Graduate Committees and Primary Academic Advisors

With the exception of certain professional programs, most graduate programs utilize a graduate committee system for advising and evaluating graduate students. At the Master’s level, the committee is comprised of a minimum of three faculty members. One member will chair the committee and serve as the student’s primary academic advisor. At least two members of a student’s graduate committee must be full time tenured or tenure track faculty at UH Hilo.

For students utilizing a thesis option, the committee serves as the thesis committee. Acceptance or rejection of a student’s work as fulfilling degree requirements is determined by a majority of the graduate committee. Some professional programs may not utilize a graduate committee system. In these cases, a designated faculty member serves as the student’s primary academic advisor. Acceptance or rejection of a student’s work as fulfilling degree requirements is determined by a majority vote of the graduate program’s faculty.