You have signed up for writing a thesis and you are getting more and more involved into the process. As it turned out, a thesis is not only about writing and researching. There are many other things to do before the actual research will begin. Choosing the members of your thesis committee is one of them.
At this moment, you probably know almost nothing about thesis committees. That is why let us give you some explanations.
Why is a thesis committee important?
In fact, a thesis committee is a group of people who will help you progress with your project. Yes, do not think that you will meet the members of the thesis committee only during the defense of your project. These people will be guiding you throughout research. Thesis committee members can help you at particular stages of your work and even provide you with moral support.
What are the strategies of selecting thesis committee members?
There are two major rules that you should keep in mind when making your choice:
- Make sure that the thesis committee members do not have some sort of “issues” between each other. You are going to be a team, and some personal disputes will not contribute to the overall progress.
- Thesis committee members should be experts in your research area or some related fields.
Hence, we suggest you consult your supervisor (who will also be a member of the thesis committee) on the leading experts in your field.
Changes to a thesis committee
We hope that the decision to change your thesis committee will not come into your mind. It is not easy to do, since you will have to provide exhaustive explanations for such a decision of yours.
You can find information about a dissertation committee on our blog. This article can give answers to some of your questions. Do you know who else can help you cope with thesis writing? Read our article about thesis editors.
