Dissertation Committee
The student, in
consultation with his/her research mentor and/or Academic Advisors, proposes
the membership for his/her Dissertation Committee to the Executive Committee of
the PhD Program, who must grant final approval. The Dissertation Committee is
responsible for overseeing the student’s work on the dissertation including
approving the overall topic and initial research plan (including decisions
about which manuscripts to include in the dissertation), periodic review of
progress, and final approval/acceptance of the dissertation following the oral
defense. The Committee is comprised of: 1) a Chairperson, who must hold a
regular faculty appointment at the MGH Institute (including being approved for
participation in the PhD Program), and is responsible for scheduling and
running meetings and periodically informing the Executive Committee of the
student’s progress/performance; 2) a Research Supervisor who bears primary
responsibility for overseeing and mentoring/advising the student during the
dissertation process, and 3) at least one other member with expertise related
to the dissertation research topic. Except for the Committee Chair, the
Dissertation Committee can include members who do not have an affiliation with
the MGH, and can have more than three members when it is judged that it would
helpful to include additional expertise. However, a majority of the Committee
members must hold regular or adjunct faculty appointments at the MGH Institute.