Penn Psychology Graduate Manual

CHAPTER 4
ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAM

The Chair of the Graduate Group, also known as the Director of Graduate Studies, is responsible for the administration of the Graduate Program. In practice the Director of Graduate Studies works closely with the Department Chair.

Advisors

A student is expected to have an advisor at all times. Advisors, who must be members of the Graduate Group in Psychology, take primary responsibility for the research activities of their students, and also advise them on other matters pertinent to their graduate careers. Advisors may share this responsibility with other faculty members inside or outside of the Graduate Group. A student without a regular advisor becomes automatically the advisee of the Director of Graduate Studies. In the course of a graduate career, there are two occasions when a student might normally be expected to be without a regular advisor: In most cases, following termination of an advisor-advisee relationship, it is expected that the student will be able to make satisfactory arrangements for a new advisor within one month. If this cannot be done (usually when the quality of the student's performance is in question), the Director of Graduate Studies consults with all relevant parties and takes whatever steps are necessary to help the student resolve the difficulties. If despite these efforts the student continues to be advisorless, the Director of Graduate Studies may convene a meeting of the Graduate Group for the purpose of deciding if the student is to be allowed to continue in the graduate program. Such a meeting must be called if a student remains advisorless for six months.

Advisory Committees

Beginning with the second year in residence, every graduate student will have an Advisory Committee. The general function of the Advisory Committee is to oversee all aspects of the student's education after the first year. To that end, the committee as a group will meet with the student at least once each semester in order to review progress, discuss problems, and approve plans for the coming semester. It is the responsibility of the advisory committee chair to see that such a meeting is scheduled. Typically such meetings will be scheduled for two hours, though a longer or briefer meeting may be appropriate in particular cases.

After the meeting, the Advisory Committee Chair will write a brief report summarizing the conclusions of the committee; a copy of this report will be sent to the Director of Graduate Studies. It will be appropriate in such a report to comment on unusual achievements, or to discuss current deficiencies and potential problems.

In the student's third year, the Advisory Committee will set and evaluate the Qualifying Examination. After completion of this examination, the committee will evaluate the student's dissertation proposal and, eventually, the completed dissertation.

Each Advisory Committee will consist of at least three members of the Graduate Group. (Co-advisors count as one, not two.) Additional members of the committee need not be members of the Graduate Group or even of the standing faculty. The committee must have an advisor and a chair. The chair cannot be the advisor. The advisor and the chair are faculty members in the Graduate Group.

Except for the student's advisor, all members of the Advisory Committee are appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies, who will be guided primarily by the recommendations of the student and the advisor. In appointing Advisory Committees, the Director of Graduate Studies will alsom make an effort to see to it that a number of different but relevant points of view are represented on the committee, and that committee assignments are distributed as evenly as possible across the faculty.

Duration of Financial Support

The expected period to obtain the Ph.D. degree is four years. Accordingly, the Department commits itself to support each graduate student for four years of work. The Department expects full time effort in return for its support during the four years of the program. Thus, students may not "moonlight", that is, engage in outside employment during the period from September to May. In exceptional circumstances such outside employment may be in the educational interest of the student. If the student believes this to be so, the student should apply in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies for permission to take such outside employment. The student should explain why the employment is in his or her educational interest. The Director of Graduate Studies will consult with the student, his or her advisor and committee before deciding on the merits of the case. (In case the employment involves tutoring for the Tutoring Center, the student need only inform his or her advisor, and the advisor should not object.)

Students may seek outside employment during the summer months. There are, however, special circumstances that should be kept in mind when making such arrangements:

Exceptional Circumstances

Students may, under some circumstances, apply for a leave of absence. To do so, they must apply in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies and to the Department Chair. Further information is provided in the Graduate Rules and Regulations of the university.

Disabilities

Students who have a disability and are in need of reasonable accomodations should contact the Office of Student Disability Services.

SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

At all times:

First Year:

Second Year:

Third Year:

Fourth Year:

July, 2006