Rules and Procedures of Graduate Studies Committees

The GSC formulates rules and procedures relevant to its own graduate programs within the policies established by the Graduate Council and the Graduate Faculty members in the graduate program. 

• Publishes and makes readily available to students and faculty in the graduate program an updated (at least every five years) graduate program handbook containing the policies, rules, and procedures relevant to its own graduate programs, including pathways to report concerns. Programs should use the Graduate School Handbook as the foundation for their graduate program handbook.  
• Establishes procedures for assigning and changing advisors. 
• Considers and acts on student petitions that pertain to its rules. Student academic concerns or petitions to the program that cannot be mediated by the advisor, GSC, department, or college may be referred to the Graduate School for consideration. Concerns regarding Graduate School policy should also be referred to the Graduate School.  
• Establishes rules respecting thesis and non-thesis master’s degree programs and guidelines for demonstration of scholarly work (Section 6). 
• Considers and recommends action on curricula, program changes, and graduate courses proposed for graduate credit to Graduate Council. 
• Considers and acts on requests for non-graduate faculty members to teach courses for Graduate credit (5000-8000-level courses). More information may be found in the University’s Faculty Appointments Policy. 
• May propose other plan options for tagged master’s degrees (Section 6.7) to the Graduate Council (e.g., inclusion of graduate certificate or minor on diploma or transcript). 
• Appoints faculty for Category M membership on the graduate faculty. 
• Nominates faculty for Category P membership to the Graduate School. 
• Approves emeritus faculty members to continue specified graduate faculty functions. Reviews graduate faculty membership. 
• Maintains a list of graduate faculty and their activities in graduate education, including the number of candidacy exams and dissertations on which they have served as the Graduate Faculty Representative. The Graduate School encourages participation in as many examinations as the GFR as they have used for their own graduate students’ examinations.