Academic Advising, PhD

Get the Most out of Your Program

Entering a PhD program can be a complicated mixture of meeting core requirements and diving into your specialty. We've created a multi-tier advising system to support you.

Advisors and Advising Appointments

PhD students have access to three different levels of advising. Our Staff advisors will be in touch in the few months after your admission to have an initial advising appointment. Staff advisors are your contact for technical requirements, issues around credits, and dissertation registration. The Doctoral Program Director is a second kind of advisor available to you- along with the staff advisor you will meet with the Doctoral Director before beginning your program to discuss your plan of study and finalize any reduction or transfer of credits.

Finally, each PhD student is matched with a faculty mentor who is available to consult about academic and career planning. You should plan to meet with your faculty advisor at least once a semester. All dissertations must be submitted to and approved by University Dissertation and Thesis Services (UDTS) by their deadlines in order to graduate. Staff advisors are available for appointments to discuss course plans or registration at any point in your program. They can be reached at:

703-993-1300
tcsadvi@gmu.edu

Director of Graduate Programs: Dr. Susan Allen