Program Advisers and Major Professors

Program advisers

To obtain the name of your program adviser, please contact the Graduate English Office, 227 Ross Hall, (515) 294-2477, englgrad@iastate.edu. Your program adviser helps plan your course work and guides you in a variety of academic matters during your first 12-15 hours of course work. Please remember that it is your responsibility to initiate contact with your adviser prior to registration, or when it is time to file certain forms or to meet certain deadlines. All new graduate students should introduce themselves to their program advisers during the first three weeks of classes.

Major professors

Your major professor is the person whom you select to chair your Program of Study (POS) committee. This person supervises your thesis, creative component, or dissertation. It may be that your program adviser will become your major professor; however, this choice is yours, and should finally depend on the nature and direction of your research or creative project as well as your rapport with the selected professor. If your program adviser does not become your major professor, you should request him or her to forward your advising folder to your major professor at the time you file the official Graduate College forms forming your POS committee.

M.A. students

Your major professor, in consultation with your POS committee, is responsible for approving the course work in your program of study. Your major professor's primary responsibility, however, will be supervising the development of your thesis or creative component. We urge you to choose your major professor as soon as possible because this person is such a crucial part of your program. You must file the Graduate College Recommendation for Committee Appointment and Program of Study forms by the deadline in your second semester. In selecting your major professor, you might consult with your adviser, your graduate instructors, your fellow graduate students, and the list of graduate faculty research and teaching areas found in the Graduate Faculty section of this manual. Remember that a faculty member's willingness to serve as a major professor depends upon factors such as specific research interests and amount of time available. For additional information, see POS: The Committee and the Form (M.A.).

M.F.A. students

Your major professor, in consultation with your POS committee, is responsible for approving the course work in your program of study. Your major professor's primary responsibility, however, will be supervising the development of your thesis. You must select a major professor and file the Graduate College Recommendation for Committee Appointment and Program of Study forms by the deadline in your third semester in the program or by the deadline of the semester following your completion of at least 18 credits (transfer or ISU credits), whichever comes first. In addition, your major professor must approve your proposal for your book-length thesis project by the end of this same semester. In selecting your major professor, you might consult with your adviser, your graduate instructors, your fellow graduate students, and the list of graduate faculty research and teaching areas found in the Graduate Faculty section of this manual. Remember that a faculty member's willingness to serve as a major professor depends upon factors such as specific research interests and amount of time available. For additional information, see POS: The Committee and the Form (M.F.A.).

Ph.D. students

Your major professor, in consultation with your POS committee, is responsible for approving the coursework in your program of study. Your major professor also directs your dissertation research and participates in your preliminary examinations as described by your respective doctoral program, Rhetoric and Professional Communication or Applied Linguistics and Technology. Because the major professor plays a central role in your doctoral studies, it is best to select this faculty member early in your program of study as soon as you feel prepared to do so. You must file the Graduate College Recommendation for Committee Appointment and Program of Study forms by the deadline in your fifth semester in the program. In selecting your major professor, you might consult with your adviser, your graduate instructors, your fellow graduate students, and the list of graduate faculty research and teaching areas found in the Graduate Faculty section of this manual. You may always make changes in your POS Committee as your research interests solidify. For additional information, see POS: The Committee and the Form (Ph.D.).

Co-major professors

Students pursuing a co-major must have co-major professors, each representing one of the co-major programs of study.