The Graduate School, per EO VII, has jurisdiction over the membership of committees charged with supervising advanced course programs and dissertations of students in the various fields of graduate study.

The supervisory committee serves important evaluative and mentoring functions for the student throughout the student’s graduate career. Programs may specify additional requirements of the supervisory committee as described in their program handbook.

Each committee must have a Committee Chair (or Co-Chairs) who is able and willing to assume principal responsibility for advising the student and should have adequate time available for this work and be accessible to the student.

[Note: Questions about the timeline and process for appointing a supervisory committee for master’s or doctoral students should be directed to the Graduate School’s Graduate Enrollment Management Services (GEMS) office. All other questions about supervisory committee appointment or function, as well as concerns about the proceedings of an exam, should be directed to the Graduate School’s Office of Academic Affairs.]

4.2.1     The Master’s Supervisory Committee

Appointment of a supervisory committee for students pursuing the master’s degree is made by the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC), acting on behalf of the Graduate Faculty of the degree‑offering unit. The GPC approves and appoints the committee in consultation with the student and appropriate Graduate Faculty members.

4.2.1.1 Committee Composition

A master’s supervisory committee must:

• include at least two members.
• have at least one‑half of its members drawn from the Graduate Faculty.
• have a Committee Chair who is a member of the Graduate Faculty.
  • A program can petition to the Office of Academic Affairs to have a non-Graduate Faculty member serve as Committee Chair if: 1) the student’s area of specialization is uniquely supported by the proposed Committee Chair, and 2) one-half of the total committee members are Graduate Faculty.

4.2.2    The Doctoral Supervisory Committee other than Practice Doctorates

The appointment of a doctoral supervisory committee indicates that the Graduate Faculty in the student’s field find the student has developed the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare for their general examination and doctoral research.  It is approved according to the rules and published norms of the program by the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) after consultation with appropriate Graduate Faculty members in the student’s field and with the student.

4.2.2.1 Doctoral Committee Responsibilities

Doctoral supervisory committee member responsibilities include the approval of a course of study which will fulfill the general course requirements of the student’s major and supporting fields, conducting the student’s General Examination and, when appropriate, recommending advancement to candidacy.

The doctoral supervisory committee approves the candidate’s dissertation proposal and provides intellectual mentorship supporting the development of the dissertation. The Graduate School does not stipulate the content of the dissertation; guidance on the dissertation is the responsibility of the supervisory committee.

[For doctoral committee responsibilities for the General Exam and Final Exam, see Policy 1.1.4. See also: Guidance (Academic Requirements) – Final Examination: Dissertation Defense, Guidance (Academic Requirements) – Instructions for Virtual Doctoral Examinations, and Guidance (Academic Requirements) – If a Committee Member is Missing]

4.2.2.2      Committee Composition

The doctoral supervisory committee must:

• include a minimum of four members.
• include at least three Graduate Faculty members with Doctoral Endorsement, including the Committee Chair and the Graduate School Representative (GSR).
• have a majority of members who are Graduate Faculty.
• include members—except the GSR—who are identified by the student’s appointing department or program as productive scholars in the student’s major field and/or subfields

4.2.2.3     The Committee Chair

• A program can petition to the Office of Academic Affairs to have Graduate Faculty member without Doctoral Endorsement serve as chair if: 1) the student’s area of specialization is uniquely supported by the proposed chair, and 2) one-half of the total committee members have a Doctoral Endorsement.
• Emeritus and affiliate faculty may serve as Chair(s) if the above conditions are met.
• If a committee has Co-Chairs, both serve with equal importance on a student’s supervisory committee and equally share the responsibility for the student’s progress. In the case of Co-Chairs, one Co-Chair must have a Graduate Faculty appointment with a Doctoral Endorsement. The other Co-Chair may be appointed without Graduate Faculty status if the individual has a qualified UW faculty appointment. Qualified faculty appointments in this context are those titles eligible for continuous or five-year Graduate Faculty roles (see this document for the list of eligible titles). A Co-Chair without qualified UW faculty appointment may be appointed only by petition through the Office of Academic Affairs to the Dean of the Graduate School or the Dean’s designee.

4.2.2.4     The Graduate School Representative (GSR)

See also: Guidance (Academic Requirements) – Graduate School Representative (GSR) Eligibility

The GSR represents the broad interests of the Graduate School with respect to high standards of scholarly performance. The GSR is a voting member of the dissertation supervisory committee, and as such provides an important service function to the Graduate School and the University.

