DNP Students: Student Advisement - Supervisory Committee

DNP Students: Student Advisement - Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee takes over the role of the faculty advisor and guides the student's program of study through conferral of the doctoral degree. Students are encouraged to select their Supervisory Chairperson and Supervisory Committee early in their course of study. The student's initial faculty advisor may or may not be a member of the Supervisory Committee - this is an open decision for the student.

Supervisory Committee Responsibilities:

Advises and mentors the student through the doctoral program using various mentoring resources.
Works together with the student to discuss and plan choices in course work and capstone project work, and to explore specific areas of study that will support individual educational goals;
Submits, through the chair, quarterly progress notes to the student's file;
Evaluates the proposed program of study using a set of established guidelines;
Formally approves the student's program of study for the student file;
Plans and conducts oral and written General Examinations;
Guides capstone project;recommends the capstone project for approval and the student for the doctoral degree;
Conducts final examination.

The Supervisory Committee must meet at least three times:

To approve the program of study (can be done over e-mail)
To conduct the general examination (GSR must be present)
To conduct the final examination (GSR must be present)

Composition of Supervisory Committee:
All supervisory committees must have a chair, at least two members, and a GSR. Students may recommend three to six members for the Supervisory Committee, not including the Graduate School Representative (GSR). Committee members (excluding the GSR) should be chosen for the areas of expertise they bring to the student’s interests. For students seeking specialty preperation, one member must be knowledgeable in the specialty curriculum.

The Committee Chair:
Must be a member of Graduate Faculty at Seattle campus and have an endorsement to chair doctoral committees.

Committee Members:
Should be chosen for the areas of expertise they bring to the student's interests. Each committee must have at least two members. A majority of the committee members must be faculty from the School of Nursing. One must be a Graduate Faculty member, the other member does not need to be Graduate Faculty. One of the committee members may be from a related field (a discipline other than nursing).

The Graduate School Representative (GSR):
Is a required member of all committees, and is described in detail in Graduate School Memorandum 13. All GSRs must be graduate faculty and have an endorsement to chair doctoral committees. Your Chair and GSR can not have appointments within the same departments.

Dynamics:
Consider the ability of selected members to work together as well as required expertise. The student and Committee will develop approaches for working together that blend the individual student's needs as well as academic scholarship guidance and evaluation expected of the Committee by the University. Ongoing discussions, negotiations and clarifications of strategies and expectations are important processes between the student and Committee to assure the best functioning for meeting overall goals.

Graduate School Requirements:
Students must adhere to University of Washington Graduate School Memorandum No. 13 in selecting faculty members to be recommended for the Supervisory Committee. The Memorandum discusses in detail the process of selecting a committee, the role of the Graduate School Representative (GSR), and the process of general and final examinations.

Steps in the Appointment of the Supervisory Committee

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