Making a Dissertation Committee Request
The dissertation committee is the bench of people that are requested to appear in your defense and ask questions to you. They may be professors you may not know well. You can even ask professors from other schools and departments to attend your defense as a committee member. Asking them will strengthen your relationship with them. Professors from diverse backgrounds appear and start questioning your dissertation. Of course, this is not easy. Answering their question one by one puts a lot of pressure on you.
Well, If you impress them then that’s a good sign they will pass you. You may have the choice of choosing an additional member of the committee. But for that, you have to request the chairperson. The process is simple but strategic. All you need is to follow steps one by one that will help you in your dissertation.
In this article, we will cover different things on finding committee members and requesting them to be in it.
Searching for the committee member
There are different ways of choosing the member. It may be the person from your relevant field or can be from another department professor who will support you. Getting the member is easier if you have a stable relationship with them. Here is a guide on how you will find the committer member for your dissertation.
- Request from Chairperson of the committee
This approach is best to find a suitable member for the committee. Try talking with the chairperson of the committee then go for his recommendation. They will guide you, which member is good for your project and can go along with you.
- Negotiate with other students
Doing doctoral studies doesn’t mean that you can’t have friends. You have a network of people, seniors, and other students around you. Try to make a connection with them and ask their suggestion about committee members. They will share their experiences with you, based on which you need to decide to go for which one.
- Do some research
When you start having some recommendations, start your research about the member. Look out for the research interest, publications, and what type of question they can ask from you. Also, search what previous defense they have attended and importantly what their expertise is in the field.
Contacting the member
Once you have finalized the list of members, then there comes to contact with them. All you need is to write a professional email to the member in which you request him or her to be a member of the committee. There are thousands of samples available on the internet about how to contact a professor. But it would be better if you keep it as simple as possible.
The generic email you write as starting with your introduction, stating your topic of research, and then politely asked them to be part of the committee. If they refuse then don’t worry, email another one. That’s how the cycle works.
Taking interview of a potential member of the committee
After getting a reply to an email, then call the interested member of the committee and interview them. Prepare the list of questions you won’t ask. For example, they can be as follows:
- What are your ideas after reading the proposal?
- What the qualities of successful students?
- Do you want to ask me any questions?
Students frequently fail to remember that they can talk with potential board individuals. Doing so will in general dazzle the workforce, as it demonstrates your reality and responsibility. I can say that not very many individuals have talked with me to be an individual from their council, and those that have been particularly effective in exploring the difficulties of composing an exposition.
After following all those steps, the rest of the process is simple. When the professor knows that you are devoted to do your research then they will be part of a committee member.
Picking advisory group individuals is significant. You need a board where everybody is pulling for you to arrive at your objective. It doesn’t require some investment to investigate potential council individuals, and over the long haul that humble venture can pay off.