PHD Student handbook

Each semester, you will get a registration appointment from the Registrar’s Office, which is when you can start enrolling in courses for the next term. If you do not get one, contact the Registrar’s Office on campus (222 Criser Hall), by telephone (352 392 1374), or online by clicking this link: tinyurl.com/contact-registrar. Before registering for courses, check with your academic advisor. Depending on your degree program, your advisor may be your supervisory committee chair, graduate coordinator, or a graduate staffer. In cases where a course’s section number is “departmentally controlled” (not published in the Schedule of Courses), you will need to contact its department to get that number to register for it. After checking with your academic advisor, you can register for courses and check class schedules, fee assessments, and grades online via the ONE.UF website. Click this online link for it: one.uf.edu. Please pay attention to your registration appointment time, as well as the registration and fee payment deadlines on the UF academic calendar, to avoid late fee penalties. ONE.UF provides confirmation of your registration transactions. If you do not get a confirmation, your registration transaction has not been completed. If that happens, or you have any questions about the registration process, contact your degree program’s graduate coordinator or graduate staffers for help. Make a habit of confirming your enrollment via ONE. UF during the registration and drop/add periods each semester to avoid errors and correct any right away.

Minimum registration for UF graduate students is three credits during Fall Semester or Spring Semester and two credits during Summer Semester. Full-time registration is at least nine credits during any semester. To have access to UF facilities (laboratories, libraries, studios, and the like) and faculty time, you must be enrolled. Assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and other forms of financial aid set their own minimum registration requirements. Please make sure you register for the minimum they require to remain on appointment or receive funding. If you drop below their minimum registration requirements at any time during the semester, you will have to pay for that semester’s tuition and fees. During the term you take your final examination and during the term your degree is awarded, you must be registered for at least three credits in fall or spring, or two credits in summer. Thesis students must enroll in 6971, and doctoral students must enroll in 7890. Project students must take three credits of 6973/6979 (Project in Lieu of Thesis) in their final term (fall or spring) or two credits (if the final term is summer). Non-thesis students must enroll in course work that counts toward the graduate degree. Students on a fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship must be registered appropriately for their appointments. All exceptions to minimum registration requirements must be approved your graduate coordinator, college dean, and the Graduate School. For complete details on registration requirements, including definitions of “full-time” or “full-time equivalents,” read “Registration Requirements” on the Graduate Academic Regulations webpage at this online link: go.ufl.edu/gar. If you have any question about your registration requirements, check with the graduate coordinator or graduate staffer in your degree program.

The Graduate School’s Office of Graduate Professional Development (OGPD) offers many resources to help you develop professional, communication, and leadership skills to prepare for the workforce and launch your career. To learn more, click this online link to its website: go.ufl.edu/ogpd. The UF Career Connection Center (C3) helps you to:

• Explore careers inside and outside academia by assessing your strengths, skills, and interests.

• Prepare for internship and job searches through development of application materials (like curricula vitae, résumés, and cover letters) and interview/ networking skills.

• Cultivate flexible, adaptable career planning strategies to meet the challenges of a competitive job market and a changing world.

To learn more about C3’s resources and services for individuals and groups, click this online link to its website: go.ufl.edu/ccc.

Its Gator CareerLink service is an online portal that connects you to academic, government, and industry job openings, on-campus interview opportunities, and other career-related events hosted by C3. To learn more, click this online link: go.ufl.edu/ccc-link.

Its Career Action Plan service helps you to learn about yourself, match your interests and aspirations with career paths, develop professional strategies, and build experience. To learn more, click this online link: go.ufl. edu/ccc-plan.

Its seasonal Career Fairs help you network, all in one place at the same time, with numerous employers looking to hire. The largest fair, Career Showcase, is held every fall and spring. To learn more, click on this online link: go.ufl.edu/ccc-fairs. Its Workshop Series equips you for your job search with helpful information and advice on writing your curriculum vitae or résumé, creating professional portfolios, preparing for interviews, and exploring both academic and non-academic career paths. To learn more, click on this online link: go.ufl.edu/ccc-workshops. To find out how the UF Career Connections Center can help meet your specific needs, contact them online: go.ufl.edu/ccc-contact.