4.2.2.4.1     GSR Eligibility

The GSR:

• must be a member of the Graduate Faculty with a Doctoral Endorsement.
• may have a scholarly area that differs from that of the student’s dissertation project.
• must not have any actual or perceived conflicts of interest with the student or graduate program. The GSR is responsible for ensuring that no such conflict exists. Budgetary relationships, personal relationships, research and/or publication relationships between the GSR and either the student or the Committee Chair are examples of possible conflicts of interest. Faculty members with a primary, joint, or affiliate appointment in the student’s degree-offering unit or the Committee Chair’s department are not eligible to serve as the GSR.

4.2.2.4.2   GSR Responsibilities

The GSR must meet the following Graduate School requirements:

• attest to the validity of examinations and indicate approval of the process by which examinations are conducted;
• ensure that the student is treated in an unbiased manner; and
• represent the Graduate School in ensuring university-wide standards of scholarly performance.

In addition, any graduate program may choose to further define the role of the GSR to include one or both of the following:

• ensure that the student’s mastery of the subject matter is broad and comprehensive.
• serve as a neutral resource to support clarity and fairness as the student navigates the exam and dissertation process.

Any additional expectations for the GSR beyond the Graduate School requirements must be clearly articulated and communicated in writing by the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) or designee to all parties (student, chair, committee members, GSR) upon appointment of the GSR. The minimum role of the GSR must be defined consistently across all committees in the graduate program.

The GSR’s signature on the committee signature form affirming the decision of the committee communicates to the Dean of the Graduate School that the Graduate School and program-level responsibilities have been met.

4.2.2.5   The Reading Committee

After the General Examination, the GPC or their delegate informs the Dean of The Graduate School of at least three members of the supervisory committee who will serve on the reading committee. At least one of the members of the reading committee must hold a Doctoral Endorsement.

It is the responsibility of the reading committee to:

• ensure that the dissertation is a significant contribution to knowledge and is an acceptable piece of scholarly writing.
• determine the appropriateness of a candidate’s dissertation as a basis for issuing the Committee Signature Form for a Final Examination.

4.2.3  The Practice Doctorate Supervisory Committee

The appointment of a practice doctoral supervisory committee indicates that the Graduate Faculty in the student’s field finds the student has developed the skills and knowledge necessary to complete the requirements of the doctoral program. The GPC initiates the appointment of the committee after consultation with appropriate Graduate Faculty members in the student’s field and with the student.

4.2.3.1 Committee Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the practice doctoral supervisory committee include: approval of the student’s program of study; criteria for progression, which may include a general examination, certification, or other requirements set by the graduate program; approval and oversight of the student’s project proposal; and approval of the completed project.

4.2.3.2 Committee Composition

The practice doctoral committee must:

• include a minimum of three members.
• be chaired by a Graduate Faculty member with a Doctoral Endorsement (unless petitioned under the conditions described in 4.2.4.3).
• include at least one‑half Graduate Faculty members with primary, joint, emeritus, or adjunct appointments in the degree program’s academic unit and holding one of the following titles at any rank: Professor, Professor (WOT), Teaching Professor, Research Professor, Professor of Clinical Practice or Clinical Professor (Salaried).
  • A program can petition to the Office of Academic Affairs to have more than half of their committee be non-Graduate Faculty if 1) the student’s area of specialization is uniquely supported by the expertise of the non-graduate faculty, and 2) the committee is chaired by a Graduate Faculty member with Doctoral Endorsement.
• have any non-Graduate Faculty members identified by the program as productive scholars or practitioners in the student’s major field and/or subfields.

4.2.3.3 Committee Chair

• Emeritus faculty may serve as a Chair if they can meet the time and access expectations of the role.
• A program can petition to the Office of Academic Affairs to have a Graduate Faculty member without Doctoral Endorsement serve as chair if: 1) the student’s area of specialization is uniquely supported by the proposed chair, and 2) at least one committee member is endorsed to chair.
• Co-chairs may be appointed when both serve with equal importance on a student’s supervisory committee and equally share the responsibility for the student’s progress. One Co-Chair must have a Graduate Faculty appointment with Doctoral Endorsement. The other Co-Chair may be appointed without Graduate Faculty status if the individual has a qualified UW faculty appointment. Qualified faculty appointments in this case are those appointments eligible for continuous or five-year graduate faculty roles. A Co-Chair without qualified UW faculty appointment may be appointed only by petition through the Office of Academic Affairs to the Dean of the Graduate School or the Dean’s designee.

4.2.4 Program Responsibilities in Committee Formation and Maintenance

While students hold primary responsibility for forming and maintaining their supervisory committee, programs are accountable for meeting their own obligations as outlined in the sections below—including providing clear written expectations, proactive advising, and timely documentation—so that students are adequately supported in fulfilling this responsibility.

