Graduate Academic Advising

During the student's academic career in the school, they will have a faculty adviser and two to three sequential academic committees that are designed to assist the student in planning a schedule of courses, designing a research program, and reviewing student progress through the academic and research program.

The Faculty Adviser. Prior to the student’s arrival on campus, and based on student interest and faculty expertise and availability, the Director in consultation with the faculty assigns each entering graduate student a faculty adviser. The student meets with their adviser upon arrival. They discuss interests, especially research areas in which the adviser is currently working that can have immediate potential to provide a student with one or more focused research topics. They also should outline a sequence of courses for the first three quarters.

A good mentoring relationship between student and faculty adviser is important in the successful pursuit of a master's, and crucial to the completion of a Ph.D. The adviser is the student's intellectual mentor, as well as their academic supervisor. Regular discussions should take place to ensure the student's intellectual capacity is challenged appropriately. To this end, a list of suggested discussion questions is provided as an Appendix. You may also want to read the article "Ten Strategies for Managing Up" from the mentoring section of the Student Advice Knowledge Database. See also the School's mentoring resources page. 

Because the initial matching of student and adviser is based on very limited information, students should realize that changing advisers because of redirected research interests or difficulties in the working relationship carries no stigma. Any student who is dissatisfied with their adviser should consult with the Director or Graduate Program Coordinator as early as possible. However, it is the student's responsibility to find a new adviser, and it may not be possible within UW given the funding constraints and research expertise of the existing faculty at that time.

The Advisory Committee. At the beginning of Autumn Quarter of your first year, you will form an advisory committee consisting of the adviser and two other faculty members. At least half of the committee must be graduate faculty with voting status in the School of Oceanography at the time of their addition to the committee. the majority of which have their primary academic appointment in Oceanography, should be formed. The purpose of the committee is to broaden the base of advisory expertise available to the student; and to begin discussions on potential research areas. Once the committee has been formed, the information should be communicated by email to the Graduate Program Advisor.

The Supervisory Committee. As the student's activities shift from a primary emphasis on formal course work (by the summer after their first year of classes) to an emphasis on research, it becomes necessary for the student to restructure the advisory committee into a supervisory committee which can better address the particular research issue undertaken by the student and also has representation from outside the student's option. The composition of and formation procedures for supervisory committees for the Master's Degree and the Ph.D. Degree are discussed separately in the sections pertaining to those degrees.

The Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and Advisor (GPA). The graduate student’s initial work at the University is guided by the student's faculty adviser, in coordination with the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and the Graduate Program Advisor (GPA). Graduate School Policy 4.3 further defines the roles of the GPC and GPA.