Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, and admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the responsibilities of the advisory committee have been discharged, and that committee is technically disbanded.

A new committee—the Research Committee—must be appointed for the purpose of guiding the candidate's dissertation research. In many instances the members of the advisory committee become members of the research committee. However, the actual makeup of the research committee will be determined by the nature of the research to be pursued and the interests and qualifications of faculty.

To initiate research for the dissertation, the student chooses a professor who will agree to direct the dissertation and serve as the Chair of the student’s Research Committee. 

The committee should be selected from the members of the graduate faculty who are best qualified to assist the student in conducting the research for the dissertation. The committee has the responsibility of supervising the research, reading the dissertation, and conducting the final examination (i.e., the dissertation defense).

All members of a research committee must be members of the graduate faculty. At least half of the members of the committee (which include the Chair and if applicable, Co-Chair) must be members of Graduate Faculty with the Endorsement to direct doctoral dissertations; others may be regular members of Graduate Faculty.

Information regarding the eligibility of faculty to serve on the dissertation research committee may be found on the Graduate School-IU Bloomington’s website at  https://graduate.indiana.edu/faculty-staff-intranet/membership.html

Students are eligible to defend their final dissertation defense no earlier than six (6) months after the approval of the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc.

The Research Committee must be composed of at least Four (4) members of Indiana University Graduate Faculty, within the following stipulations:

1. The chosen chair or co-chairs must be from the major department.

• All chairpersons of research committees must be members of the graduate faculty with the endorsement to direct doctoral dissertations. The endorsement is reserved for tenure-track faculty with a regular appointment at Indiana University and is granted separately from graduate faculty status.
• If, however, special expertise in an area is held by a member of the graduate faculty who does not have the endorsement, the departmental chairperson may request that the dean of the Graduate School-Bloomington approve such an individual as research committee chairperson.

2. Two or more additional faculty members from the major department

• SPH-B has been approved for a permanent exception, such that in cases where it would be in the best interest of the student’s dissertation research, one additional member can be from outside the major department within SPH-B.

3. A representative of each minor

• In the event that the dissertation research does not involve the area(s) of the minor(s) whether outside or inside the department, the major department may request, with the consent of the minor-field representative(s), the substitution of a representative or of representatives within Indiana University from some other field(s) more appropriate to the topic of the dissertation.

 Additional Faculty Members from Universities outside of Indiana University:

Faculty members from universities outside of IU are permitted to serve on the research committee, but the composition of the committee must still have four (4) members from Graduate Faculty from IU as stated above.

The outside faculty member’s current Curriculum Vitae (CV) must be attached to the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc.

It is strongly encouraged (although not required), for SPH doctoral candidates to invite a 5th faculty member, from an outside university, to serve on their Research Committee, with both SPH and Graduate School of IU Bloomington   approval (please see below).

Outside-of-IU Members (External Examiners) on Doctoral Research Committees:

In most European universities, it is common that an additional faculty member from outside the university participates in a student’s Doctoral Research Committee.  The degree of ceremony and rigor in examining doctoral students in their defenses can be much greater when an additional outside faculty member is included.

This may also make the ceremony more memorable and meaningful for the doctoral candidate and may also serve as a way to connect to extraordinary senior scholars from around the world.

How to include an Outside-of-IU External Examiner on your Research Committee:

1. Students and their advisors should discuss the benefits of including an external examiner and work together to identify a suitable individual if desired.

2. Students may apply for a $500 award to support their dissertation research by articulating the benefit of having an external examiner as a part of their dissertation committee.

• The participating examiner will receive a $500 honorarium.
• Not all students who apply will receive funding and support. Applications will be judged based on the quality and rigor of the research and the academic reputation of the chosen external examiner and their institution. 
• The external examiner will be allowed to attend the defense virtually if they wish. However, if the examiner wishes to come to campus, the benefits of in-person attendance must be outlined in the doctoral student’s application. Travel costs for their in-person attendance will be covered by SPH.

Full procedure to apply for the $500 award:

• Students can apply for the $500 award to support their dissertation research by articulating in a brief proposal the benefit of having an external person on their dissertation committee.
• The proposal should be sent by email to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education (jtmacy@indiana.edu).
• If approved, the external person will receive a $500 honorarium (in addition to the student’s $500 award).
• If the external person wishes to come to campus for the defense, the benefits of in-person attendance must be outlined in the doctoral student’s proposal. For example, the person could give a departmental talk on a topic of interest while they are here.

3. Once an external examiner is determined, and has agreed to serve on the committee, and the student's application for SPH's support of the external examiner is approved, the student shall obtain the external examiner’s most recent copy of their Curriculum Vitae (CV).
   • When the student completes the Nomination of Research Committee (NORC) eDoc (detailed on this page: https://bulletins.iu.edu/iub/phb/2023-2024/policies/doctoral/nomination-of-research-committee.shtml), they will attach the CV to the eDoc and include the external examiner’s full name in the “Outside Committee Members” section of the eDoc.

IU Faculty Members who are not members of IU Graduate Faculty:

When applicable, in addition to the four (4) IU faculty who are Graduate Faculty/endorsed, students may also nominate other IU faculty who are not on the Graduate Faculty list, to serve as an extra faculty member on the Doctoral Research Committee with Graduate School of IU Bloomington approval.  A faculty member in this category would not be considered an external examiner, thus students would not be eligible for the financial support of an external examiner for including this type of faculty member.

Any extra faculty members who work at IU, (who are not members of IU Graduate Faculty) should be included in the “Outside Committee Members” section of the Nomination of Research Committee (NORC) eDoc, and their most recent Curriculum Vitae (CV) should be attached to the eDoc.

Nomination of Research Committee eDoc:

Following official admission to candidacy, the doctoral candidate completes the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc with the University Graduate School (UGS) at https://one.iu.edu/task/iupui/phd-nomination-of-research-committee.

•  A summary of the proposed dissertation (as a prospectus) must be attached to the eDoc prior to submitting it.
• IRB approval (if the research involves human or animal subjects) should be attached if it has already been obtained at the time of turning in this eDoc as well.
• Here is a link to IUB’s Research Compliance information: https://research.iu.edu/compliance/human- subjects/index.html
• It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their research is in compliance with IU’s Research Compliance requirements, and research must not begin until compliance is verified by the IRB.