the committee

[nibot]

According to some flyer I recently received from the department:

The dissertation committee can be one of your most valuable sources of advice, mentoring, scholarship, and professional development.

As far as I can tell, grad students in this department communicate with their committee exactly four times:

1. to schedule the general (oral) exam
2. at the general exam
3. to schedule the defense
4. at the defense

Grad students of LJ, what is your experience?

Comments

[pielology.livejournal.com]

In my dept at Berkeley, you had to do two projects for your qualifying exam, one with your advisor and one with someone else; the someone else almost always wound up as one of your committee members (if they weren't already a co-advisor). So there was more of a chance to establish a real working relationship; not everyone continued that after quals but it was common enough.

Also, there were no defenses, so steps 3 and 4 were replaced by some back and forth about dissertation drafts.