The major graduate unit must notify the OGS of the student’s scheduled examination date by submitting the appropriate announcement form at least two weeks before the examination; the examination committee must follow the following criteria, as appropriate. Category levels for faculty are available here.

I.  Master’s Exam/Project and/or Thesis Committees: The role of the examination committee is to approve the exam questions, conduct the exam/defense, evaluate the student response and report the results.  Each committee must consist of a minimum of three members approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

1. 2 members must be Category 1 OR one member can be Category 1 and one member may be Category 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
2. The chair of the exam committee must be Category 1, 5 or 3, if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
3. The third member can be any Category (1-6)
4. A co-chair can be from any Category (1-6) as long as the other co-chair is a Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major.

   No more than one voting member can be in Category 4. Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees.

II.  Doctoral and MFA Comprehensive Exam Committees: The role of the examination committee is to approve the exam questions, conduct the exam, evaluate the student response and report the results.  Each committee must consist of a minimum of three members approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

1. 2 members must be Category 1 OR one member can be Category 1 and one member may be Category 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
2. The chair of the exam committee must be Category 1, 5 or 3, if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
3. The third member can be any Category (1-6)
4. A co-chair can be from any Category (1-6) as long as the other co-chair is a Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major

   No more than one voting member can be in Category 4.  Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees.

III. Doctoral and MFA Dissertation Committees: The role of the dissertation committee is to supervise a doctoral candidate’s dissertation activity. The Dean of Graduate Studies must approve each member for committee service.  The committee must consist of a minimum of four members; 2 of the 4 must have Category 1 approval.

1. Chair must have approval as a Category 1, 5 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
2. The second member must have approval as Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
3. The third member (external/outside) must have approval as Category 2 if selected from the faculty of an institution other than UNM, or Category 1 if a UNM faculty member outside the student’s discipline
4. The fourth member can have approval as Category 1-6
5. Co-Chair (optional) must have approval as a Category 1-6

No more than one voting member may be in Category 4.  Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees