Committee Membership and Charge

The Doctoral Committee is responsible for overseeing maintenance, development, and support of the Ph.D. in Information Studies program.  This includes, but is not limited to, reviewing and approving any substantive change to curriculum and making recommendations to PCC regarding policies (new or changing) that affect the Doctoral program.  The Committee also sets admissions criteria, oversees the admissions process, reviews and approves/denies Doctoral student petitions, recommends appropriate actions for students having academic difficulty, works with the Awards Committee to identify Doctoral candidates for recognition, and provides general guidance to the Doctoral program director to ensure that the Doctoral program is developing in a fashion that is consistent with the goals of the College as a whole.

Committee Membership

Requested Actions

In addition to the general activities associated with fulfilling the committee’s purpose (as described above), it is requested that the Doctoral committee identify 5 or more actionable projects that would significantly increase the scale and stature of the Doctoral Program, and work with the appropriate parties to complete those projects during the academic year.  These projects might include, but should not be limited to, specific improvements to how we market the Doctoral program and recruit students; strategic development of courses and/or restructuring of specializations; or efforts to increase the visibility of the Doctoral programs on campus, in the region, or in some other area or population.

The projects should be identified by mid-Fall and communicated to the College to allow them to be completed during the academic year.

Schedule

• September 21, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 pm | ZOOM
• October 19, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 pm | ZOOM
• November 16, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 pm | ZOOM
• December 14, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 pm | ZOOM

Committee Foci for AY2022-2023

1. Doctoral mentorship expectations
2. Dissertation guidelines
3. MS in Information Studies degree
4. Teacher training for doctoral students

Other Responsibilities and Requirements

The chair is responsible for conducting regular meetings and ensuring they are included in the iSchool Calendar so that interested parties may attend (send ischooladmin@umd.edu the meeting dates, times, and locations to get them added to the iSchool Calendar).

The chair is also responsible for communicating with the College about the committee’s activities.  Activities to accomplish this can include, but need not be limited to:

• Distribution of meeting minutes through the College intranet (required)
• Providing timely updates to the Dean for inclusion in the weekly College update
• Distribution of a monthly update
• Conducting open meetings or briefings on specific topics for interested faculty, staff, and students

If you are unsure what communication channels are most appropriate for your committee, please contact the Dean’s office/communication coordinator and we will work with you to develop a communication plan.