Faculty Doctoral Placement Agreement
School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Date
Primary Research Advisor (Mentor)
Faculty Doctoral Student
Student Faculty Department
For Placement in the Department of
in pursuit of a Ph.D.
The faculty-student, mentor, and the student’s faculty Department Chair and Dean are all required to
read and understand the Policies for the Faculty Doctoral Program within the School of Graduate and
Postdoctoral Studies (Graduate School), as described here and in the “Policies and Procedures” of the
School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies before signing this document.
The student, mentor, and the faculty-student’s Department Chair and Dean agree to work together to meet all
requirements of the Graduate School that lead to the Ph.D. The Ph.D. is the highest degree awarded by the
Academy, and its requirements are therefore most rigorous. It must be understood that the faculty-student
is ultimately responsible to fulfill each requirement of the Ph.D program.
Faculty–Student Department Chair and Dean. It is the responsibility of the faculty-student’s Chair and Dean
to provide support and accommodation of the faculty responsibilities as related to the Faculty Doctoral Program,
as well as salary support, for the duration of the faculty-student’s time in the Faculty Doctoral Program. By
endorsing a faculty member’s matriculation into the Faculty Doctoral Program, that department Chair and
college Dean commit to the extensive work involved to accommodate the faculty-student’s time constraints due
to course work and research time, and to support the faculty-student’s extensive involvement in the graduate
process. The faculty-student will maintain a 1.0 FTE workload model in their school or college, but at the
discretion of their Dean, will have a cap of up to 0.2 FTE within that 1.0 workload, to allow for the Faculty
Doctoral Program.
Mentor. By accepting a Faculty Doctoral Student, the mentor commits to the extensive time requirements
necessary to properly advise the faculty-student through all stages of the doctoral program. The Mentor is
responsible for all research costs associated with the faculty-student’s research project(s) through the date of
the faculty-student’s successful thesis defense. The mentor and mentor’s department are responsible for all
research costs associated with the faculty-student’s research project. The mentor and Research Committee
are accountable to the Department Graduate Oversight Committee, and the Dean of the Graduate School on all
matters pertaining to the matriculation of the faculty-student.
1) Upon assignment to a lab, the faculty-student will develop a doctoral research project with his or her mentor
and develop preliminary data showing the feasibility of the project. Based on the project, the mentor and
faculty-student will select faculty members for the Research Committee that best complement the project. The
Research Committee must be approved by the Department’s Graduate Oversight Committee and the Dean of
the Graduate School. This committee will be composed of the mentor, the Program Director, plus three other
faculty members. At least one of these three faculty members must be from outside of the mentor’s department
and may be from outside the University. The mentor cannot serve as the Research Committee Chair.
2) Once the project has been approved, the Faculty Doctoral Program Student will take a candidacy
examination no later than two years from the time they enter their mentor’s laboratory. For additional
information regarding the Doctoral Candidacy Exam, please refer to the “Policies and Procedures” of the School
of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
3) Required courses will be determined by the Research Committee and will vary depending on the department
and the faculty-student needs. The plan for required courses will be approved by the Department Graduate
Oversight Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.
July 2011
4) Once the faculty-student has passed the Candidacy Examination, the Mentor is required to submit bi-annual
progress reports to the Department Graduate Oversight Committee. The DGOC will provide a copy to the Dean
of the Graduate School along with the general summary of progress for all students in their department. These
bi-annual reviews should be scheduled in November and May following the Candidacy Examination. The
second progress report of the year (May) will also entail a power point presentation by the faculty-student to the
Research Committee so that optimal input is given to the faculty-student by all members of that Research
Committee, and any research problems that have developed can be properly addressed.
Completion of the research project will be determined by the Mentor and the Research Committee. The date of
the faculty-students final defense will be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Any dispute between the mentor and faculty-student not reconcilable through the mentorship structure must be
brought first to the Program Director, then the Department Graduate Oversight Committee and then to the Dean
of the Graduate School if reconciliation is not achieved. Any dispute regarding the faculty-student concerning
their faculty responsibilities not reconcilable through their department structure must be brought first to the
Program Director and then to the Dean of the Graduate School if reconciliation is not achieved.
The following parties have read the above document and agree to the policies and procedures of the Faculty
Doctoral Program.
Signing of this agreement represents an understanding of the Policies as set forth by the School of
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for the Faculty Doctoral Program, and a commitment by the facultystudent, the mentor, and the faculty department Chair and Dean to work together to meet the
requirements for the faculty-student’s successful completion of the Ph.D.
Faculty-Student Signature
(date)
Faculty Department Chair Signature
(date)
Mentor Signature
(date)
Faculty Department Dean Signature
(date)
Faculty Doctoral Program Director Signature (date)
Joseph X. DiMario, Ph.D.
(date)
Dean, School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
July 2011