The graduate coordinator will assign the student to a graduate faculty advisor prior to his/her first semester of enrollment. The student has until the end of the first semester of enrollment to select a different supervisory committee chair if they wish. There must be a minimum of three supervisory committee members for thesis students and a minimum of two committee members for non-thesis master students, including the supervisory committee chair.  Note that each member must hold graduate faculty status. It is strongly recommended that the supervisory committee members be selected by the end of the first semester of enrollment. However, in NO case shall they be selected later than the end of the second semester of enrollment. A form must be filled out by the student, the student then goes to each prospective committee member to obtain their signature and UFID on the form, and when all proposed committee members have signed, turn the form in to the graduate program assistant (Ms. Julie McGrath) who will then seek signatures of the graduate coordinator for final approval. The proposed committee is not final until it has been approved and entered into the Graduate School tracking system. As noted below, if there are later changes to the committee's membership, then this same form must be completed again, new signatures attained and submitted for approval.

If the student selects the thesis option, one supervisory committee member must be from outside the student’s major department. If the student selects a minor, one supervisory committee member must be from the minor department.  If the student desires to change his/her supervisory committee chair or members, he/she must petition to the department graduate committee, who makes a recommendation to the department chair for final approval.

The supervisory committee approves the student’s degree plan preferably by the end of the first semester of enrollment and no later than the end of the second semester of enrollment.  Any changes to the degree plan must be approved by the student’s supervisory committee.