Programs should strive to admit only the number of students who can be well supported by available faculty who are qualified to serve as supervisory committee chairs and members. Programs are not required to guarantee that a student will be able to work with a specific faculty committee chair or supervisory committee member.

[Note: This policy does not address student funding. Funding offers that are contingent on a student working with specific faculty should clearly state the conditions on which the offer depends.]

4.2.4.1 Interim Faculty Point of Contact

Students must have a faculty point of contact at all times. Once a committee is established, the Committee Chair is the faculty point of contact.

If a student does not yet have a Committee Chair, or if they lose their Committee Chair, they must be assigned an Interim Faculty Point of Contact.  While it is the student’s responsibility to find a Committee Chair, the Interim Faculty Point of Contact plays an essential support role during these periods.

The Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) must either serve in this role or delegate this responsibility to another faculty member (for example, another member of the committee) who agrees to serve. 

The Interim Faculty Point of Contact:

• is responsible for assisting the student in registering for research, thesis, or dissertation credits.
• is responsible for providing good‑faith academic guidance, as needed, to help the student determine whether and how a viable graduate committee can be formed (or re-formed), based on the student’s scholarly objectives, available faculty expertise, and applicable Graduate School and program policies; the Faculty Point of Contact is not responsible for securing a Committee Chair or resolving the absence of one.
• is not a replacement for a Committee Chair and therefore cannot be required to provide the student with content-specific expertise, review of their scholarly work, or funding.
• does not fulfill the expectation that students have a complete supervisory committee.

4.2.4.2   Program Responsibilities related to committee formation and maintenance.

As the representatives of their degree programs per Policy 4.3, GPCs, assisted as appropriate by GPAs and/or additional delegates, must:

• ensure students and committee members receive clear communication about relevant Graduate School policies, including this policy (Policy 4.2: Supervisory Committees) and Policy 4.1 (Membership in Graduate Faculty).
• provide guidance, including clear written information, about committee formation timelines and any committee composition requirements beyond those in this policy. This includes any expectations related to department membership or the disciplinary expertise of chairs and/or members.
• ensure committee members, especially those outside of the program (e.g., GSRs) are aware of program-specific committee member responsibilities and expectations.
• ensure students receive timely communication (e.g., required annual review, quarterly letters as needed) of expectations and available options for progress towards the degree.
• monitor student progress toward committee formation or re-formation by conducting periodic check- When progress falls behind expected timelines, the program should provide written guidance to the student and identify next steps in a Notification or Academic Alert (per GSP 3.7.3).
• document when students report difficulties such as patterns of miscommunication, unavailability of faculty with the appropriate scholarly expertise, or personality conflicts that may impede formation or maintenance of a viable committee.
• consult with their department chair, appropriate school, college, or campus administrator and/or the Graduate School’s Associate Dean of Student Success. The Civil Rights Compliance Office should be consulted in circumstances where harassment, bullying or other types of unprofessional behavior are claimed as issues preventing the formation or maintenance of supervisory committee or appointment of the chair.

4.2.4.3  Unsatisfactory Progress in Supervisory Committee formation.

Failure to establish or maintain a supervisory committee by the program’s required deadline must be documented with clear expectations for committee composition and due dates and an opportunity for the student to resolve the issue through the processes described in Policy 3.7.3: Unsatisfactory Performance and Progress Documentation. This includes at least two quarters of documentation and communication with the student, consisting of an Academic Alert followed by a Final Academic Alert, before the Graduate School will consider an Academic Drop. Expedited procedures under GSP 3.7.5 cannot be applied when the only documented issue is the lack of a complete supervisory committee, except in the following circumstance:

• Programs with lab rotations or similar models in which students are expected to find a chair or committee by an established date can issue either an Academic Notification or Academic Alert at least two quarters prior to the due date before issuing a Final Academic Alert in the quarter prior to the due date if they plan to Academically Drop students who have not identified a chair/committee. This process must be documented in student-facing materials such as the student handbook.

4.2.5 Responsibility of the supervisory committee chair in research involving human or animal subjects

For any thesis or dissertation project that may include human or animal subjects, the GPC or GPA must advise the student of the need to comply with the University of Washington Human Subjects Division and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee’s requirements, as appropriate.  The program should maintain documentation that the committee chair and students have been so advised.

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Policy 4.2 revised: October 2021, March 2022; May 2022; December 2022, October 2023, January 2025, May 2026 

Policy 4.2.3.1 revised February 2025

Policy 4.2.1 and 4.2.3 revised March 2023

Policy 4.2.3.6 and 4.2.4 revised March 2023

Policy 4.2.3.7 and 4.2.3.9 were deleted March 2023, with content moved to Policy 1.1

Policy 4.2.4 added May 2026