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PM 81-18

8/19/81

President Donald A. MacPhee

Composition of Graduate Thesis Committees

The Academic Senate has recommended the following policy statement regarding the composition of committees to review and approve Master’s Degree Thesis.  After consultation with the Council of Deans, I am approving it effective with all new thesis committees appointed after September 1, 1981.  The dean of each school and other units offering masters’ degrees will be responsible for ensuring that the policy is followed in programs of their units.  This policy statement does not apply to the Special Master’s degree, since that program has a separate set of policies and procedures.

Thesis Committee

The Chair of the Thesis Committee will be selected from the faculty of the department/program reviewing and approving the thesis.  (Normally, graduate department/program faculty maintain membership on the program coordinating committee and regularly teach at least one course in the program.)

The full committee, selected in consultation with the committee chair, should include three persons, all of whom are to be full-time CSUDH faculty members.  The student may select one of the three committee members from outside the thesis department/ program in order to secure special expertise relevant to the thesis topic.

Approval of requests for additional committee members from outside the university should be obtained from the committee chair, the option coordinator (when appropriate) and the department chair/program coordinator.  Changes in the committee membership must be approved by the remaining committee members.