# GRADUATE ADVISING COMMITTEE (GAC) ## expand\_more Our faculty are dedicated to teaching graduate students to perform original and creative research. To fulfill this goal, graduate students participate in annual student/faculty meetings starting in the G2 year. Each meeting serves a different purpose within the overall objectives to: - Assess the expertise of a student in performing independent research (2nd year Ph.D. Qualifying Exam); - Monitor a student’s research progress and guide the student to develop an original research program (3rd year Proposal / Research Review Meeting); and - Offer advice for the professional development of the graduate student (4th year Advising Meeting). #### **G2 Ph.D. Qualifying Examination** All students must pass a Ph.D. Qualifying Examination to: assess the (i) early research progress of the Ph.D. candidate and (ii) fundamental knowledge underpinning the student’s Ph.D. research project. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) assigns each student a PhD Qualifying Committee after the end of the G1 year. Committees typically consist of three CCB faculty members including the student’s research advisor, with one member designated as chair. Each committee will examine four to six students. If a research project involves an advisor (primary or collaborative) external to CCB, then that faculty may attend as an additional member. The chair administers the PhD qualifying examination. Meetings for all G2 students will be held in April or early May of the G2 year. Meetings may only be delayed with the permission of the DGS or if the student has an approved leave of absence during the first two years. Ordinarily, this meeting must be held during the fourth term in residence. The chair from each committee will notify students of the exam results within five days. ##### EXAM FORMAT The examination includes both written and oral components (Formatted: Font: 12 pt) - **Written Examination**: no more than 5 single-spaced pages (or 10 double-spaced pages) in a communication-style format; figures embedded in the document are included in the 5-page limit; references are not included in the 5-page limit; report key results of accomplished research and include a brief discussion of future plans. The student is strongly encouraged to use a template provided by the *Journal of the American Chemical Society* (linked [here](https://pubs.acs.org/page/jacsat/submission/jacsat_templates.html)). While research may not yet be at a publishable level of completeness, the presentation of your report should feature the organization typical of published work to provide everything your audience needs to assess your progress. An ideal written or oral presentation requires addressing the following elements: (1) describing the problem; (2) background and the limitations in the state of the art; (3) your hypothesis; (4) how you will (or did) test your hypothesis; and (5) your analysis. The student must submit this report by email to all faculty members on the Qualifying Committee at least 7 days prior to the oral examination with a cc to the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, Josh Cox () and Kathy Oakley (). - **Oral Examination**: consists of a 20-minute PowerPoint or blackboard presentation (as decided by the student), followed by 30 minutes of Questions and Answers by committee members. Committee members will not interrupt the student during the 20-minute presentation. Adherence to the guidelines of the 20-minute presentation will be enforced by the Chair of the committee. During the 30 minute Q&A session, queries from committee members span specific aspects of the research project to explore the fundamental knowledge underpinning the research project. Questions on the latter focus on material typically covered in an undergraduate chemistry curriculum that relates to the broadly defined area of the research project. Students may **not** consult with their faculty advisor on the preparation of both the written and oral reports, although they are encouraged to get feedback from fellow group members. ##### THREE POSSIBLE RESULTS - **Pass**: the student becomes a candidate for a Ph.D.; a thesis committee is formed after the end of the term (see below) - **Conditional Pass**: the committee re-examines the student before the end of the next term. The committee decides the re-examination format, which may involve a written report to address specific concerns of the committee or re-assembled committee - **Fail**: the student withdraws from the program, with the opportunity to receive an A.M. degree, provided other requirements have been met as outlined in Harvard Griffin [GSAS Policies](https://gsas.harvard.edu/policies). #### **Constitution of PhD Thesis Committee** Upon passing the PhD Qualifying Examination, a three- member Thesis Committee will be formed, which will include the student's faculty advisor and two other faculty members. Two members of the committee must be from CCB. The third faculty member may be from CCB or from an external department associated with Harvard University. A student may also petition the DGS for approval of a third faculty member external to Harvard University. A student, in consultation with their research advisor, may add external members beyond the three-person committee, with approval of the DGS. To constitute the committee, in consultation with their research advisor, students will propose at least three faculty members as candidates for their committees in addition to the advisor. The student will submit their faculty preferences on a Thesis Committee Nomination Form, submitted to the CCB Department office. These preferences will be reviewed by the DGS and a faculty advisory group with the intent of honoring the student’s preferences while balancing a fairly distributed committee load among the faculty. The selection process is necessary to avoid faculty being assigned to an inordinately large number of committees. Under unusual circumstances, students may wish to change the membership of their thesis committee, for reasons including significant changes in direction of their research topic. Such changes should be requested through the CCB Department office. Students must receive approval from the DGS in order for the change in committee to take effect. #### **G3 Proposal / Research Review Meeting** The one-hour meeting should be held with a student’s Thesis Committee before May 31st of the G3 year and will be