The Graduate Program

Selecting a Program Committee

A student's program committee--whether an MA thesis committee or a PhD examination and dissertation committee--provides the broad academic advising that will ensure success in the field. Committee members should be chosen in conjunction with the faculty adviser. Students should begin approaching potential faculty committee members by the end of their first year in the program. The committee is registered with the Graduate School with the M-2 form and the D-1 form. The M-2 form, for an MA thesis committee, should be filled out by the end of the first year in the program. The D-1 form is signed at the meeting between student and committee that meets the Graduate School's requirement for a qualifying examination. This meeting takes place by the end of the first year of the PhD program.

PhD Committees

The PhD Committee consists of at least four members, including one MU faculty member from outside of English. If an English professor has a dual appointment and is on the graduate faculty in another department, then the professor may serve as an outside committee member.

In the case of PhD committees, members should cover both prospective primary and secondary fields for the comprehensive examination. The faculty adviser will be helpful in choosing members of the committee both from the English Department and the one outside member that each committee must have. It is customary to defer to the expertise of the faculty adviser in choosing a committee, but in cases in which the student and adviser are at odds over the composition of the committee, final choice lies with the student (although an adviser can choose not to work with the student). Be warned that a committee that doesn't cohere will have a difficult time advising a student. Students can fill out a form to change the composition of the committee, to be signed by the new committee member and the Director of Graduate Studies. Forms are available in the Graduate Studies Office.

You will in most cases depend on your program committee for letters of recommendation when you are applying on the job market. Therefore it is usually wise to include as many faculty as possible with expertise (and contacts) in your field of interest. Building a committee involves a delicate balancing act: you want to include supportive faculty members who can give you useful criticism on your writing and help you build readings lists and bibliographies.