Dissertation advisory committee

Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC) overview

The purpose of the Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC) is to help set research goals and directions, while assessing progress toward the completion of an original body of research appropriate for completion of a PhD dissertation. Selection of the DAC members is made by the student in consultation with his/her dissertation advisor and the membership of DAC committee must be approved by the BPH Program Office. The requirements for DAC composition are the following:

  • The DAC is composed of three of more faculty members, in addition to the Dissertation Advisor, who must attend each DAC meeting but is not an official member of the committee.
  • Unless approved by the BPH Program Office, all members should be tenure track faculty, or equivalent.
  • The Chair of the DAC should be a BPH faculty member, usually within the same departmental affiliation as the student's advisor.
  • A minimum of two members should have Harvard-affiliated faculty positions.
  • At least one member should be from outside the BPH program: can be Harvard-affiliated or from another institution (for example MIT, Brown, UConn, etc.).

Students bear primary responsibility for setting up the DAC, ensuring that it meets every six to nine months to assess student progress, and notifying the BPH Office about all meetings and materials. At each DAC meeting the student shall meet privately with the committee, with the Dissertation Advisor out of the room, and visa-versa for the Dissertation Advisor, with the student out of the room. A formal report, the DAC Report Form*, must be filed with the BPH Program Office after each meeting documenting progress to date and recommendations for further work. This report includes a self-evaluation by the student, feedback from the dissertation advisor, and recommendations from the DAC committee.
*Note: The Student Assessment and Advisor Assessment portions of the DAC Report Form should be completed prior to the DAC meeting and sent to the DAC committee along with any relevant materials 7-10 days prior to the DAC meeting.

After the DAC Meeting, the completed, signed DAC Report Form should be submitted to the BPH program where it will be scanned, electronically sent to the entire committee, and filed in the student’s record along with all materials from that respective DAC meeting.

First DAC Committee Meeting: Dissertation Proposal

Students submit a written dissertation proposal to the Dissertation Advisory Committee within six months of successfully completing the Preliminary Qualifying Exam. The DAC and student will meet to discuss the proposal, and committee members will provide the student with feedback, guidance and suggestions to help define the dissertation project in terms of scope, direction and general quality. A copy of the dissertation proposal should be attached to the DAC Report Form and submitted to the BPH Program Office. At this initial DAC meeting, it is not expected that extensive preliminary studies have been completed, but the scope and focus of the dissertation research should be defined. A clear plan for completing all of the work required for the PhD dissertation within 5 years should be presented. While it is understood the plans will evolve over the course of thesis research, especially since highly creative projects engender some risks and delays of unexpected nature arise, students are encouraged to strive for this goal. The proposal should include the following sections and is about 10-12 pages:

1. Abstract
2. Specific Aims
3. Background and Significance

4. Experimental Design, including expected results and interpretations
5. References (author, title, journal, inclusive pages, year)
Timing of First and Subsequent DAC meetings

Prior to the beginning of the 6th semester, all students are expected to have completed their PQE and to have had a DAC meeting to discuss their dissertation proposal. Unless these conditions are met, students may not be allowed to register. The BPH Program is required to give the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences an accounting of student progress via Satisfactory Progress Reports, a key component of which is regular DAC meetings for students G-3 and above. Unsatisfactory progress will be reported for any student who fails to have DAC meetings at 6-9 month intervals. However, this may be changed to satisfactory progress at the submission of a DAC report to the BPH Program Office. In addition, students are strongly encouraged to monitor their course/grade records to ensure that they are complete and accurate. It is anticipated that DAC meetings will be more frequent for students G-4 and above. All students must demonstrate to the DAC committee a plausible track towards degree completion by year 5 or they may not be allowed to continue in the program. Beginning in year G-6 and above, the BPH Program Director should be invited to attend all DAC meeting to ensure that progress towards degree completion is being made.

Organization of the DAC Meeting

1. Student and faculty alternately leave the room. To provide an opportunity for both student and advisor to communicate with DAC members on a confidential basis, the meeting will start with the student leaving the room and then the advisor leaving the room upon the student’s return. In the absence of the student, the advisor will have a chance to present his/her assessment of the student’s progress and whether the student is on course to graduate in a timely fashion. The student self-evaluation form should be discussed (this should have been reviewed by the student with their P.I. prior to the DAC meeting). In the absence of the advisor, the student may likewise communicate his/her own assessment of his/her progress and whether the advisor and the laboratory environment provide the support that he/she needs. Again, the student self-evaluation form can help frame this discussion. This is also an opportunity to share with the committee any other problems of a confidential nature with which the student needs help.

2. Student presentation. The main part of the meeting will consist of a 20-40 minute presentation by the student of results and plans. Committee members will typically interrupt the presentation with questions, and the presentation is followed by a discussion of progress and future plans. The advisor should interject minimally so that the student has the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of their field and scientific maturity surrounding ongoing and future work.

The second and subsequent DAC meetings should include a written Research Progress Report of 3 to 5 pages (not including figures):

a)Specific Aims: If the aims have been modified from the original DAC meeting proposal,

the revised aims should be presented and the reasons for the modifications.

b)Studies and Results: The studies directed toward specific aims and the positive and

negative results obtained should be presented, as well as any technical problems

encountered and how addressed. Figures of key pieces of data and working models should be included.

c)Significance: A brief discussion on the significance of the findings to the current state of

the scientific field.

d)Plans: A summary of plans to address the remaining Specific Aims, including any

important modifications to the original plans.

3.Comments/feedback given to student by DAC.The DAC should comment on student’s progress on experimentation and whether it has the potential to lead to one or more first-author publications.The committee should evaluate the student’s ability to think independently, including development of hypotheses, practical approaches for testing hypotheses, critical interpretation of data, understanding relevance of results in light of current thinking in the field, and judging how to effectively pursue the line of investigation.

4.Reporting student’s progress. The BPH Program Director will review the DAC committee meeting report, but confidential concerns of the DAC should be directly communicated if they arise. These communications do not need to be shared directly with the student or dissertation advisor, and may be verbal or written.

DAC Oversight for Granting the Ph.D.

GSAS requires each student to complete a body of primary research of publishable quality. While a first-author research paper is not required to attain the degree, the vast majority of graduating students will have at least one first-author, peer-reviewed, primary research paper at least submitted or largely prepared prior to graduation. In addition, the DAC committee should evaluate the scientific maturity, independence and original thinking in considering the student’s readiness to graduate. When the DAC committee agrees that the student has met the requirements for earning a Ph.D. and is ready to begin writing his/her dissertation, the Committee will "check the box" on the student's DAC meeting form that indicates this. The student's dissertation defense must take place within 3-6 months of the date on which the box is checked.

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