Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) rules for graduate advisory committee composition

 Preamble: The rules of the graduate school apply. They are as follows:

Graduate Advisory Committee Composition

Master's Degree:

1. The core advisory committee of Master's degree students must consist of three approved University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty members. Faculty participating above this number is considered additional committee members. Committee membership must be approved by the home department, Unit Dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
2. Retired and/or Emeritus faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks who have an association with the home department may serve on Master's advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department.
3. Faculty from other universities and other professionals who are not employed by University of Alaska Fairbanks may serve as either core or additional committee members on Master's advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department. They may not serve as the chair of an advisory committee, but may serve as the co-chair.

Doctoral Degree:

1. The core advisory committee of Doctoral degree students must consist of four approved University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty members. Faculty participating above this number is considered additional committee members. Committee membership must be approved by the home department, Unit Dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
2. For interdisciplinary students, one member must be from a Ph.D. granting department.
3. Retired and/or Emeritus faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks who have an association with the home department may serve on Doctoral advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department.
4. Faculty from other universities and other professionals who are not employed by University of Alaska Fairbanks may serve as either core or additional committee members on Doctoral advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department. They may not serve as the chair of an advisory committee, but may serve as the co-chair.

Note: Guidelines for Intercampus Collaboration on Ph.D. Studies - Committee membership apply.

In addition the following additional departmental rules apply for both masters and doctoral degrees:

 

1. Out of the required number of committee members at least one member must be either a tenured or tenure-track faculty of DAS, and one member must be a full professor. The majority of the committee must have a terminal degree in atmospheric sciences or a related field.  Emeriti/a are a category of their own meaning they are not a subgroup of the tenured or full professor category.
2. Faculty members who are dependent (e.g. by marriage, in a supervisor-supervisee relationship) may serve on the same graduate advisory committee if it is guaranteed that the majority of the votes is not in the hand of these committee members. This means that on a MS graduate advisory committee, for instance, at least four members will be required if two members are dependent.
3. Emerti/a and research faculty at any rank except post-docs with an atmospheric sciences degree as well as faculty affiliated with DAS can be the chair of a graduate advisory committee if they sponsor a DAS graduate student from their grants and contracts and are approved to be the chair by the DAS faculty. The faculty voting on this approval is the tenured and tenure track faculty of DAS. Those potential chairs have to submit a statement of research goals and justification for the approach, a preliminary study plan and a suggestion of the graduate advisory committee composition for review and approval by DAS faculty before admission of the graduate student.  The suggested graduate advisory committee must be in agreement with DAS graduate advisory committee guidelines. The approval is on a case by case basis. In accord with DAS’ regulations for affiliated faculty, DAS will provide a tenured academic faculty for the graduate advisory committees led by this group of chairs. Such committees also require a tenured faculty of DAS and a full professor and the majority of members having a terminal degree in atmospheric sciences or a related field.