3.1.6.1 Dissertation Committee
The Dissertation Committee is responsible for overseeing the student’s completion of the dissertation process including approving the prospectus (including decisions about which manuscripts to include in the dissertation), periodic review of progress, and final approval/acceptance of the dissertation following the oral defense. The Committee is comprised of: 1) a Chairperson, who is responsible for scheduling and running meetings and periodically informing the Executive Committee of the student’s progress/performance; this Dissertation Chair, who bears primary responsibility for overseeing and mentoring/advising the student during the dissertation process, 2) at least two other members with expertise related to the dissertation research topic. Except for the Committee Chair, the Dissertation Committee can include members who do not have an affiliation with the MGH, and can have more than three members when it is judged that it would be helpful to include additional expertise. However, a majority of the Committee members must hold regular or adjunct faculty appointments at the MGH Institute. It is the responsibility of the Chair to obtain approval from the program’s Executive Committee for the final makeup of the Dissertation Committee prior to the prospectus meeting. The Academic Advisor may chair or be a member of the Dissertation Committee, depending on the dissertation topic and needs of the committee. It is expected that committee members will be listed as authors on submitted articles, abstracts, and presentations for works completed and counted towards the dissertation. The order of authors will be listed in accordance with type and degree of contributions, and may vary with each work. Typically, committee members in supervisory roles are senior authors on these works.