If you want to move from a graduate degree program in one major into a graduate degree program in another major, submit a new graduate admission application through the UF Office of Admissions website at this online link: go.ufl.edu/grad-app.

If you are advancing from a master’s degree program to a Ph.D. degree program within the same major, contact the graduate staff for those degree programs and ask them to add the new degree program to your current active student record in the Student Information System (SIS).

If you are no longer pursuing a graduate degree program in a particular major, contact the graduate staff for that degree program and ask them to discontinue that degree program in your student record in the Student Information System (SIS).

Any changes to degree programs, including thesis/ non-thesis/project option, must occur before the midpoint deadline published in the Graduate Catalog’s academic calendar for your final term.

The University of Florida is committed to treating all members of the campus community fairly and considerately when it comes to conflict resolution.

UF has mechanisms in place to ensure that you are given adequate opportunity to raise concerns (aside from grades) before university administrators if you feel that you have experienced unfair treatment or undue hardship, such as academic issues, discrimination, employment problems, scholarly misconduct, or sexual harassment.

Your degree program, department, or college may have their own specific conflict resolution procedures as well, so be sure to check with those units. If academic conflicts arise, here are the steps you can take to address and resolve them:

1. Communicating promptly and proactively is key. As soon as you become aware of activity or circumstances that cause you concern, speak to the individuals involved, your department’s graduate coordinator, or your supervisory committee chair, to see if you can resolve the conflict informally. You may wish to present your concerns in writing to the individuals alleged to have caused a conflict. Those individuals must respond either orally or in writing.

2. If Step 1 does not resolve the conflict to your satisfaction, submit a written grievance and supporting documentation to your department chair or designated representative, who must respond to you in writing in a timely fashion.

3. If Step 2 does not resolve the conflict to your satisfaction, submit your written grievance and support documentation to your college’s graduate associate dean, who will investigate the matter and respond to you in writing within a reasonable time frame.

4. If Step 3 does not resolve the conflict to your satisfaction and the issue includes questions of fairness, justice, discrimination, or similar concerns, submit your written grievance and support documentation to the UF Office of the Ombuds. You can only take this step after you have gone through Steps 1 through 3. Appeals to and decisions of the Ombuds are final. For more information, click this online link to the Ombuds website: go.ufl.edu/ombuds.

For graduate assistants, most employment-related grievances are covered by Article 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Florida Board of Education of the State University System and Graduate Assistants United (GAU). In such cases, call the GAU office at 352-392-0274 or UF Human Resources at 352- 392-2477 for information and instructions. In cases of research misconduct, consult UF Research Integrity before lodging a formal complaint, by clicking on this online link: go.ufl.edu/integrity. Any follow-up formal complaints would go to the administrator (department chair or dean, for example) to whom the accused party reports. If you have questions, problems, or complaints with other aspects of student life, consult the UF Dean of Students Office: go.ufl.edu/dso.

Although you may have fulfilled all academic requirements for your degree, your degree is not awarded until the Graduate School certifies your graduation to the Office of the University Registrar. Certification happens at the end of Fall, Spring, and Summer C Semesters for all students who applied to graduate in those terms. Some employers and licensing boards require the degree award date on your transcript, which is available the day after certification in December, May, and August.

Assistantships

An assistantship provides funding in exchange for working as a teaching assistant, doing research, or performing other job duties for the sponsoring academic unit. At UF, assistantships typically include a stipend (biweekly paycheck), a tuition waiver at in-state rates, and health insurance coverage. Assistantships are awarded through departments and schools. Check with your degree program for details.

