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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.