Following completion of the laboratory rotation(s) and by the end of their 2nd semester, a student will select a Dissertation Advisor who must be a member of the Ph.D. in Biology Faculty, but not necessarily a member of the Department of Biology. A student will form a Dissertation Committee that includes the advisor, who will serve as chair of the committee. A student’s Dissertation Committee is to be composed of no fewer than 4 members, two of whom must be from the Ph.D. in Biology Faculty; at least 50% of the committee must be members of the Department of Biology. The remainder of the Committee should complement the proposed plan of study and reflect the interdisciplinary focus of the program. The inclusion of 1 member on the Dissertation Committee from outside the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is strongly encouraged. The Graduate Coordinator will request approval of the Dissertation Committee from the Dean of the Graduate School after appropriate consultation with the Dissertation Advisor and the student. One additional member of the Dissertation Committee will then be appointed by the Graduate School to serve as graduate faculty representative.

The Student and his/her Committee must meet by the end of the 3rd semester to set a timeline for the candidacy exam. In addition, a student is required to meet with his/her Dissertation Committee once a year after the establishment of the Committee. This provides the Committee with an opportunity to give input for the student’s research and spot deficiencies, if any, in his/her course of conducting dissertation research.

The deadline for completing the candidacy exam is the end of the student’s 5th Semester.

Note: A Dissertation Advisor can dismiss a student at any time because of poor performance under their direction or failure to demonstrate timely progression towards the degree. If a student is dismissed by his/her Dissertation Advisor, it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for a replacement advisor within 4 months. If no faculty member has agreed to serve as the Major Advisor within the designated time period, the student will be terminated from the program.  The student must notify the Graduate Coordinator of the new Major Advisor using the Appointment of Doctoral Committee form.