Fellowships

Some fellowships are long-term, competitive, merit-based funding awarded to support you full-time while you concentrate on your studies. They usually include a stipend, tuition waiver at in-state rates, fee waivers, and health insurance over a number of years. Other fellowships are short-term and may only offer partial funding to cover costs during the dissertation phase of your Ph.D. program. Fellowships do not require repayment. Some fellowships are funded through departments and colleges at UF. Others are funded by outside sources. Each fellowship has its own eligibility requirements and application deadlines. 

Grants

Grants are usually a limited, need-based source of financial aid that require no repayment. One example is the UF Graduate Grant listed on the UF Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships website at this online link: go.ufl.edu/grants.

Loans

Loans are a form of financial aid where you borrow money and must pay it back. Options at UF include Unsubsidized Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans. To learn more about Unsubsidized Loans, go online to go.ufl. edu/loans. To learn more about Graduate PLUS Loans, go online to this link: go.ufl.edu/gradplus.

Scholarships

Scholarships come in many forms, amounts, and durations from many different sources. Some are need-based and others are merit-based. They provide financial aid money that you do not need to repay. UF’s Scholarship Search Engine can help you find available scholarships for graduate students at this online link: go.ufl.edu/scholarships.

For More Information

To learn more about graduate student funding…

• Contact the degree program to which you are applying.

• Visit the UF Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships website at go.ufl.edu/sfa.

• Visit the UF Graduate School Funding webpage at go.ufl.edu/gradfund.

Communicating Technology Policy

AEC6932 – Food, Community & Justice (This Course Can Be Swapped With Approved Other Depending On Student’s Interests (e.g., EEX 6525 Disability Policy and Legislation)

MMC 6936 –  Communicating Privacy

PUP 6009 – Public Policy Analysis

Using technology to support collaboration in life-science research

CAP 5510 Bioinformatics

EAB6099 Survey of Behavioral Analysis

MMC 6409 Science/Health Communication

Disabilities in Society

EEX 6099: Social Perspectives on Disability

EEX 6525: Disability Policy and Legislation

EEX 6778: Community and Work Access for Individuals with Disabilities

EEX 6930: Seminar in Disabilities

Engineering Entrepreneurship

EGN6640 Entrepreneurship For Engineers

EGN6642 Engineering Innovation EGS6039 Engineering Leadership

CIS6930 Recent Advances In Social Network Computing

IS 6930: Dept/Cis 4930 – 9024 Data Mining Information Security CNT5410

Advanced Network Security

CIS5370 Advanced Systems Security

CIS5371 Introduction To Modern Cryptography

CIS6930 Cellular And Mobile Network Security

CIS6930 Embedded Systems Security

CAP6930 Malware Reverse Engineering

EEL6935 Cross Layered Computer Security

CIS6XXX Penetration Testing And Ethical Hacking

Data Science

CAP4770/CAP5771 Introduction To Data Science

COP5725 Data Management Systems Or Cap6610 Machine Learning

ISM6405+ISM6423 Introduction To Business Intelligence/Data Mining For Business Intelligence

CAP5100/DIG6125c Human Computer Interactions/Digital Design And Visualization

LAW6930 Electronic Discovery Data Analysis And Review

LIN6773 Topics In Computational Linguistics

STA6466-7 Probability Theory I And Ii

STA7346 Statistical Inference I

STA7934 Mcmc Methods In Statistical Inference

EIN6905 Data Analysis And Data Mining In Systems Engineering

CAP6769 Advanced Topics In Data Science

K-12 Teaching With Technology

EME5404 Instructional Computing Ii: Media Ecologies And Open Education

EME5207 Designing Technology-Rich Curricula

EME5405 Internet In K-12 Instruction

EME6059 Blended Learning Environments

Instructional Design

EME6208 Designing Integrated Media Environments I

EME6606 Advanced Instructional Design

EME6235 Managing Educational Projects

EME6609 Instructional Design

Managing Distance Education Environments

EME6609 Instructional Design

EME6235 Managing Educational Projects

EME6458 Distance Teaching And Learning

EME6236 Distance Education Leadership And Management

Online Teaching And Learning

EME6609 Instructional Design

EME6458 Distance Teaching And Learning

EME6059 Blended Learning Environments

EME6208 Designing Integrated Media Environments

The Graduate School’s Graduate Student Success Center offers a variety of opportunities for graduate student engagement, such as the Organization for Graduate Student Advancement and Professional Development (go.ufl.edu/ogap).

