Graduate Advising Overview

There are different kinds of advising available to graduate students. Understanding how to select and work with your advisers is key to your success. Advising roles are described below:

Graduate Program Adviser

The IAS Graduate Program Adviser is responsible for helping students with the technical pieces of graduate student life—deadlines, forms, and formal procedures. The Graduate Program Adviser also functions as liaison to the Graduate School.

Faculty Coordinator

Advising of a substantive, academic nature relating to the graduate program as whole is done by Professor Sam Parker, the Faculty Coordinator.

Faculty Adviser

Each student works closely with an individual faculty adviser. The faculty adviser must be a member of the IAS Graduate Faculty. The primary function of the faculty adviser is to give direction and shape to work leading to the thesis or final project. This includes help in the selection of electives that will contribute to that end. The faculty adviser may or may not serve on a student's thesis committee, depending on the specific direction the student ultimately decides to pursue. However, the adviser can help the student identify a potential chair and/or committee members. Students are encouraged to be active in choosing their faculty adviser.

Thesis Chair

Each student works closely with a thesis chair. The role of the thesis chair is separate from that of the faculty adviser. Once the thesis committee is formed, the chair assumes the function of a primary academic adviser. The chair must be a member of the IAS Graduate Faculty. Before the student registers for thesis credit, the thesis chair and the student must sign the Thesis/Project Committee Chair Appointment Letter. As stated in the letter, it is the role of the chair to help the student shape an interdisciplinary thesis or project of a quality appropriate to a master's level. The chair's ultimate duty is to evaluate the thesis or project and, if satisfactory, attest to its quality by signing the signature page of the document. Students are encouraged to be active in choosing their thesis chair. Provide the Graduate Program Adviser with the original signed appointment letter, and distribute copies to everyone on your committee. Keep a copy for yourself.

Thesis Committee

A thesis committee must have a minimum of two members, one which serves as the chair. Committee members (who are also called readers) must be qualified persons who possess a terminal degree in an area appropriate to the thesis/project and hold an academic appointment at an accredited institution. The Chair and at least one additional member of the supervisory committee must be members of the graduate faculty. It is the responsibility of the thesis chair to determine the suitability of any committee members or readers recruited from outside IAS. Readers attest to the quality of the thesis or project on the signature page and may offer appropriate advice and assistance to students. Once the committee members have been selected and before the student registers for thesis credit, each member and the student must individually sign the Thesis/Project Committee Member Appointment Letter. Provide the Graduate Program Adviser with the original signed letter, and distribute copies to everyone on your committee. Keep a copy for yourself. For further information please refer to the UW Graduate website.

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