Committee Composition for First- and Second-Year Reviews

All doctoral First-Year Review committees in the GSE must have 2-3 faculty members. Each Area may have additional specifications for committee composition, so please see those sections.

All doctoral Second-Year Review committees in the GSE must have at least three members. At least two members must be active GSE faculty and members of the Stanford Academic Council (AC). A third member of the committee may be a GSE faculty retiree (i.e., emeritus) or an active Academic Council member from another Stanford department or school. This does not require special approval. Each Area may have additional specifications for committee composition, so please see those sections.

Situations other than the above are exceptions and require approval by the Area Chair and the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs. Exceptions include having fewer than two active GSE AC members or adding a member who is a Stanford lecturer, a faculty member at another university, or a PhD holder from outside the academy (i.e., not an active member of the Stanford AC). The student’s advisor should email the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs and Area Chair requesting any exceptions to this policy and include a rationale statement (e.g., the non-AC member offers an area of expertise that is relevant to the review and that is not readily available from the current faculty).