tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post7160008320003190888..comments2024-02-14T04:01:44.502-05:00Comments on Prof-like Substance: Thesis committee or graduation advisors?Prof-like Substancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09536241129674490468noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post-393015351972042892013-06-21T02:12:49.695-04:002013-06-21T02:12:49.695-04:00I totally agree with you that thesis committee are...I totally agree with you that thesis committee are there not to make the life of the grad student harder, but rather to help them ease the process of grad school. <a href="http://thesishelpdesk.com/thesis-proposal/" rel="nofollow">Thesis proposal</a> can really be hard, and thesis writing can really be tedious, so it would be good to have someone that can help provide insight from other that you can overlook. Joann Hansennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post-52727046905442653062009-04-27T15:31:00.000-04:002009-04-27T15:31:00.000-04:00PiT - I had an advisor and two additional committe...PiT - I had an advisor and two additional committee members. My advisor was the person I dealt with on a day-to-day basis and the committee met twice a year to assess progress and bring up any thoughts they might have about the direction of the research. My thesis was also manuscripts with an intro and conclusion slapped on each end and the exam committee was three three above, someone from outside the department but at the Uni plus an external individual who was in my field but not at the Uni. So, the systems are not all that different, but I think if you bother to have an advisory committee in the first place, might as well actually use them to provide some feedback.Prof-like Substancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536241129674490468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post-51867202732819713972009-04-27T15:05:00.000-04:002009-04-27T15:05:00.000-04:00I'm still learning how the US-grad-committee-syste...I'm still learning how the US-grad-committee-system-thingy works. My PhD in the land far, far away was based on the British system - I had an advisor (you can have more than one) who oversaw my work from day 1, did a proposal about 18mths in with a one-time-only committee and then when my advisor was satisfied that my thesis was ready to be submitted after ~3.5yrs, it was examined by two high-profile external PIs who had had absolutely nothing to do with my studies (they were both based in North America) ... most of my thesis had already been published as individual manuscripts by that time.<br /><br />In a lot of ways, my grad school experience was very similar to the US postdoc except that your manuscripts are combined to produce a thesis at the end of 3-4yrs.<br /><br />I can see pros and cons of both of the grad systems you described and I guess it depends on your personal preference in your current situation.Professor in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10903558307394806532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post-34665655606198761472009-04-27T14:12:00.000-04:002009-04-27T14:12:00.000-04:00I'm just learning how it all works here since this...I'm just learning how it all works here since this is my first committee and my students are fairly new. I have set the ball in motion to get a committee together for both of my students though. I'm not letting it slip until the one year point. It probably is one of those things that is designed to be as involved as you want it to be, but it is probably the students who don't put any effort into it that need it the most.Prof-like Substancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536241129674490468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2793086675277097176.post-43464981912499121472009-04-27T10:51:00.000-04:002009-04-27T10:51:00.000-04:00That sounds like a rubber-stamp committee if I've ...That sounds like a rubber-stamp committee if I've ever heard of one. I can't understand its half-assed nature - either have a bunch of meetings and actually develop the grad student into a scientist, or have an <I>actual</I> rubber stamp and leave it at that. Who are you helping with just one meeting?<br /><br />Thesis committees worked the same way you mentioned at my academic institute too - profs may switch out occasionally, but I think most people kept the same members throughout their PhD. It may vary from grad student to grad student, or from committee to committee, but most of the grad students I knew didn't rely very much on their committee for input and advice. That came predominantly from their advisor, and through postdocs/grad students in related labs. <br /><br />On another note, is this one of those things where the student gets out what they put in? Can students (or do students) routinely seek out advice from other PIs outside of this rubber-stamp framework, or do they rely solely upon the guidance of their own PI?DamnGoodTechnicianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07853842935140592563noreply@blogger.com