of the meeting. This must be at least two weeks before the defense but can be as much as three or four weeks, depending on the Committee.
- If the student is unable to meet the aforementioned deadline for distributing the dissertation, ask the student to postpone the defense unless you are certain all committee members have critiqued earlier drafts and, therefore, should be able to submit the oral defense evaluation forms on time. It is devastating when a student learns about major concerns shortly before the oral defense because the faculty member hadn’t read the student’s work previously .
- Prepare the student for the oral defense, in accordance with the traditions of the department and/or the wishes of the committee. (Note: The committee will need to decide how long the defense itself will last; there are no prescribed guidelines.)
- If you learn that one or more members of the committee have not submitted the Oral Defense Evaluation Form by the Rackham deadline, contact the committee member(s) immediately.
- If there appear to be serious concerns about the student’s work, advocate for a delay in the oral defense. Dissertations should be approved based on the quality of the work, not because of other pressures (e.g., a job offer contingent upon completion; the expense of registering for a further term, etc.).
- Before the defense begins, the committee must review all the members’ written evaluations and identify the topics they will raise and their sequence. If any of these activities has not been done in advance, excuse the student and others from the room to do so.
- At the defense, make sure it’s clear which committee member(s) will sign off on the required revisions.
- After the defense, submit the completed Oral Defense Examination Form, and, if no revisions or corrections are needed, the Dissertation Completion Form.
- If revisions and/or corrections are required, make sure the Dissertation Completion Form is submitted as soon as possible after the dissertation has been completed and approved.
Launching the Student’s Career
- Ask students to do tasks they will need to do after they get into the field.
- Encourage students to attend professional meetings, and when the two of you attend the same meeting, actively help them to network.
- Speak honestly to students about their strengths and weaknesses (e.g., not everyone can succeed as a faculty member).
- If appropriate to your field, call people to help students seek positions and be deliberate and careful about treating them fairly in this regard.
- Prepare students to consider the full range of career possibilities appropriate to their field.
- If the student’s dissertation is outstanding, consider nominating it for the ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award .
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- How to Be a Quality Dissertation Chair
Chairing a doctoral dissertation is a very rewarding and challenging mission. Doctoral dissertation chairs guide doctorate candidates through the last stage of their higher education and toward the completion of their journey. To successfully fulfill such a mission, a chair plays multiple roles. Each role is described below.
Quality chairs play the role of mentors who possess expertise in the dissertation topic and/or research method. If chairs are not experts in the research method, they need to be at least familiar with the method and one of the co-chairs must then be the expert. To play the role of mentors, chairs should:
- Be willing to share their expertise and skills with their learners
- Show a positive attitude and be enthusiastic about the dissertation process
- Take personal interest in the mentoring process
- Update their learners about the latest researchable topics in the field
- Stay updated with the latest trends and issues in their fields by participating in professional conferences and academic journals
In order to effectively help their learners, chairs carefully listen and identify their learners’ problems, needs, and challenges. The learners’ challenges can be related to their dissertation topics, methods, or personal issues such as time management, self-discipline, or motivation. It’s up to the chair to listen carefully in order to properly understand and offer support.
Advisor and Counselor
Effective chairs inform their learners about all the requirements and stages necessary to complete the dissertation. In addition, depending on their learners’ needs, chairs refer them to the appropriate department or support service provided by the university including the writing center, library sources, research method webinars, and workshops.
Communicator
Interaction is the key to establishing a healthy relationship with the doctorate candidates and leads to effective mentoring. Good chairs communicate in a timely manner with their learners. They maintain an ongoing rapport with their learners throughout the process of completing the dissertation.
Quality chairs provide constructive feedback for their learners in a timely manner. Helpful feedback should include adequate details and guidance for the candidates to be able to address the comments and move toward success.
Team Player
Successful chairs are effective team players as they collaborate with their learners and co-chairs to complete the dissertation process. They value the co-chairs’ contributions and address team conflicts with positive attitudes and constructive approaches.
Superior chairs are a role model for their learners; they set examples through their personal success as scholar practitioners in conducting and disseminating research.
In addition, highly qualified dissertation chairs can be effective guides for showing their students how to disseminate their research through journal publications and conference publications, as well as showcasing their research for success in the students' future careers.
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Choosing a Dissertation Chair
Published by steve tippins on september 5, 2022 september 5, 2022.