The Graduate Student Council (GSC) serves as a liaison between UF graduate students, UF administration, and UF Student Government. It sponsors and coordinates various activities to enhance graduate student networking and advancement, including a domestic and international travel grant program to help you travel for conferences and professional development opportunities. Click this online link to learn more: go.ufl.edu/gsc.

Graduate Assistants United (GAU) represents graduate assistants in collective bargaining union negotiations over wages, credits, and other employment issues. It also serves as an advocate for graduate assistants with employment grievances, publishes a newsletter, maintains an email list, and hosts social events. Click this online link to learn more: tinyurl.com/ufgau.

UF Student Government advocates for student interests at UF through its executive, legislative, and judicial branches, funding a bevy of organizations and activities on campus — including the Graduate Student Council (GSC). A proportionate share of seats in its Senate are reserved for graduate student representatives, to ensure that graduate student voices, concerns, and input are heard in the legislative process. Click on this online link to learn more: go.ufl.edu/sg.

Other student networks through the UF Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement include:

• Office of Asian Pacific Islander Desi Student Engagement: go.ufl.edu/apidse.

• Office of Black Student Engagement: go.ufl.edu/bse.

• Office of Hispanic-Latinx Student Engagement: go.ufl.edu/hlse.

• Office of LGBTQ+ Student Engagement: go.ufl.edu/lgbtqse.

UF awards degrees after each semester in December, May, and August. Please note that commencement (a graduation ceremony) and graduation (the actual awarding of a degree) are not the same thing. You are not officially graduated until the Graduate School certifies that you met all degree requirements and the Registrar’s Office updates your transcript. Diplomas are delivered afterwards.

The Semester Before You Plan on Graduating

The semester before you plan on graduating, check with your degree program to:

• Make sure all Incomplete (I) grades and other unresolved or ineligible grades are cleared up.

• Make sure any needed grade changes have been made.

• Make sure your degree program and supervisory committee information in the Student Information System (SIS) and Graduate Information Management System (GIMS) is accurate.

Please note: If you are a student in a non-thesis master’s degree program, entering supervisory committee data into GIMS is optional. Check with your degree program.

The Semester You Plan on Graduating

The semester you plan on graduating, submit a degree application online as early as possible online through the ONE.UF website, before the deadline published in the UF calendar and the Graduate School calendar in the Graduate Catalog. If you do not apply by that deadline, you cannot graduate that semester. Click this online link for the ONE.UF website: one.uf.edu.

If you are in a concurrent degree program and expect to graduate with both degrees at the end of the same semester, you need to submit degree applications for both degrees.

The degree application:

• Ensures that your name is on the graduation lists for that semester.

• Confirms your name for placement on your diploma and in the commencement program.

• Puts your name on the list to receive information about commencement ceremonies, including rental or purchase of graduation regalia, such as cap, hood, and gown.

Your degree application will not “roll over” from one semester to another. If you do not graduate one semester, you must submit a new degree application for the next semester you plan on graduating.

During the semester you plan on graduating, you must register for at least three credits for Fall or Spring Semester, or two credits for Summer Semester. If you are on an assistantship, fellowship, or traineeship, you may have to register for more credits to meet their minimum enrollment requirements.

During the semester you plan on graduating, you must complete satisfactory performance on your final examination or defense, plus final submission of your corrected thesis or dissertation, by the deadlines in the Graduate School calendar in the Graduate Catalog.

At the End of Your Graduating Semester

The Registrar’s Office posts your graduation date and degree earned on your transcript after graduation certification is finished. Updated transcripts are usually available the day after graduation certification.

