thesis adviser responsibilities

The following guidelines are provided for faculty who have been asked to serve as thesis advisors for candidates for the Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) degree.This degree is conferred jointly by the University Honors College (UHC) and the home school of the candidate (e.g., Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, College of General Studies, Swanson School of Engineering, College of Business Administration, School of Nursing, etc.). In most cases the degree title of Bachelor of Philosophy replaces the standard bachelor's degree a student would receive, but some schools (e.g., Swanson School of Engineering and School of Nursing) retain the standard degree title jointly conferred by that school and the UHC. Specific questions about the degree title should be referred to David Hornyak in the UHC.All candidates for the BPhil degree must satisfy the general degree requirements (curricular requirements) and the special degree requirements (independent scholarship).General degree requirementsStudents must complete the degree requirements of their home school and complete a program of study demonstrating that the student has not only met but also exceeded the requirements for a standard undergraduate departmental degree. This includes maintaining a 3.50 cumulative GPA.In general, it is expected that the student’s curriculum will reflect significant breadth, depth, or focus around a coherent intellectual theme.Special degree requirementsThese requirements are to be met by the completion of a thesis. A student presents and defends his/her thesis before a faculty examining committee selected in conjunction with the thesis advisor. It is the expectation that the thesis advisor provides the student with the same research/scholarship experience as graduate students at the master's level in the thesis advisor's academic discipline and that the final thesis document be of.
The advisor is the person who is formally recognized as the person most responsible for supervising the student's thesis research. A co-advisor is a person who also works with the doctoral candidate, but often in a secondary role (perhaps providing scientific but not financial support, for instance). In my own case, for instance, I had two advisors who were fully equal in both supervising the research and supporting it financially. However, formally one of them had to be in charge of the thesis research—I believe they decided it by a coin flip. The thesis committee is a body that convenes only sporadically (although sometimes on a regular schedule) to ensure that a doctoral candidate is progressing according to expectations. The committee—which usually includes the advisor and several other faculty members (or other advisors)—is also usually responsible for deciding when a candidate is ready to schedule a defense of the thesis and graduate. As you can see, this is a very different role than a co-advisor, who takes on a much more active role in supervising and guiding the doctoral candidate's work. While a thesis committee member rarely is a co-author on a paper with the candidate, a co-advisor often will be. Consequently, it's much more useful for a faculty member to be a co-advisor than simply a committee member. (The latter role will not carry anywhere near as much credit toward a tenure case as being an advisor or a co-advisor.).
Getting Started Planning Your Graduate Degree The Supervisory Committee Roles and ResponsibilitiesAdministrative Decisions Graduate Program Advisor Responsibilities Supervisor Responsibilities Graduate Student Responsibilities Graduate Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants The Working Relationship The Graduate Thesis Research Ethics: A Guide for Graduate Students Your supervisor is the key person in your graduate degree program. Graduate education is greatly affected by the nature of the supervision and the quality of communication between graduate students and their supervisors. When students work closely and effectively with their graduate supervisors, they will improve the quality of their dissertations or theses and their educational experiences. Supervisors should be available to help their graduate students at every stage, from formulation of their research projects through establishing methodologies and discussing results, to presentation and possible publication of dissertations. Graduate supervisors must also ensure that their students’ work meets the standards of the University and the academic discipline. Some specific responsibilities of a graduate supervisor: assists the student with the selection and planning of a suitable and manageable research topic. is sufficiently familiar with the field of research to provide guidance and/or has a willingness to gain that familiarity before agreeing to act as a supervisor. is accessible to the student for consultation and discussion of the student’s academic progress and research. The frequency of meetings will vary according to the discipline, stage of work, nature of the project, independence of the student, full- or part-time status, etc. For many, weekly meetings are essential; for others, monthly meetings are satisfactory. In no case should interaction be less frequent than once per term. establishes.