Last Updated on: 7th September 2022, 05:44 am
Choosing your dissertation chair is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make in graduate school. Your dissertation chair will in many ways shape your experience as you undergo the most rigorous intellectual challenge you’ve had up to this point, and guide you as you navigate the murky waters of a major original research project. When the stakes are this high, you’ll want to make sure you’re working with the right person.
But what should you be looking for in a dissertation chair? It’s a question that nags at many Ph.D. students when they’re on the precipice of this decision. Have no fear, we’re here to help. These are frequently asked questions that graduate students have about choosing their dissertation chair:
- What type of faculty member makes a good dissertation chair?
- How do I ask a faculty member to chair my dissertation?
What Makes a Good Dissertation Chair?
When it’s time to think about a dissertation chair, many graduate students are tempted to ask the most well-known professor on their program’s faculty to serve in the role. On the surface, this seems like a sound decision. After all, a scholar who has made a name for themselves in their discipline clearly knows what they’re doing, right? And it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of their stardust on your CV, of course.
Not so fast. While a very successful scholar definitely excels at research, they might not be what you’re looking for, and they might not have the time to dedicate themselves to your project. An ideal chair is a faculty member that you have good existing rapport with, and one who is excited to work with you. An ideal chair is someone who will be a good mentor and advocate for you and your research, and someone who you know will be by your side for the long haul.
The Big Ask
For something that is a very common practice in academia, many graduate students have anxiety about approaching a faculty member to be their dissertation chair. While it may feel to you like a lot to ask, keep in mind that chairing dissertations is part of a full-time faculty member’s job. They signed up for this, and they expect these kinds of requests.
Meet with the faculty member you’re hoping to work with and be clear about your intentions. Ask them about their experiences chairing dissertations, what their expectations are, and be prepared to pitch your project idea to them, or at least the general topic or problem you want to work on. They might say yes immediately, or they may know of another scholar in the department whose research is right in your wheelhouse.
Either way, you’ll leave the meeting having made progress. Do not take it personally if the first faculty member you ask to chair your dissertation says no. Chances are, if they decline, it’s because they know they don’t have the time to work with you right now and they don’t want you to be at a disadvantage with a neglectful chair. Thank them, and move on to the next candidate. You’ve got this!
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The Role of the Dissertation Chair
The dissertation is the hardest part of any doctoral program because it forces the student to leave his/her comfort zone and embark on what some call a voyage of self-discovery. At the center of the doctoral student's dissertation experience is the dissertation chair, a professor who plays several roles and wears a number of hats.
There is no doubt that some dissertation chairs are good and others need improvement. What separates the good ones from the great ones is the chair's ability to assume a role appropriate for the situation. The one-role chair will likely not see a student through a program. Most of the roles a dissertation chair plays fall into four categories.
The advocate
A dissertation chair is a champion of the doctoral student's cause. If the chair doesn't believe in the student's competencies as a researcher, the student is doomed to endless dissertation revisions. Since the dissertation is a social process, the chair is the doctoral student's first line of defense against people and circumstances pushing the student off track.
Any good dissertation chair will tell you that part of the chair's job is protecting the student from other committee members. Like a matrix organizational structure, doctoral students have multiple bosses, all of whom the student must satisfy. The advocate dissertation chair makes certain that other committee members are not asking the student to make changes to the dissertation that deviate from the original goals set forth in the proposal. The time to disapprove of any aspect of the dissertation was during the proposal rather than dissertation stage.
The manager
Managers are drivers of subordinates; they keep track of mistakes, chart progress, and engage in transactional relationships. Although he/she sounds like a tyrant, the manager makes an excellent dissertation chair at times because he/she initiates a clear path from start to finish. Over critical at times, a manager's use of mistakes and missed deadlines as progress indicators makes progression through the dissertation move at a steady pace.
Unfortunately, there are times when a dissertation chair wears the manager's hat too long. Use of transactions to move the student through the process starts taking on characteristics of a whip and a chair rather than a method of ensuring progress. The student begins to see the chair as someone who is overcritical, someone who must find fault and can't move out of a criticizing role.
There is a fine line between managers and leaders but the difference lies in how the chair motivates the student. Whereas the manager initiates structure and drives within it, the leader inspires the student through intellectual stimulation; the leader motivates the student by pointing out that there is more to completing the dissertation than material reward. If done correctly, the student begins to view the chair as charismatic, possessing skills the student would like to possess him/herself.
