School of Education

After admission to candidacy, the student must assemble a research committee. The doctoral research committee has the responsibility to guide the student through the dissertation process and to conduct the final oral defense.

Selecting a Committee

The procedure for selecting a research committee chair and research committee members varies considerably from student to student. Ideally the research question that becomes the focus of the dissertation study stems naturally from research experiences, course work, or graduate assistantship assignments that the student has had during the program of studies. Ideally, each student has, by this time in the program, formed a mentoring relationship with one or more program faculty members.

Often the advisory committee chair is the student's mentor and becomes the research committee chair. In such a case, the student and chair typically have had discussions about tentative dissertation topics prior to admission to candidacy and prior to the selection of other research committee members. Sometimes the student selects a research topic that is an extension of research being carried out by the mentor.

It is not required that the advisory committee chair be asked to chair the research committee, nor that the advisory committee chair agree to chair the research committee, if asked. Ultimately, the choice of a research chair involves a combination of personal compatibility and compatibility of the research interests of the student and the chair. The student and the committee chair typically confer regarding the selection of other research committee members.

Ph.D. Guidelines for Committee Membership

Each research committee must have at least four members.

• Two must be from the student's major area of study
• One member must be from the minor area of study (or an area outside of the major).
• If the minor field is not pertinent to the topic of the dissertation, the student may petition to substitute another member from outside the major area.
• The committee chair must be from the major area of study.
• The committee chair is usually also the dissertation director, but the dissertation director can be another member of the committee.
• At least half the committee members must be endorsed members of the Graduate Faculty (a minimum of two).
• If the need arises to change a member of the committee you will need to complete a Change of Research Committee Form.

Committee Chair and Dissertation Director

• All members of the committee must be members of the Graduate School faculty.
• The committee chair and the dissertation director must be endorsed members of the Graduate School faculty.
• If a non-endorsed member of the Graduate School faculty has special expertise in the area of the student's research, the research committee chair and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies may petition the University Graduate School to allow the member to direct the student's dissertation.

There are two levels of membership in the Graduate Faculty: member and endorsed member. Faculty who have regular, tenure-track appointments are members of the Graduate Faculty. In addition, some faculty in other classifications have been approved as members. A member can serve on research committees as a member, but not as chair or dissertation director. Emeritus faculty in the “Emeritus Graduate Faculty Listing” also have the status of member.

In the School of Education it is policy that, upon receiving tenure and promotion to associate professor, faculty are submitted to the Graduate School for endorsed status. An endorsed member can chair research committees and direct dissertations.

Ed.D. Guidelines for Committee Membership

For 90-hour and 60-hour Ed.D. programs, research committees must have at least three members.

• Two of these must be from the major field of study, of whom one is a tenure-line faculty from the core campus.
• The third member cannot be from the major field of study.
• One member may be from the faculty of a campus of Indiana University outside the core campus.
• At least two of the committee members must be tenure-line faculty members.
• If the need arises to change a member of the committee the student must complete a Change of Research Committee Form.
• In some instances it is possible to include a committee member who is not an Indiana University faculty member, such as a faculty member at another university, on a doctoral committee. To receive approval for such a substitution two conditions must be met:
  • The substitute member must have special expertise, not available among IU Graduate faculty, either in the substantive area of the study or in the research methodology.
  • The substitute member must supply evidence of published research.

Committee Chair & Dissertation Director

• The committee chair must be an associate or full professor in the student's major area of study.
• The dissertation director must be a full or associate member of the University Graduate School faculty.

Prospectus

A one- to two-page dissertation prospectus must be submitted with the nomination of research committee form. This prospectus should include a clear statement of the questions to be addressed in the study, an outline of the design of the study, the research methods to be used, and a discussion of the contribution of the study to theory and/or to practice. The prospectus should play an important role in the selection of a research committee. This document allows prospective members to decide whether to participate in the study, based on the area of focus and the integrity of the prospectus. It is generally unwise for faculty members to make a commitment to serve on a student's research committee before a written prospectus is presented for examination.