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Master’s Thesis Committee Regulations
Appointment
Please work with your degree program student affairs office to nominate or reconstitute your committee. See also our Petitions Knowledge Base article on the Graduate Education Portal.
The committee must be appointed prior to holding a thesis defense (if applicable) or advancement to master’s candidacy. Per Thesis Committee Regulation #1 (below), master’s committees are appointed by the Dean of Graduate Education, acting for the Graduate Council.
Recommendation for reconstitution of a master’s committee is made jointly by the chair of the department or IDP and the chair of the master’s committee, after consultation with the members of the committee who are in residence and the student. Reconstitution is approved by the Dean of Graduate Education, acting for the Graduate Council.
Thesis Committee Regulations
- Master’s thesis committees are appointed by the Dean of Graduate Education, acting for the Graduate Council, upon nomination by the chair of the department (or interdepartmental degree committee), after consultation with the student.
- Master’s thesis committees consist of a minimum of three faculty members from UCLA.
- Master’s thesis committee members must hold one of the following academic ranks:
- Professor (any rank, regular series)
- Professor emeritus
- Professor-in-residence (any rank)
- Acting professor (any rank)
- Adjunct professor (any rank), professor of clinical X (any rank), visiting professor (any rank), and Lecturer or Senior Lecturer with (potential) security of employment (Teaching Professor, any rank) may serve as one of the three regular members (not as chair) on master’s thesis committees.
- Acting assistant professors may serve as regular members but not as chairs on thesis committees.
- The chair of the committee and at least one other member must hold academic appointments in the student’s department or, in the case of a student in an interdepartmental degree program, must be selected from a list of faculty members who actively participate in the program.
- By petition, one of the minimum three members may be a faculty member from another UC campus who holds an appropriate appointment as listed above.
- Additional members (above the minimum) from any of the above titles as well as those with the title of lecturer may be appointed to the committee and/or serve as co-chairs, and shall have the same voting rights and responsibilities as the other committee members. In addition, subject matter experts who have specialized knowledge and expertise relevant to the student’s thesis work may be nominated to serve as additional members. A CV must be submitted for subject matter experts. A resume or biographical statement is acceptable in lieu of a CV for subject matter experts who do not hold an academic appointment. Nominations for non-faculty subject matter experts to serve as additional members must include a statement from the Chair of the department attesting to the nominee’s expertise in the field and suitability for service on master’s thesis committees.