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Choosing a Thesis Advisor: A Complete Guide

One of the most important choices that you will make about your dissertation or thesis happens before you write a single word. Choosing a thesis advisor or dissertation advisor (often referred to as a dissertation chair) will have a significant impact on your entire dissertation writing experience, and for many years to come. For many doctoral students, their thesis advisor is their single greatest influence in graduate school. 

Selecting a thesis advisor is a big decision with far-reaching implications. The stakes are very high, and it is imperative to choose your thesis advisor wisely. There are many factors to consider when choosing a thesis advisor, from expertise to personality, and it pays to think carefully and weigh your options before approaching a faculty member to chair your dissertation committee . While there are subtle differences between a dissertation chair and a thesis advisor, we’ll focus on the commonalities in this article.

These are commonly asked questions about selecting a thesis advisor: 

• What does a thesis advisor do? 
• How should I choose my thesis advisor?
• What makes a faculty member a good thesis advisor? 
• What if it doesn’t work out with my thesis advisor? 

Thesis Advisor Responsibilities

While writing a dissertation is a largely solitary pursuit, a good thesis advisor will be with you every step of the way. While you are very much in the driver’s seat, it is your thesis advisor’s job to keep you off the guardrails. And deploy the airbag, if necessary. There are a few purposes that your thesis advisor will serve during your time together. 

Guidance . While the dissertation process is new to you, your thesis advisor will know it very well. She will help you navigate the obstacles and pitfalls that have derailed many projects–department politics, university regulations, funding, research opportunities, etc. Your thesis advisor will also serve as a sounding board as you distill the nebulous concept of your research project into a fully-formed idea that you can move forward with. 

Organization . A good thesis advisor will run a tight ship and keep your dissertation project moving like clockwork. As a researcher, it’s very easy to get lost in the minutiae of the literature, and it’s not difficult to find yourself trapped down a rabbit hole of scholarship. Regular milestones set by your thesis advisor are a great way to stay on track and maintain forward momentum. 

Mentorship. While an effective thesis advisor will ensure that you see your project to fruition, a great one will be with you for decades. Though I graduated with my Ph.D. in 2012 and I’m now an associate professor myself, my thesis advisor remains a guiding light in my career. Your thesis advisor can be a cornerstone of your professional network. 

Choosing a Thesis Advisor

So, how do you select a faculty member to chair your dissertation committee? With extreme care. Once you have set your sights on a dissertation chair or thesis advisor, the next step is the Big Ask. I remember being very nervous to approach the faculty member who became my chair– it seemed like such an imposition, but, as a grad student in her department, I was already on her radar. Keep in mind, your faculty members are expecting to be asked to chair dissertation committees, and they may even be a little flattered that you chose them. 

While chairing and serving on dissertation committees is a requirement for the tenured and senior faculty members in your department, it’s a lot of work. Make no mistake: accepting the role of your dissertation chair makes them nervous, too. As a faculty member, I can say with absolute certainty that a good dissertation chair will be almost as invested in your dissertation as you are. 

What Makes a Strong Thesis Advisor?

There exists a gulf between what many students desire in a dissertation chair or thesis advisor and what they actually need. While there may be a temptation to approach one of your department’s superstar faculty members to chair your committee, this may not serve you in the long term. Faculty members who have made a name for themselves through an abundance of publications, grants, awards, and conference appearances typically have jam-packed schedules, and it may be difficult for them to make you and your dissertation a priority. 

A safer bet that is likely to have a more rewarding outcome is to work with a faculty member who has already shown enthusiasm for your work. Select a thesis advisor who makes time for you, and one who always responds to your emails. This is the person you want in your corner during the sometimes stressful journey of researching and writing a dissertation. Also, it never hurts to spend some time talking to potential dissertation chairs or dissertation advisors. Get all of your questions answered, and then make a decision. 

What If It Doesn’t Work Out?