scheduled by the department. The meeting will have two components: (i) a research proposal and (ii) review of research to date. - A research proposal will comprise 30 minutes of the one-hour meeting. Students will submit a three- to five-page single-spaced proposal to all members of their faculty committee seven days before the meeting with a cc to Kathy Oakley (): figures embedded in the document are included in the five-page limit; references are not included in the five-page limit. The student is strongly encouraged to use a template provided by the *Journal of the American Chemical Society* (linked [here](https://pubs.acs.org/page/jacsat/submission/jacsat_templates.html)). The student must present an original independent research proposal. The student will present this proposal and accept questions from the committee during the first 30 minutes of the meeting (20 minutes for the presentation, 10 minutes for questions). A student cannot pass/fail the research proposal. The purpose of the research proposal is to better develop the student’s skill set at conceiving and designing an original research program. The proposal will be rated (excellent, very good, or good) with a short written critique provided by the committee designed to provide the student feedback that helps to further develop this skill (of writing proposals). - A 30-minute Research Review will be devoted to an update of the research progress made by the student. The research review will be graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. A grade of Unsatisfactory will be reflected in the grade for the student's 300-level reading and research course. This alone will not result in a withdrawal; a student would be withdrawn from the program with two grades of unsatisfactory in a 300-level reading and research course during the course of a student’s graduate studies, in accordance with policies found in the Academics and Enrollment section of the [Handbook for Students](https://gsas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/Handbook-for-Students-2025-26.pdf). - Students may **not** consult with their faculty advisor on the preparation of both the written and oral reports, although they are encouraged to get feedback from fellow group members. #### **G4 Advisory Meeting** The G4 Advisory Meeting provides a mechanism for students to create relationships with faculty other than their advisor, as well as to mediate student/advisor conflict, if one exists, provide direction to completion of the PhD degree, provide career counseling or to address any other concern or issue of interest to the student. The student must call this meeting any time during the G4 year. The agenda will be set by the student and may address research progress or career counseling in one of two meeting formats: - The student may assemble their Thesis Committee for a formal 1-hour meeting. –or– - In lieu of a full meeting of the Thesis Committee, the student may choose to meet with their advisor and at least one other member of their committee individually. For either meeting format, the student must first meet with their research advisor to discuss a (i) professional development (PD) plan, or (ii) proposed plan to graduation (PG). The student will summarize these discussions on the [meeting confirmation form](https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:0a3314b6-59f2-486a-b432-9794841ea2eb). The research advisor must sign off on the this form, which should be returned to the CCB Department office. #### **G5 Advisory Meeting** Students in the G5 year must submit a Graduate Progress Form by December 31st. For students planning to graduate in the current academic year, a meeting with the full Thesis Committee is not required; the form should be submitted with a proposed defense date and the advisor’s signature. If not planning to graduate in the current academic year, students must meet with their Thesis Committee by December 31st. A detailed plan for the student's graduation will be decided at this meeting. The student will summarize these discussions on the G5 [Graduate Progress Form](/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/2026-05/updated%20g5_mtg_form_June%202026.pdf "G5 2-Updated Form 2025"). The research advisor must sign off on this form, which should be returned to the CCB department office. Please note that the student and/or the advisor may always call a meeting with the full committee as needed to ensure progress towards graduation. #### **G6+ Advisory Meeting** Students in the G6 year and beyond must submit a Graduate Progress Form by December 31 of each year. For students planning to graduate in the current academic year, a meeting with the full thesis committee is not required; the form should be submitted with a proposed defense date and the advisor’s signature. If not planning to graduate in the current academic year, students must meet with their thesis committee by December 31. A detailed plan for the student's graduation will be decided at this meeting. The student will summarize these discussions on the G6+ [Graduate Progress Form](https://www.chemistry.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum7776/files/2025-09/G6%20Graduate%20Progress%20Form%20-Sept%2025.pdf). The research advisor must sign off on this form, which should be returned to the CCB Department office. Please note that the student and/or the advisor may always call a meeting with the full committee as needed to ensure progress towards graduation. #### **[GRADUATE STUDENT GUIDE](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/pages/information-current-students)** - **[CHECK-IN & COURSE REGISTRATION](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/check-course-registration)** - **[COURSE REQUIREMENTS](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/course-requirements)** - **[LAB ROTATIONS](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/lab-rotations)** - **[FINANCIAL SUPPORT](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/financial-support)** - **[SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/supplemental-funding)** - **[TEACHING](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/teaching)** - **[GRADUATE ADVISING COMMITTEE](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/graduate-advising-committee-gac)** - **[DISSERTATION](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/dissertation)** - **[MASTER OF ARTS](https://chemistry.harvard.edu/master-arts)**