Departments :: Computer Science and Engineering :: Graduate

Computer Science and Engineering Graduate Exam Committees

These are the current policies on the committee membership for the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and for the Computer Science (CS) graduate programs. These policies are in addition to the Graduate Council requirements described in the Graduate Handbook.

Master's Project Reading Committee

The members of the CSE or CS Master's Project Reading Committee must include the following:

  1. A ladder rank CSE faculty member
  2. A ladder rank UCSC School of Engineering (SOE) faculty (may be CSE as well).

Additional members may be added to the committee. Students should consult their advisors about the membership of their committee.

Master's Thesis Reading Committee

The members of the  CSE or CS Master's Thesis Reading Committee must include the following:

  1. A ladder rank CSE faculty member
  2. A ladder rank UCSC School of Engineering (SOE) faculty (may be CSE as well).
  3. A UCSC SOE faculty or a recognized expert in the student's research area as judged by the Graduate Committee.

Additional members may be added to the committee. Students should consult their advisors about the membership of their committee.

Qualifying Exam Committee

The members of the  CSE or CS Qualifying Exam committee must include the following:

  1. The chair of the committee must be a tenured ladder rank SOE faculty member who is not the student's advisor.
  2. A ladder rank CSE faculty member (may be the advisor).
  3. A ladder rank UCSC faculty member or a recognized expert in the student's research area as judged by the Graduate Committee.
  4. The outside member must be a tenured ladder rank faculty member from a department other than CSE at UCSC or a recognized expert in the student's research area from outside UCSC. The outside member may not be the student's advisor. In the event that the outside member is not from UCSC she/he must have credentials equivalent to a tenured faculty member as judged by the Graduate Committee and the Graduate Dean. The outside member's CV must be submitted along with the exam committee nomination form.

Additional members may be added to the committee. Students should consult their advisors about the membership of their committee.

Dissertation Reading Committee

The members of the  CSE or CS Dissertation Reading Committee must include the following:

  1. The advisor or supervisor of the student. This is the chair of the committee.
  2. A ladder rank SOE faculty member who is not the student's advisor. This member must be from CSE at UCSC if the advisor is not from CSE at UCSC.
  3. A ladder rank UCSC faculty or a recognized expert in the student's research area with credentials equivalent to a ladder rank UCSC faculty member as judged by the Graduate Committee.

If you have two advisors you should list both as co-chairs. Additional members may be added to the committee. Students should consult their advisors about the membership of their committee. The Dissertation Reading Committee must be appointed in order to advance to candidacy.

Tips

If you are inviting someone from outside to serve on your committee and it is not clear whether their credentials will satisfy the requirements for the outside member, then it is advisable to list them either as the third member or an additional fifth member of the committee to avoid embarrassing them and delaying the appointment of the committee.

A ladder rank faculty (Academic Senate member) holds the title of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor. Associate Professors and Professors have tenure.