Proving that too much of a good thing is unhealthy, the highly charismatic leader spends too much time with his/her head in the clouds and not long enough with feet on the ground. The result is a doctoral student who is inspired to do something but doesn’t know what that actually is. A dissertation chair must recognize when a student needs inspiration and when he/she needs solid help.
A dissertation chair is a judge, a gatekeeper who ensures that a student meets personal, departmental, university, and even universal standards. Even so, this does not mean that the goal of the dissertation chair is to constantly maintain a superior-subordinate relationship with the student. The most successful chair-student relationships are the ones in which the chair bestows the role of colleague on the candidate.
Giving up a superior position is difficult for anyone. A common reason students fail to finish a dissertation timely has to do with the chair's inability to accept someone who was once a subordinate as an equal. As a judge, the chair must ensure that the student's behaviors and outcomes are those befitting someone who will soon be regarded as an independent researcher and creator of knowledge. Still, the chair must learn to recognize when it is time to step down as judge and welcome a new member to the club.
The Most Important Dissertation Decision You Will Make
Hello Dissertation Friends!
In this blog post, I am going to tell you that the single most important decision you will make in your doctoral journey, is finding your dissertation chair/advisor.
The two most important decisions you will make as a doctoral student are 1) the selection of your research area, and 2) the selection of your dissertation chair/advisor. Before you make a final decision of your advisor and approach someone to serve in that role, you should have a good idea about what topic you are interested in pursuing, and what kind of study you want to do.
While both decisions are important, the single most important research you will do as a doctoral student will be in selecting your chair/advisor. With the right chair/advisor, you can make steady progress, completing your dissertation on time and graduate on schedule. With the wrong advisor, you will spend time in the abyss known as the "drift", fail to make progress, and face the risk of ultimately not finishing, and becoming a Ph.D.W.D (Doctor of Philosophy Without Dissertation) or an Ed.D.A.B.D (Doctor of Education All But Dissertation).
Your chair alone will determine when and if you are ready to move to the next step at any point in the process.
The role of your dissertation chair/advisor is to:
- Approve your topic
- Select or approve your committee members
- Approve your proposal
- Honor (or won't honor) your timelines
- Approve every chapter, line, conclusion
- Determine the level of involvement with your committee members
- Decide if and when you are ready to defend your dissertation
- Ultimately decide whether you are going to be granted the degree
Talk to former doc students in your graduate school.
In selecting your dissertation chair, talk to other dissertation students, or even better, to other former doc students who have moved on to graduate. Ask them the following questions: 1. Would you recommend your chair to current dissertation students? Why / why not? 2. How long did it take for your chair to provide feedback to you? (The key here is 3 weeks at MOST.) If it takes longer than 3 weeks, move on. You want someone who will be there to provide timely feedback.
When you approach a potential advisor, be prepared to discuss your timeline. Assure your potential advisory that the timeline is not more important than the quality of research. Explaining why you want to have a short timeline can help put things into perspective.
Choose a chair who:
- Publishes a study every few months (this demonstrates that quality research can be done in a short period of time)
- Has a reputation for producing feedback in a timely manner
- Has time embedded in his/her schedule to meet with students every day
- Who has a great reputation in their field (committee members and examiners will be less likely to challenge research in their area of expertise)
- Choose a chair that can potentially co-author an article for publication with you when you are finished (Note: Be coachable and flexible with your research area and methods used. Present yourself as someone with a set direction, but also someone who is open to an advisor’s advice.)
- Only consider those with research interests similar to yours (articles, courses taught, grants received)
If you are not strong and confident in statistical analysis and quantitative methodology, consider finding a chair who is a professor of statistics/research methods. Committee members and examiners in the final defense will be less likely to question any parts of the results or research designs.
Have you chosen your dissertation chair yet? If so, what why did you choose them?
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I had the chance to be the dissertation chair for a Ph.D. student and I wanted to share what I learned during that process.
A dissertation chair's job is to guide you through the process of completing the most rigorous academic challenge of your life. They are a
An ideal chair is a faculty member that you have good existing rapport with, and one who is excited to work with you. An ideal chair is someone
A dissertation chair is a judge, a gatekeeper who ensures that a student meets personal, departmental, university, and even universal standards. Even so, this
o The student must obtain the approval of their dissertation chair for the paper's ... Grades should be entered as Xs until successful dissertation defense.
dissertation Chair and/or Committee Member, I felt that doctoral students in ... In-depth understanding of the specific methodology being implemented in the
In selecting your dissertation chair, talk to other dissertation students, or even better, to other former doc students who have moved on to graduate. Ask them