College of Graduate Studies

Policy: Graduate Faculty and Graduate Faculty Scholars

The Graduate Faculty

Tenured, tenure-earning, ranked Clinical or ranked Research professors, ranked lecturers or ranked instructors, and ranked librarians are eligible for a Graduate Faculty appointment. A complete list of the Graduate Faculty may be found at the Graduate Faculty website. These faculty members usually hold a terminal degree in a discipline related to their area of participation and also possess current research and/or creative experience in their area of expertise since the last program review. Qualified graduate faculty members may be eligible to serve in more than one graduate program. Graduate faculty members who are outside of a student’s program are eligible to serve as external members of a thesis or dissertation advisory committee.

Special graduate faculty nominations may be made to the Graduate Council for Program Awards and Review at the discretion of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

All graduate faculty are eligible to teach graduate courses, serve as members of thesis and dissertation committees, and serve as chairs or co-chairs of thesis and dissertation committees.

Graduate Faculty Appointments

All participants in graduate-level instruction must first be appointed as Graduate Faculty, Graduate Faculty Scholar, or Graduate Faculty Scholar – Retired by a UCF graduate program. Thereafter, they will be evaluated for reappointment by the Graduate Council Program Review Committee whenever the nominating program is reviewed by the university as part of the seven-year program review cycle.

All Graduate Faculty appointments must be endorsed by the graduate program director, the chair of the unit overseeing the program and the academic college and then provided to the College of Graduate Studies. To request a Graduate Faculty appointment, contact your college’s graduate staff representative or email gradfac@ucf.edu.

Appointments will be reviewed and appointments made by the College of Graduate Studies. Once appointed, all Graduate Faculty will be listed on the Graduate Faculty website and are eligible to participate on a thesis or dissertation advisory committee at the university.

Graduate Faculty Scholars

Other qualified individuals may serve as Graduate Faculty Scholars in graduate faculty roles confined to specific, well-defined graduate faculty assignments. Graduate Faculty Scholars play important roles in graduate education at UCF, but their status as graduate faculty scholars is distinct from that of members of the Graduate Faculty. Graduate Faculty Scholars must be nominated through the Nomination and Appointment to Graduate Faculty Scholars form.

Vitae or resumes submitted with the Graduate Faculty Scholar nomination should contain the following information:

Record of a terminal degree or other evidence that justifies their appointment as a Graduate Faculty Scholar
Listing of graduate courses that they will teach and an indication of the time period over which these courses will be taught
Listing of supervisory committees for which the Graduate Faculty Scholar will serve and the approximate time commitment for this

Graduate Faculty Scholar – Retired

Graduate programs must submit a Nomination and Appointment for Graduate Faculty Scholar Retired form to request the appointment of an individual to Graduate Faculty Scholar Retired status following the faculty member’s retirement date. A Graduate Faculty Scholar – Retired may serve on a thesis or dissertation committee only after their official retirement date has passed, but they cannot serve as a thesis or dissertation committee chair.

Best Practices in Selecting Advisory Committees

All individuals chosen for committee service must have the proper appointment and be listed on the Graduate Faculty website prior to being appointed to a committee. Graduate Faculty approved by the university may chair a dissertation or thesis for any graduate program where they have the expertise, as judged by the graduate program committee and department chair. Chairs of thesis and dissertation committees must possess prior service on an advisory committee. Only outside members that have a reasonable chance and a strong desire to attend the dissertation or thesis defense should be chosen as a member of a thesis or dissertation committee.

The Doctoral and Thesis Advisory Committee Form must be used by graduate programs to inform the College of Graduate Studies about the formation or revision of a thesis or dissertation advisory committee.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee Requirements

At least 3 internal members (must be from the student’s program)
At least 1 external member, who can be:
- A UCF Graduate Faculty member from another program or college
- A Graduate Faculty Scholar from the same program/track
- An outside expert (must be nominated as a Graduate Faculty Scholar)

Master’s Thesis Committee Requirements

At least 3 members from the student’s program
An external member is optional but can be added as a 4^th member

Avoiding Conflict of Interest

Absolutely no relatives of the student are allowed on thesis or dissertation committees in any capacity and no relatives of the student can directly employ the student at the university. Also, Graduate Faculty and Graduate Faculty Scholars should not have any personal or financial arrangements (including employment) that may pose a conflict of interest with a student whose thesis or dissertation committee they serve on.