Graduate Committee

Formation of Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Graduate Committees

The Purpose of Your Graduate Committee

Your graduate committee guides your course work and research and serves as your final examining committee. It is generally expected that all committee members or approved substitutes must be present for all formal meetings with the student (e.g. final oral exams). If you have a special case in which a committee member may need to participate remotely, you and your committee must assure that all the conditions for remote participation are met.

If the faculty member is not a member of the Graduate Faculty or is not approved for the role proposed, your major department/program will need to nominate the proposed member to act in those roles using the Nomination to Graduate Faculty form. Please Contact the FWCS Business Manager to initiate a nomination. Committee structure is evaluated when your program of study is received by the Graduate School and when you schedule your formal examination(s).

Master of Science (thesis-based)

A student’s Graduate Committee for the M.Sc. consists of a minimum of four Graduate Faculty members: two from FWCS including the Major Professor(s); a third member who represents the minor field of study, if one is declared; and a Graduate Council Representative (GCR). The committee must be formed before the Program of Study can be submitted for signatures, which should be within a MS student's first two terms. If no minor is declared, the third member may be either a faculty member from FWCS, a faculty member in another department at OSU, faculty at another university, or agency personnel. If not already a member of OSU’s Graduate Faculty, such a person can be appointed to the Graduate Faculty by consultation with the Department Head. One member of the Graduate Committee must have previously served as Major Professor or Co-Major Professor for a student who has previously earned a M.Sc. degree from the FWCS Department. If Co-Major Professors are declared, one must be eligible to serve as sole Major Professor.

Master's (Thesis) minimum committee summary

	Department	Notes
1	Major Professor from FWCS*	*At least one member needs to have experience graduating a MSc student from the FWCS Department
2	FWCS* or Co-Advisor
3	Non-FWCS Faculty	This person can be outside the FWCS Department but working in another OSU Department, OR from an agency or university outside of OSU. In the latter case, they may need to be appointed to the OSU Graduate Faculty, so leave extra time for this.
4	Graduate Council Representative	Identified via the OSU Graduate School's online generated GCR tool

 

Doctor of Philosophy

A student’s Graduate Committee for the Ph.D. consists of a minimum of five Graduate Faculty members: two from Fisheries and Wildlife including the Major Professor(s); one member outside of Fisheries and Wildlife; a Graduate Council representative, and a fifth member who can be from inside or outside the Department. The outside faculty member(s) may represent another department at OSU, faculty at another university, or agency personnel. If not already a member of OSU’s Graduate Faculty, such persons can be appointed to the Graduate Faculty by consultation with the Department Head. If a graduate minor is declared, the student’s Graduate Committee must include a Graduate Faculty member representing the minor, and this person will count as the outside member. The Graduate Council Representative (GCR) can be obtained by contacting the Graduate School. One member of the Graduate Committee must have previously served as Major Professor or Co-Major Professor for a student who has previously earned a Ph.D. degree from the Department. If Co-Major Professors are declared, one must be eligible to serve as sole Major Professor.

Doctoral committee minimum summary

	Department	Notes
1	Major Professor from FWCS*	*At least one member needs to have experience graduating a doctoral student from the FWCS Department
2	FWCS* or Co-Advisor
3	FWCS* or non-FWCS
4	Non-FWCS Faculty	This person can be outside the FWCS Department but working in another OSU Department, OR from an agency or university outside of OSU. In the latter case, they may need to be appointed to the OSU Graduate Faculty, so leave extra time for this.
5	Graduate Council Representative	Identified via the OSU Graduate School's online generated GCR tool

 

What FWCS Faculty Do

View the extensive list of what our faculty do. You can also view our faculty directory.

General Graduate School Rules on Committee Formation

Policy

All members of the student’s Graduate Committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty at Oregon State University with approval to serve at the appropriate graduate program level. The committee is subject to the approval of the Major Professor, the Department Head, and the Graduate School. Faculty from other universities, agencies or organizations may be included on the student’s Graduate Committee if approved by the Graduate School. A student’s Major Professor should request an appointment for a committee member not on the OSU graduate faculty list by emailing a current resume of the prospective committee member to the FWCS Business Manager.

It is the student’s responsibility to assemble their Graduate Committee. The student’s Graduate Committee is selected by the student in consultation with the Major Professor who provides guidance and makes recommendations. The Graduate School and FWCS Department delegate responsibility for ensuring that graduate school and Departmental requirements are met to the student’s Graduate Committee. Thus the student’s Graduate Committee is pivotal in administrating both University and Departmental requirements and ensuring that the student meets the requirements for the degree sought.