Diplomas are ordered after the semester is over. About eight weeks after graduation, yours will be sent to your permanent home address on file at the Registrar’s Office — so well before graduation, please verify (and, if needed, update) your permanent home address by clicking on this online link: go.ufl.edu/address.

Being proactive about taking care of yourself as a graduate student is vital to your academic performance and balanced, well-adjusted living. UF offers a number of services and resources to help keep you well in body, mind, and spirit.

The UF Student Health Care Center offers a broad variety of medical services to meet your personal healthcare needs, including primary care, specialty care, urgent and emergency care, immunizations, allergy treatment, telehealth consultations, a full-service pharmacy, and more. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/shcc.

The UF Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) provides wide-ranging confidential services to support and enhance your mental health and emotional balance as a graduate student. Its in-person and online offerings include crisis support, one-on-one counseling, group therapy, couples counseling, addiction recovery support, anxiety reduction, personal growth workshops, and much more. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/cwc.

U Matter We Care gets you in touch with education, training, programs, resources, and support networks to help you care for yourself and others amid the challenges of graduate student life. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/umwc.

UF GatorWell provides information, insight, and coaching on how to prioritize your well-being by developing healthy habits that enhance your time management, stress reduction, sleep, and social life. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/gwell.

UF RecSports helps keep you physically fit and socially active through programs, resources, and services focused on exercise, nutrition, sports, outdoor recreation, and more. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/recsport.

The UF Campus Multi-Faith Cooperative connects you with faith and fellowship within a diverse spectrum of religious traditions to provide spiritual nurture while you pursue your graduate studies. Click this online link to find out more: go.ufl.edu/cmc. Also, check out UF Faith Groups at this online link: go.ufl.edu/faith.

 

If you need to take a leave of absence from your degree program for three or more consecutive semesters, make sure you get written approval from your degree program before you leave.

To return from a leave of absence, you will need to submit a readmission application. For more information on that process, please see the “Readmission” section in this handbook.

If you need to take a leave of absence from a graduate assistantship or other campus-related employment, please contact the human resources staffer in your degree program’s unit and UF Human Resources (hr.ufl. edu) to find out policies and procedures beforehand.

These expectations are not final, prescriptive, or perfect. Your mileage may vary. Example qualifying exams are available in case you would like to see them. [LINK]

 

Section	What the proposal should demonstrate
Introduction	Does the section tell a story? Who cares? Does the story relate the work to the “bigger picture” or broader impacts?
Background	Do the references tell an accurate story of the current state of research in this field? Are there enough references? Are the references outdated? Does the background cover similar concepts that may exist in other domains? Are ”broad terms” (emotion, realism, presence, immersion, etc.) defined?
Prior Work	Are the conclusions gleaned from the previous work sufficient to motivate the proposed work?
Proposed Work	Are the research questions appropriate for this line of inquiry? Are the research questions specific enough to be investigated? Will the proposed experiment adequately answer the research questions? Is the experiment as tightly controlled as possible? Does the proposed experimental procedure introduce new variables? Are the evaluation metrics appropriate? Is there an established ground truth? Is the experimental procedure well-described? Is the appropriate kind of data collected? Are there plans in case of unexpected events? For user-reported data, is there a plan to minimize response subjectivity?
Conclusion	Does the proposed work match the claims of the title and introduction? Does the work deliver on its promises? Are the distinct contributions to the field listed?

 

These expectations are not final, prescriptive, or perfect. Your mileage may vary.

The HCC@UF Faculty would like you to keep in mind that there is a range of methodological rigor in identifying your list of papers. You can use highly formal protocols, such as PRISMA guidelines to create a systematic or scoping review. If you strongly want to publish your literature review as a standalone paper, you may need to do this (but first, identify where you would publish it, since many venues don’t take surveys/lit reviews, and those that do have “norms” that they expect you to follow). You do not have to follow a formal methodology for identifying your reading list for the qualifying exam. In fact, a majority of qualifying exams by students in CISE will not be a formal literature review methodology. You could identify papers through a more organic process such as when you read the papers most closely related to yours, you can extract the foundational literature those papers build on/cite. Your advisor may also help you identify categories or sub-areas in which you want to write papers. Think of your qualifying exam as covering the literature you want to know well in order to achieve your goals moving forward. The stage at which your committee approves these areas is the reading list stage.

