Research advisory committee

Research advisory committee – review and approval of research proposal and dissertation

The departmental committee and advisor are authorized to request from the School of Graduate Studies to approve establishment of a research advisory committee.

After a research topic has been defined, the departmental committee appoints a research advisory committee. The research advisory committee includes the advisor, two internal members and one external member, or a single internal member and a single external member, in cases where there is more than one advisor. Three of the committee members must be at the senior lecturer rank or higher in the standard or clinical (medicine) track, while one of the internal members (or one of the advisors, if there is more than one advisor) may be at the lecturer rank. The committee chair shall be selected by the committee itself from among the members.

The committee composition as stated above is necessary for reviewing the dissertation, but the department is entitled to appoint three or two reviewers from Bar-Ilan University (without an external reviewer), per the number of research advisors, to follow the student from the time of research proposal submission. Dissertation review by the research advisory committee, nonetheless, does require inclusion of an external reviewer. 

In cases where a department or academic faculty prefer general authorization for establishment of a research advisory committee for all departmental/faculty students, such a request will be considered by the School of Graduate Studies.  Composition of the research advisory committee are as specified above, but departments or academic faculties may request a smaller committee, provided that the committee’s involvement is limited to research proposal approval and accompanying research, but not dissertation review.

Research proposal review and approval

After students have submitted their research proposal to the research advisory committee, they must defend it before them. The advisory committee chair shall submit a clear, detailed summary of the defense, approved and signed by the remainder of the committee members. If the committee requires revisions or clarifications to the proposal, those changes must be made by the student, followed by a confirmation by the advisory committee that they were made as requested. The exam summary, copies of the proposal, the detailed review report together with the names of the advisory committee members and approval by the committee of the required revisions shall be submitted for approval to the School of Graduate Studies within two weeks of the date of the committee’s decision, together with one of the following recommendations:

• to approve the student’s continued study and research proposal
• to call for submission of a new research proposal and an additional exam
• to reject the proposal and terminate the student’s doctoral studies

The School of Graduate Studies subcommittee is entitled to demand further elaboration of the committee report or to request a change to the make-up of the advisory committee by calling in additional reviewers.

After approval of the research proposal, departments that employ the advisory committee process are urged to require their students to submit an annual report indicating their progress and their goals to the advisory committee. The report should be approved by the advisor(s) before submission and under their responsibility. Comments by the committee members shall be forwarded to the advisor(s) and student. Based on the report, or for any other reason, each member of the research advisory committee may call a meeting of the committee in which the student would be required to report on progress orally. The research advisory committee is entitled to pose questions and express qualifications, and to offer ideas for moving the student’s research forward.

Any change to the make-up of the advisory committee requires approval of the departmental committee chair and of the School of Graduate Studies.

Dissertation review

Review of the dissertation is under the responsibility of the School of Graduate Studies.

Internal and external reviewer – the dissertation shall be sent to the internal and external reviewers by the School of Graduate Studies, as indicated in Rules and Regulations, Clause 10(1). Dissertation reviewers must be of senior lecturer rank or above in the standard track.

Dissertation review for students with a research advisory committee for their PhD work shall be conducted in one of the following two channels:

In the first channel, dissertation review takes place in the framework of the research advisory committee. If there is no faculty member from outside the university among advisory committee members, an external reviewer must be added at the dissertation review stage, approved by the School of Graduate Studies. In any event, the external reviewer must be present at the dissertation defense. Any change to the committee requires approval by the School of Graduate Studies.

The departmental committee shall schedule the final exam and notify all committee members. The date the committee convenes shall be agreed upon in advance and shall be no later than two months after the dissertation has been submitted. Reviewers shall submit their comments prior to the defense.

After the defense the advisory committee shall recommend one of the following to the School of Graduate Studies:

• To approve the dissertation as is, without revisions or with minor revisions to be made under the guidance of the advisor who must then provide indication that these have been carried out as requested.
• To approve the dissertation after all revisions requested by the advisory committee have been made – those raised at the review as well as the written comments of the committee members – under the guidance of the advisor.  The dissertation shall then be sent to the committee members together with the list of comments and revisions. Submission of the dissertation requires their written confirmation that the revisions are acceptable.
• To require considerable revisions, after which an additional exam is to be held.
• To reject the dissertation and terminate the student’s doctoral studies. 

If the dissertation is approved, and after all required revisions have been made, a detailed summary shall be sent to the School of Graduate Studies that includes the names of the research advisory committee members, a short description of the research work and an evaluation of its quality, a description of the defense proceedings and the revisions requested, and a confirmation by the committee that the revisions were in fact carried out. The summary shall be written by the research advisor or the committee chair and approved by all committee members. The summary shall be sent within two weeks of the decision. Dissertation approval is by the subcommittee of the School of Graduate Studies.

In the second channel, the departmental committee may choose not to convene the advisory committee. In this case, the dissertation is sent to the School of Graduate Studies for review by an internal and an external advisor who were not members of the advisory committee, and they shall submit a detailed, written evaluation, per policy that applies to dissertations without an advisory committee.