The possibility that your thesis advisor is a bad fit for your project or is incompatible for some other reason is a worst-case scenario that lurks in the furthest reaches of every graduate student’s mind. There’s no way to sugarcoat it: this is not a good situation to be in, and it can derail dissertations. The soundest strategy for dealing with an internecine conflict with your thesis advisor is prevention. 

This is why it is vital to do your homework and put a lot of thought into choosing your thesis advisor. Find someone you are compatible with and make sure you’re on the same page. Check in with them regularly, and keep them updated. Clear communication is a great way to ensure a solid partnership with your dissertation chair. Don’t forget, your dissertation chair should also be making your success a priority. You should be comfortable enough to ask questions and let them know what’s on your mind. 

The good news is that a bad fit isn’t likely to happen. Most grad students have a completely workable relationship with their dissertation chairs, and for many it turns into a long friendship built on mutual respect and admiration. Personally, every time I serve on a doctoral student’s dissertation committee, I feel a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction when they take their place in the academic world. It’s truly an honor to help them achieve such a major milestone in their academic career, and I’m delighted to be part of it. 

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Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include  Studies in American Culture ,  Dialogue , and  The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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2024-2025 University of Denver Graduate Bulletin

The Doctoral Dissertation

The dissertation represents the culminating research experience for doctorate of philosophy students through which degree candidates are expected to complete quality original scholarship that contributes to the theoretical/research knowledge base of the candidate’s field of study. The college, school or department determines the amount of credit allowed for research and work on the dissertation. Students should consult the Office of Graduate Education website for instructions regarding how to prepare and format the dissertation.

The Graduate School of Professional Psychology requires their doctorate of psychology candidates to complete a doctoral paper instead of a dissertation and should consult with their program regarding requirements for the doctoral paper.

The Morgridge College of Education requires their doctorate of education candidates to complete a dissertation in practice instead of a dissertation and should consult with their program regarding requirements for the dissertation in practice.

Program-Level Dissertation Proposal Committee

All candidates for the doctorate of philosophy degree must have a dissertation director who is in the student’s graduate program. Programs may require that dissertation proposals be approved by or defended before a committee within the department. Programs reserve the right to determine the composition of the dissertation proposal committee. However, only those who meet the following University requirements may serve as voting members of the oral defense committee.

Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense Committee

The doctoral candidate’s dissertation oral defense committee will be submitted to the Office of Graduate Education for approval by the Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education. OGE staff will review the committee to ensure that it meets University policies and the Vice Provost will work with the department/program chair to resolve any concerns that the proposed committee may not adhere to University policies. 

Prior to coming to OGE the department/program chair is responsible for confirming the committee membership is appropriate for the dissertation subject matter and for supporting the student’s academic needs. If rejected by the chair or the Vice Provost, the dean or designee can review an appeal of committee membership.

The  Thesis/Dissertation Oral Defense Committee Recommendation form (found on the OGE website ) should be returned to the Office of Graduate Education as soon as the dissertation proposal has been approved or 30 days following IRB submission but no later than the first day of the quarter in which the student expects to complete the degree.

Composition

Dissertation director.

The dissertation director is ordinarily a tenure-line or research faculty member of the candidate’s graduate program. Under some circumstances, faculty with other designations (e.g., clinical) can serve as the dissertation director with approval of the department/program chair and dean/designee. The process for approval is the same as for other committee members (see below).

It is the dissertation director’s responsibility to ensure that the student’s research meets appropriate academic standards for the discipline in which the degree is being conferred. The dissertation director is a voting member of the committee.

Committee Members 

The committee is composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of six voting members, including the dissertation director. This includes the dissertation director but does not include the Oral Defense Committee Chair, who is a non-voting committee member.  Tenure-line and research faculty from DU (or approved Iliff faculty for students in the DU-Iliff Joint PhD program), including those outside the student’s program, are automatically eligible to serve on dissertation committees if the dissertation subject is appropriate to their field of expertise.

