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Doctoral Committee

When the student receives approval from the full faculty, he/she may then complete the Recommended Doctoral Committee Appointment form. This form must be signed by each faculty member and given to the Graduate Programs Coordinator for completion. The Doctoral Committee will consist of at least four faculty members, one of whom must be from outside the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Three of the members, including the chairperson, must be faculty of sufficiently senior status and research accomplishment to have been approved by the Graduate Council to direct doctoral research (i.e., to be “Chair Eligible”).

Time Limits

The UT Graduate School has two times limits. First, you must complete the Comprehensive Exam within five years of being admitted. Second, you must complete the doctoral dissertation (i.e., finish all of your requirements) within eight years. The Graduate School may be petitioned for extensions of these limits upon recommendation by the departmental faculty.

Evaluations

Each year in March, the Experimental faculty will review the progress of all students in the Doctoral Program. These evaluations will be based on coursework, research activities, the fulfillment of assistantship duties and on the recommendation of the Student Advisory Committee. It is essential that an annual meeting with the Student Advisory Committee take place prior to the student evaluation meeting.

These evaluations directly determine the student’s status in the program, such as whether the student will be allowed to continue. They are also a major factor in determining whether students will receive financial assistance in the following year. Separate parts of this information will be relayed to the student in two separate communications: A first communication in writing by the Program Director will cover the comments made by particular faculty members when they made their initial ratings summarizing the discussion at the evaluation meetings. Second, a letter from the Department Head will inform the student of any decisions regarding their status in the program. For example, students may be granted permission to proceed in forming a doctoral committee, or be told that they may do so contingent upon completing some program requirement (such as an integrative review paper). Alternatively, students may simply be told that their progress has been acceptable and to keep up the good work.