Members of the student’s Graduate Committee serve as advisors in specialized fields, as interested editorial critics of the student’s writing (especially the thesis), and as participants in the various meetings and examinations held during the student’s program.

The student’s Graduate Committee is responsible for the student’s quality of education by:

1. Ensuring the appropriateness of the student’s research and coursework
2. Ensuring orderly and timely completion of graduate program requirements
3. Encouraging participation in professional activities

Conflicts of Interest may occur with Graduate Faculty members appointed from outside the University in cases where the Graduate Faculty member is directly responsible with funding the student’s research or if they serve as the student’s supervisor for a job with an agency or organization. Graduate Faculty members from outside the University will not be allowed to serve on a student’s graduate committee if a conflict of interest exists.

Committee Members

Major Professor

The major professor should advise and guide students in their graduate program, be informed of student's progress and difficulties, provide budgetary support for thesis research when possible, edit the Research Review outline and thesis before they are given to other committee members, encourage active participation in departmental seminars, and in regional and national scientific meetings, and ensure that research, teaching, and extension efforts include advisee students when possible. A student who is otherwise in good academic standing but does not have a major professor either because the student resigned from a major professor or the major professor resigned as the student’s advisor shall have up to two quarters immediately following the quarter in which the resignation took place to find a new major professor, Summer Quarters included.  If a new major professor is not found within that time period, the student’s graduate status will be terminated.

A student who does not have a major professor is eligible to apply for and receive University and Departmental Scholarships.  While a student who does not have a major professor is eligible to apply for Departmental scholarships, they may not be awarded any money until they find a new major professor in this Department.

Graduate Council Representative

A Graduate Council Representative (known as a GCR or Grad Rep) is required for all doctoral committees, all M.A.I.S. committees, and all master's degrees involving a thesis. Your GCR represents the OSU Graduate Council and ensures that all rules governing committee procedures are followed. Your GCR must be present at your formal exam(s), and will be responsible for some of the paperwork that the Graduate School requires. Per Graduate School guidelines, the GCR will also lead your committee’s roundtable discussion following your final oral exam. Your GCR must be a graduate faculty member outside your major and minor area.

The GCR is a full voting member of your graduate committee. Many students select a GCRs who can also add disciplinary expertise. Select your GCR using the online GCR list generation tool to avoid issues completing online forms and be sure to allow ample time for this selection process. If you run into difficulty finding a GCR to serve on your committee, you can re-generate the list until you find someone who is willing to serve. A Graduate Council representative must be selected by doctoral students before the Program of Study meeting.  The Graduate Council Representative is expected to participate in all meetings and contribute questions during the Preliminary Exams. The OSU Graduate School requires all committee members, including the GCR, to be present for the Program of Study meeting, the oral preliminary exams, and the final exam. However, the GCR is not strictly required to be present for all committee meetings, such as the Research Review. Like the Graduate School, the FWCS Department strongly encourages including the GCR in all committee meetings. As of Fall 2023, all FWCS Doctoral and M.Sc. students must select a Graduate Council Representative prior to submitting their program of study.

Non-OSU committee membership

Your graduate committee guides your course work and research and serves as your final examining committee. It is generally expected that all committee members or approved substitutes must be present for all formal meetings with the student (e.g. final oral exams). If you have a special case in which a committee member may need to participate remotely, you and your committee must assure that all the conditions for remote participation are met.

If the faculty member is not a member of the Graduate Faculty or is not approved for the role proposed, the FWCS department/program will need to nominate the proposed member to act in those roles. To begin that process, your Major Professor should contact the FWCS Business Manager with a current CV from the prospective Non-OSU committee member. Committee structure is evaluated when your program of study is received by the Graduate School and when you schedule your formal examination(s).

Departmental Reviewer

Although not part of the student’s Graduate Committee, a Departmental Reviewer must be present during the Research Review required by the Fisheries and Wildlife Department.  The Departmental Reviewer is a member of the Departmental Graduate Faculty and is appointed by the Graduate Program Coordinator.  It is the student’s responsibility to request appointment of a Departmental Reviewer by the Graduate Program Coordinator at least six weeks in advance of the proposed Research Review meeting. 

Scheduling Meetings

Program meetings, and preliminary and final examinations may be held during any period when school is in session. It is the responsibility of the student to assure that all committee members are aware of the date, time, and location of meetings.  Even after arranging the specifics of meetings with committee members by telephone or in person, students should send each member of the committee a memorandum to remind them of the date, time, and place of meetings at least one week in advance of the meetings.

To book a room in Nash Hall for your meeting, contact Amanda Polley, Nash 104N.