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Thesis committees

Thesis Committees are an extension to your core supervision structure and have a purely advisory role. The Thesis Committee advises on your academic work, monitors progress and can flag any concerns. In general, Thesis Committee meetings provide an opportunity to take a step back and get feedback not only on your direct work but also on the bigger picture and impact of your studies because your Thesis Committee members are likely to be further removed from your direct topic. It can help you work towards timely completion of your DPhil. If your department has regular advisory meetings, a presentation of your work at such a meeting would serve the same purpose as a Thesis Committee.

Your local DGS will discuss with you at your annual meeting whether a Thesis Committee would be beneficial. For example, if you or your supervisor have any concerns about any aspects of your DPhil or if you would like feedback on your research to date. If you decide to convene a Thesis Committee, you should consider the timing of convening a Thesis Committee with respect to your milestone meetings. For example, Thesis Committees can prove to be useful preparation for Transfer and Confirmation.

 It is your responsibility to organize the meetings (i.e., find suitable date, space, take care of the paperwork, etc.). After the Thesis Committee meeting a copy of the report should be sent to the Graduate Studies team and your local DGS.

Membership of the Thesis Committee

Your Thesis Committee should normally consist of 4 to 5 people:

  • your supervisors
  • 2 to 3 additional PIs not directly involved in your project/line of supervision[1]
  • The additional members of your Thesis Committee are invited after you are sufficiently clear about the general direction of your project, which will normally be no later than your 2nd term. 
  • Consult with your supervisor about who to invite. 
  • When assembling your Thesis Committee consider the expertise, scientific standing and seniority of the additional members (aim for a balance with your supervisor’s seniority), and whether you would feel comfortable raising any issues you might have with them. 
  • They should not be close collaborators. 
  • At least one of the additional members should be internal to the University of Oxford; for practical reasons most of them usually are. 

The additional members of your Thesis Committee can serve as Transfer and Confirmation of Status assessors, provided their involvement remains purely advisory and does not move into the supervisory realm (e.g. when interactions become more frequent or they become collaborators), and they meet the assessor criteria of the Medical Science Board. Only one of your Thesis Committee members should be appointed as a Transfer or Confirmation of Status assessor.

A Thesis Committee member cannot normally serve as internal examiner for your thesis viva. 

Thesis Committee members are well placed to provide a reference for you.

What to Expect from your Thesis Committee 

The focus of a Thesis Committee meeting will be guided by the stage of your career. 

First Year: Expect an emphasis on the foundation and grasp of project.

Second Year: The committee will look at your data generation, interpretation, and research plans.

Third and Fourth Year: Your career prospects and finalizing your studies successfully in the 3rd (and 4th) years will be the focus of attention.

Prior to a Committee meeting:

At least three working days prior to the meeting, you should provide members of the Thesis Committee with a brief progress report of no more than 2 pages, including the aim of your studies, results obtained and experimental plans. This report does not normally include any figures: you will be expected to prepare a 15-minute presentation for the Committee meetings which is where you can show your data. 

A typical Thesis Committee meeting (1 hour):

  • 15-minute presentation outlining your project and highlighting your most important findings. 
  • Discussion of your data, project, and future plans. Often you will be interrupted during your presentation
  • Sometimes the discussion and presentation coincide, at least in part. 
  • Both your supervisor and you will each have the opportunity to meet with the other Committee members in private to comment on your progress and flag any concerns. For this the Committee will first ask the student to step out of the room temporarily, and next the supervisor.
  • The meeting ends with a Committee discussion and completion of the report form (at which neither the student nor the supervisor are present)
  • Feedback is provided to the student at the meeting.

[1] An exception to this are instances where students already have 4 or more official supervisors, e.g. because of industry placements (iCASE studentships). In this case, the supervisors further removed from the direct line of supervision can fulfil the role of the Thesis Committee. Note that in this instance Thesis Committee members cannot serve as Transfer or Confirmation of Status Assessors. If you are not certain about how to compose your Thesis Committee, ask your DGS or local Director of Graduate Studies for advice. 

 

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