FACULTY

Senior Advisors - Phase I

Senior Advisors are interviewed by the student during the Admissions process and appointed with the approval of the Advanced Graduate Council and the School Deans.  The Doctoral Study Committee members are recommended in the Doctoral Study Plan and approved by the Advanced Graduate Council.  Dissertation Committee members are recommended once Phase II requirements have been met and approved by the Director of the Doctoral Program. 

Changes in Senior Advisor, Committee Chairs, or Committee Members

Students may initiate changes in their Senior Advisor and/or Committee members at any time, as appropriate.  Requests for changes are sent in writing to the Director of the Program.  The Director authorizes all changes.

Role of the Senior Advisor

• The role of the Senior Advisor is to assist students in developing and carrying out their doctoral study plans, a detailed description of the major part of the student's study. Students work closely with their Senior Advisor as they develop their Doctoral Study Plan.
• A student's Senior Advisor monitors the progress of EAGSR 7500 - Independent Study: Outside Activity.
• Normally, the Senior Advisor continues to work closely with the student throughout his/her program, serving as the committee chair in Phase II and III.

Eligibility to Serve as a Senior Advisor

Faculty appointed as Senior Advisors must meet the following criteria:

• An earned doctorate, or exceptional professional credentials that identify an individual as an expert at the doctoral level,
• Appointment as a full-time or pro rata associate or full professor, and
• Evidence of significant scholarly activity, including recent scholarly publications and public presentations of research and scholarship.

The Dean of the School of Education and the Director of the Ph.D. in Educational Studies Program review the resumes of all faculty who wish to serve as Senior Advisors. The Dean of the School of Education will make final decisions about appointments of faculty as Senior Advisors.

Payment

Phase I Senior Advisors receive a one time remuneration of a three-credit course release from their School to assist in developing the doctoral study plan.   Committee Chairs  (Phase II & Phase III) receive an annual honorarium from the doctoral program.

Doctoral Study Committee - Phase II

Membership and Role

The purpose of the Doctoral Study Committee is to provide a setting for on-going dialogue and advice for a student about study in a domain of educational studies as well as establishing a group of experts who can evaluate a student's academic progress. The Committee consists of four members: the student, who serves as convener of the committee and is responsible both for scheduling meetings and for keeping the minutes; the Senior Advisor; and two additional professional or faculty members, at least one of whom must be from outside Lesley University. The role of the Doctoral Study Committee is to plan and supervise Phase II of the student's program and confirm that all requirements have been satisfied. Specifically, the committee:

• reviews the student's progress and approves modifications of the plan,
• supervises the qualifying paper for the student and administers and evaluates both the written and oral defense,
• recommends to the Program Director that the student be advanced to Phase III after all the requirements of Phase II have been met, (course work, sociocultural perspective standard, residency requirement, and qualifying paper).

The student is considered to be a member of the Committee in all respects except in final evaluation of the qualifying paper. With regard to evaluation of a student's work, any reference to the Doctoral Study Committee implies only the faculty membership of the committee.

Specific Responsibilities of Doctoral Study Committees

The Doctoral Study Committee is expected to meet with the student approximately 3-4 times during the course of Phase II. One meeting of the committee should be as early as possible to ratify the doctoral plan. Committee members are expected to be conversant with the student's doctoral study plan, to read material presented by the student, and to be able to frame, administer and evaluate the qualifying paper. At the request of any of its members the committee may meet without the student being present.

Doctoral Study Committee members are not expected to carry out specific projects with students beyond general advising. If a sustained interaction between a committee member and a student is contemplated around a specific topic of the doctoral committee member's expertise, the student should register for an independent study course with the committee member.

Eligibility to Serve on a Doctoral Study Committee

Doctoral Study Committee membership is recommended collaboratively by Senior Advisors and students as part of the doctoral study plan and appointed by the Director of the Ph.D. Program when students have successfully completed Phase I of the program.

Faculty appointed as Doctoral Study Committee members must meet the following criteria:

• An earned doctorate,
• Appointment as a full-time or pro rata assistant, associate or full professor (except for one outside committee member).

The student's Senior Advisor usually becomes the Chair the Doctoral Study Committee. Members of the Doctoral Study Committee must demonstrate knowledge of the domain of study and be approved by the Advanced Graduate Council and the Director of the Ph.D. Program.

Honorarium**

Committee members who are not Lesley faculty will receive an honorarium of $125 for each committee meeting they attend

** Payment to Doctoral Study Committee and Dissertation Committee members for meetings with students can only be made after the student sends a memorandum to the Program Administrator of the Ph.D. Program listing committee member name, address, telephone number, social security number and the meeting date. The Program Administrator will then complete and forward the appropriate payment voucher to the Lesley University financial office.

Dissertation Committee - Phase III

Membership and Responsibilities

The Dissertation Committee consists of four members: the student, who serves as convener of the committee; a chair of the committee, who is normally a Senior Advisor; and two additional professional/faculty members, at least one of whom must be from outside Lesley University.

Dissertation Committees need not be composed of the same members as the Doctoral Study Committees, although common membership between the two is expected. 

The responsibilities of the dissertation committee are to approve the dissertation prospectus, to approve the dissertation research methodology, to help the student determine if she or he requires the approval of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research at Lesley University before proceeding with data collection, and to evaluate the dissertation as a contribution to the field of educational studies.  The student convenes a final meeting during which the student will make an oral defense of the dissertation to committee members and the Director of the Ph.D. Program.  The student also makes a public presentation to the Lesley Community once the Committee has approved the dissertation.

Eligibility to Serve as Dissertation Committee Members

Dissertation Committee membership is recommended by the student and the Doctoral Committee Chair after the student has finished all the requirements of Phase II of the program. The committee is approved and appointed by the Director of the Ph.D. Program with the advice of the Advanced Graduate Council. One member of the committee should not have a major affiliation with Lesley College.

Faculty appointed as Dissertation Committee members must meet the following criteria:

• An earned doctorate, and
• Appointment as a full-time or pro rata assistant, associate or full professor (except for the one outside member).

The student's Doctoral Committee Chair usually chairs the Dissertation Committee. Members of the Dissertation Committee must demonstrate knowledge of the domain of study and be approved by the Director of the Ph.D. in Educational Studies Program.

Honorarium**

Committee members who are not Lesley faculty will receive an honorarium of $125 for each committee meeting they attend

**   Payment to Committee members for meetings with students are made upon notification from the student.  No form is required,  Students may send an email or written note to the Program Administrator of the Ph.D. Program listing committee member name, address, telephone number, social security number and the meeting date.  The Program Administrator will then complete and forward the appropriate payment voucher to the Lesley financial office.