Qualifying Exam Flowchart: [LINK]

Example qualifying exams are available in case you would like to see them. [LINK]

 

Evaluation area	What the qualifying exam should demonstrate
Clear purpose, scope, and contribution	The student clearly states the topic, why it matters, what is in and out of scope, and what contribution the review makes. The review should justify why this body of literature is worth examining, not merely summarize an area that is already well covered.
Transparent paper-selection process	The student explains how papers were found, included, excluded, sorted, and filtered. The process does not need to be formal, but it must be clear enough that the committee can understand what was reviewed and why.
Appropriate breadth and fit of the literature	The reading list should cover the relevant terrain without becoming unfocused. It should show breadth, include the right sub-areas, and fit the student’s research goals.
Deep synthesis, not a book report	The exam should compare, connect, and analyze the literature. It should organize papers into meaningful categories, explain relationships among studies, surface disagreements and assumptions, and draw nontrivial insights.
Evidence-based claims with clear limits	Claims should be supported by the reviewed literature. The student should distinguish between what individual papers claim, what the student’s synthesis supports, and what remains speculation. The review should acknowledge complexity and avoid overclaiming.
Clear findings, gaps, and future direction	The review should lead somewhere. It should identify findings from the analysis and use them to motivate a gap, opportunity, research direction, or promising future work.
Coherent, readable scholarly writing	The paper should be logically organized, readable, carefully revised, and technically precise. Writing quality should support the argument rather than distract from it.
Committee alignment and readiness to discuss the field	The qual is part of the student’s development. The student should work with the committee to define the area and should be ready to answer questions that test the edges of their understanding.

 

Instead of emailing PDFs back and forth to obtain signatures on committee forms and other documents, students can use DocuSign to streamline the signing and approval process.

For instructions on accessing DocuSign and requesting permission to send documents, please visit the UF DocuSign Instructions and Training page.

Important: Please ensure that Adrienne Cook is included as a recipient when sending committee forms and other documents through DocuSign.

Petitions are requests for an exception to current UF or Graduate School policy due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the student, degree program, department, or college.

If you need a petition, your graduate coordinator or staffer will initiate it for you, and get college approval for it, before submitting it for you to the Graduate School.

The Graduate School will notify your degree program via email about the decision made on your petition, so be sure to check back with your graduate coordinator or staffer about the outcome.

If you are seeking a refund of fees as part of the petition, you may need to complete a separate petition packet through the Registrar’s Office after the Graduate School has acted on your petition. For information and instructions on petitioning for fee refunds, click this online link: go.ufl.edu/petitions.

Residency refers to your status as an in-state Florida resident or an out-of-state resident. It affects what tuition and fees you pay. Because UF is a state institution, Florida residents pay less tuition and fees per credit hour than non-Florida residents.

The UF Office of Admissions determines your residency status when you first apply for graduate admission to UF. Once you finish your first semester at UF, you can request a change in your residency status through the UF Office of the University Registrar.For more information on residency policies and procedures, click this online link: go.ufl.edu/residency.

UF regulations require that all research projects involving human or animal subjects be reviewed, even if the research does not involve experimentation, is purely observational, or seems totally harmless. This applies whether or not the research project is funded.

Graduate research that will involve collecting data using human or animal subjects must be approved before the project begins by one of three boards outside of the academic unit. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews all research involving humans, through three IRB offices:

• IRB-01 (telephone number 352 273 9600) reviews research at the Health Science Center, Shands HealthCare Inc., and the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital conducted by faculty or staff working at those facilities.

