Graduate Advising

The choice of an adviser is one of the most crucial decisions a student will make in the graduate program. Your faculty adviser will help you plan your program of study, monitor your academic progress, and eventually assist you with career planning and job placement.

Temporary advisers: Upon entering SJMC, graduate students are assigned a temporary adviser from the graduate faculty.

Choosing a permanent advisers: Students must consult with the faculty member with whom they would like to work to determine if the faculty member is available for advising duties.

M.A. students must select a permanent faculty adviser by the end of the second semester in the program. Ph.D. students must select a permanent faculty adviser by the end of the second year in the Ph.D. program.

Once a faculty member is chosen and agrees to act as an adviser, students should notify the SJMC Graduate Studies Office. Advisers are formally assigned when a student fills out and submits the degree program plan to the Graduate School.

Advising for Ph.D. students: Ph.D. students should notify the Director of Graduate Studies when they select their permanent adviser or co-advisers from within their dissertation area. Students who wish to change their permanent adviser(s) can do so by following the same procedures used in choosing their current adviser. After a new adviser is chosen and the old adviser is informed of the change, students must notify the Graduate Studies Office. At this time, they also may be asked to provide corresponding changes in coursework for the degree or present a petition to the Graduate Affairs Committee.

Monitoring student progress: Each year, advisers will review students' coursework and grades to ascertain if sufficient progress is being made toward completion of the degree. Advisers of change of status students will also verify whether M.A. theses and incomplete grades (if applicable) are completed by the fall semester deadline. Cases of unsatisfactory progress will be referred to the Graduate Affairs Committee for action. In the event of unsatisfactory progress, the SJMC may place a hold on the student's record and no further registration will be permitted until the progress is reevaluated to be satisfactory (e.g., defense of the M.A. thesis). Unsatisfactory progress will also affect eligibility for departmental funding.