Faculty with other designations (e.g., clinical, teaching, professor of the practice) are eligible to serve as voting members of the committee if they have been actively [1] involved in research and scholarship in a relevant field and meet the following requirements:

• Possession of the research doctorate, terminal degree in the field, or equivalent record of research, scholarship, or achievement appropriate for the program; and
• Professional productivity as evidenced by achievement such as: 
• Publication of a book or books recognized in the field as scholarly work;
• Publication of articles in recognized, peer-reviewed scholarly journals;
• Publication of articles in conference proceedings; 
• Current award or completion of an externally-funded project (e.g. grant recipient or program manager);
• Possess national eminence in the topic field; 
• Juried performances, exhibitions, or creative works that have received significant regional, national, or international recognition. 

Department/Program chairs should submit the CV of an individual to the dean or designee for approval. Once approved, the Office of Graduate Education will maintain these approved lists for individual programs for three years without additional review.

Individuals from other academic institutions may serve as voting members (not director) of the committee. If in a tenure-track or research faculty position in a relevant field at a university or research position in a National Laboratory, they are automatically eligible; if not, individuals must submit a current CV through the department chair for approval by the dean/designee. Once approved, the Office of Graduate Education will maintain these approved lists for individual programs. No more than one committee member can come from outside DU, with the exception of the DU-Iliff joint PhD program, in which case multiple members may come from Iliff.

[1] Actively is defined as contributing to research in the last three to five years

Oral Defense Committee Chair

The role of the oral defense committee chair is to ensure a fair examination process that adheres to the policies outlined in the Graduate Bulletin. The chair should provide a non-specialist’s perspective on the quality of the dissertation. The chair must be familiar with the standards for doctoral research and should have some general knowledge of the topic of the student’s dissertation. The chair is expected to have read the dissertation prior to the defense and to participate in the defense as their academic expertise permits, but the chair is not a voting member.

The committee chair must be a tenured member of the DU faculty and must be from a department, school, or college other than that of the candidate [1] .  There will be no exceptions to this element of the policy. When a doctoral degree is interdisciplinary, the defense committee chair should whenever possible be from a discipline not represented in the degree. Exceptions to this policy can be approved by the dean or designee when accompanied by a conflict of interest disclosure. Those faculty holding only courtesy appointments in a program are not considered “within” the program.

It is the responsibility of the student and dissertation director to find an appropriate oral defense committee chair who meets these requirements and agrees to serve. In case of difficulty reaching agreement, the chair of the department/program will make a decision. This decision is not appealable.

[1] Students in the DU-Iliff Joint PhD program may have an outside chair from the Iliff School of Theology, but that faculty member must be outside of the field of specialization represented by the student’s dissertation.

Emeriti Faculty

• Emeriti faculty may serve as a voting committee member or outside chair. 
• They may continue to finish out advising their students as a dissertation/thesis director but cannot take on new students as director.  Before retiring, faculty should work with their department chair to confirm the students and their expected graduation term in which they will continue to serve as their director.  The department chair should then submit the approved plan to the Office of Graduate Education.

Retired Faculty

• Retired faculty may serve as a voting committee member so long as the associate dean and department chair approve.  The Office of Graduate Education will keep these approvals on file for 3 years.
• Retired faculty may serve as an outside chair for up to one year post retirement so long as they had tenure prior to retiring and the associate dean and department chair approve.  The Office of Graduate Education will keep these approvals on file for one year.

Appeal of Defense Committee Composition

If the department/program chair rejects the composition of the dissertation committee, the student can appeal to the dean or designee. The appeal should include CVs of each proposed committee member, along with a statement explaining why the student believes the composition of the committee is appropriate for the project. The appeal must be signed by the dissertation director to confirm their agreement with the student’s proposed committee.

The dean or designee will review the appeal and respond in writing to approve or reject the committee within 10 business days. The decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Unit-Specific Requirements

Schools and departments reserve the right to establish additional requirements that exceed the University standards. It is the student’s responsibility to determine whether or not the unit has requirements in addition to University policy and the unit’s responsibility to ensure that those requirements have been met before submitting the Oral Defense Committee Recommendation form to the Office of Graduate Education.

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