• IRB-02 (telephone number 352 392 0433) reviews all other nonmedical research involving human subjects.

• IRB-03 (telephone number 904 244 5310) reviews research for the University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. For more information and forms, click this online link: go.ufl.edu/irb.

The Institution Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) reviews all research involving animals. For more information, guidelines, and forms, click this online link: go.ufl.edu/iacuc.

Your supervisory committee is a team of graduate faculty members who oversee and mentor your progress through your graduate degree program, setting criteria and goals to ensure the integrity of your course work and research.

Once you and your degree program determine the membership of your supervisory committee, your program will enters your supervisory committee into GIMS (Graduate Student Management System) for you. Your supervisory committee is to be appointment as soon as possible after your admission as a graduate student and no later than your second semester of graduate enrollment.

Members of supervisory committees must be UF faculty members with graduate faculty status or special appointments made by your degree program. The Dean of the Graduate School is an ex officio member of all supervisory committees.

Supervisory Committee: Doctoral Degree

If you are a student in a doctoral degree program, your supervisory committee must have at least four members:

• A chair (who must have graduate faculty status in your degree program’s home unit).

• A co-chair or member (who must have graduate faculty status in your degree program’s home unit).

• A member (who must have graduate faculty status in any UF unit).

• An external (who must have graduate faculty status in any UF unit except for your own degree program’s home unit).

If you are pursuing a minor, one of the members on your supervisory committee must have graduate faculty status in that minor’s home unit. If you are pursuing more than one minor, you must have a graduate faculty member from each minor’s home unit on your supervisory committee.

Supervisory Committee:

Master’s Degree with Thesis

If you are a student in a thesis master’s degree program, your supervisory committee must have at least two members:

• A chair (who must have graduate faculty status in your degree program’s home unit).

• A member (who must have graduate faculty status in any UF unit). If you are pursuing a minor, one of the members on your supervisory committee must have graduate faculty status in that minor’s home unit.

If you are pursuing more than one minor, you must have a graduate faculty member from each minor’s home unit on your supervisory committee.

Supervisory Committee:

Master’s Degree without Thesis

If you are a student in a non-thesis master’s degree program, please check with your unit, since non-thesis programs may choose to have a formal supervisory committee or alternative over-sight determined by its graduate faculty and in line with its policies. Whether you have a supervisory committee or alternative oversight, if you are pursuing a minor, you must have someone with graduate faculty status in that minor’s home unit overseeing your work in that minor.

Special Appointments to Supervisory Committees

Special appointments enable qualified individuals who do not have graduate faculty status at UF to serve as guest experts on your supervisory committees. They are made individually, on a case by case basis, per your degree program unit’s approval.

Special appointments do not count toward the required minimum of members for a valid supervisory committee (which must be filled by current UF graduate faculty), and they cannot serve as chairs, co-chairs, or externals on supervisory committees (only as members).

Check with your supervisory committee chair, graduate coordinator, and/or graduate staffer about adding a special appointment to your supervisory committee, as your degree program’s unit must do this for you on GIMS (Graduate Student Management System).

Changing Your Supervisory Committee

Changes to your supervisory committee must be made in consultation with your degree program’s unit and are allowed up to the midpoint deadline of the semester when you plan on graduating, so long as your final defense has not taken place. No changes are allowed after the defense. Please check with your degree program’s unit for more information.

You may be denied further enrollment if your progress toward completing your degree program becomes unsatisfactory in the eyes of your department, school, college, or the Graduate School. Unsatisfactory scholarship is defined as failure to maintain at least a 3.00 grade point average in all course work you attempt, as well as failure to meet curricular or research goals set by your degree program. If your grade point average falls below 3.00, you may not hold an assistantship or fellowship. You cannot graduate with your degree if your overall and major grade point averages (and minor grade point average, if you pursue a minor) fall below 3.00. At UF, grade point averages are truncated, not rounded, which means that a 2.97 grade point average is reckoned as 2.9, not as 3.0.