Graduate Handbook:
Department by-law on Principal Advisors.

Each student in the Ph.D. program who has not yet advanced to candidacy shall have a Principal Advisor. The Principal Advisor shall be a faculty member chosen by the student, subject to the approval of the Graduate Committee and the willingness of the faculty member to serve in this capacity. The Graduate Committee shall appoint a member of the Committee to act as interim Principal Advisor for any student in the Ph.D. program who has not yet found a principal advisor.

During a student's first semester in the Ph.D. program, the student must find a faculty member willing to serve as his or her Principal Advisor and then notify the Graduate Committee of this arrangement. A student who has difficulty finding a Principal Advisor should ask the Graduate Committee for assistance. After approval by the Graduate Committee, the Chair of the Graduate Committee shall submit the required form to the Graduate School. At any time, a student may change Principal Advisors by following the same procedure.

The Principal Advisor need not be the student's prospective Dissertation Advisor.

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