The Homewood Graduate Board is responsible for the administration of policies and procedures for the award Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, and for master’s degrees in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Purpose

The Homewood Graduate Board is a subcommittee of the Academic Council of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. The first Ph.D.s and M.A.s were awarded in the School of Arts and Sciences. The Homewood Graduate Board is responsible for the administration of policies and procedures for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering.

It is the responsibility of the Homewood Graduate Board to:

  • Recommend to the Doctor of Philosophy Board all KSAS and WSE Ph.D. degrees awarded by departments
  • Administer approved policies and procedures for the award of the Ph.D. degree
  • Recommendation to the Academic Council of changes in the existing programs or approval of any new programs for the Ph.D. degree
  • Continuous review of the standards and procedures for the admission of Ph.D. students
  • Policy formulation for selection and award of financial aid to PhD students
  • Assuring that administrative practices include an appropriate information system concerning graduate education
  • Reporting to the Doctor of Philosophy Board both the Ph.D. degrees and new Ph.D. programs that have been approved by the Academic Council.

Composition of the Homewood Graduate Board

Appointments are to be recommended by the deans of the two schools and approved by the Academic Council. Terms of appointment for faculty members are three years, and are staggered to provide continuity. Terms of appointment for graduate students are one year. To be eligible for appointment, a faculty member must hold a regular, full-time appointment as professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in a Ph.D.-granting program.

  • One faculty member from either the School of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering who will serve as a non-voting chair
  • One faculty member from each of the following five intellectual areas in the School of Arts and Sciences: biological sciences, humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, and mathematics
  • One faculty member from each of the following three intellectual areas in School of Engineering: physical engineering, biological engineering, and applied mathematics (including computer science)
  • Two Ph.D. students, one from the School of Arts and Sciences and one from the School of Engineering. The Ph.D. students are not permitted to vote on the awarding of Ph.D. degrees, but are otherwise full voting members of the Board.

Subcommittees

Each year the Graduate Board shall form a subcommittee of four members who will serve as representative to the university-wide Doctor of Philosophy Board (DPB). The committee comprises three appointed faculty members and the Academic Council liaison to the Graduate Board.  The four members will consist of three (3) faculty members from the School of Arts and Sciences, one each from the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences, and one (1) faculty member from the School of Engineering, as required by the bylaws of the DPB.  The composition of the subcommittee must be approved yearly by the Academic Council.

The Homewood Graduate Board is empowered to establish subcommittees as it deems desirable. The chair can appoint faculty other than Board members to serve on these subcommittees.

Reporting

The Homewood Graduate Board shall make an annual report to the Academic Council.