MAJOR AREA PAPER (PRELIMINARY EXAM)
& PH.D COMMITTEE REQUIREMENTS
• The committee must be formed by the end of the second year (fourth semester).
• The supervising committee composed of 3 faculty members from the department and 1 faculty member (minor member) in a related but different field. The three P&N members must be primary members of the department (this includes joint members but not secondary faculty). However, in instances in which a P&N secondary faculty member has been approved as the student’s Faculty Mentor they count as one of the three primary P&N members. In most instances, the Administrative Chair of the committee will be selected by the student’s Faculty Mentor but cannot be the Faculty Mentor or the minor member. In these guidelines, 'Administrative Chair' refers to the chair of the examining committee, and 'Faculty Mentor' refers to the student’s intellectual advisor. Because P&N is quite broad, it is (under some circumstances) possible to have a P&N faculty member serve as the minor member of your committee. Students may also have more than 4 members on the committee if their Faculty Mentor feels that additional expertise and advice is needed.
We urge students to include faculty who will provide both depth and breadth of expertise. Student committees should include members who use different approaches, methods, perspectives, and perhaps even a different species. All of the members of the committee must be members of the graduate faculty at Duke University. Students and their Faculty Mentors should discuss who would be the best set of individuals for this role. Students should then provide the DGS with a list of potential committee members along with a written explanation of how both depth and breadth (of topic area, MAP Guidelines 2 approach, perspective, method) are reflected in the committee membership. Students should provide a rationale for including each member of the committee. This statement will then be used by the DGS to determine if the committee composition meets departmental approval. If it does not then an additional member or a substitute member can be suggested by the DGS.
Once approved, the DGS will nominate this list of individuals to the Dean of the Graduate School who must formally approve the committee. Students must have an approved committee not later than three months (90 days) before the preliminary examination (in this case, the oral defense of the MAP). The formal approval from the Graduate School often takes a few weeks and this formal approval must be in hand at least 60 days prior to defending your MAP.
• Once you have discussed your committee with your advisor and the potential members have agreed to serve, email the names, ranks, and department affiliations to Peggy, DGSA for the Clinical area, or to Tiffany, DGSA for the Developmental, Cognition/Cognitive Neuroscience, Social, and Systems and Integrative Neuroscience areas.
• The information will be entered on-line by the DGSA and forwarded to the DGS for approval.
• After it is approved by the DGS, it will be forwarded to the Graduate School Dean for approval.
• You must wait 60 days after the Dean approves your committee before you can defend your MAP. This is a Graduate School rule!
• Your MAP must be defended no later than the end of your 3rd year (sixth semester). This is a Graduate School rule!
• The Chair must be present at the exam.
• Only one committee member can participate in the exam via Skype or conference call if there are extenuating circumstances that prohibit physical attendance. This must be approved by the Graduate School Dean BEFORE the exam is held.
• If you hold an exam without all members of the committee present (unless prior arrangement has been made with the Graduate School Dean), the exam will be declared invalid by the Graduate School.
