Graduate Faculty, Graduate Instructors, and External Members of Supervising Committees: Definitions, Roles, and Appointment Procedures

The Graduate Faculty consists of Full Members, Special Members, and Special Associate Members. See Graduate Faculty Policy AA-UA-PO-03 in the Handbook of Operating Procedures for detailed descriptions of these memberships and necessary qualifications. Please note that non-tenure track faculty participation in the Graduate faculty is permitted but the opportunity and any limitations on the roles that non-tenured faculty may play are determined by departmental policy. 

Full Member

Full Members can teach graduate level courses, serve on graduate committees, chair both Master’s and Doctoral supervising committees, serve as members in the Graduate Assembly and vote on matters pertaining to graduate education as members of the Graduate Faculty.

Tenure or Tenure Track Faculty: Full-time tenure and tenure track faculty holding the appropriate terminal degree at the time of employment are automatically granted full membership in the Graduate Faculty. If a new hire is ABD he or she may be nominated as a Special Member of the Graduate Faculty. Department chairs should notify the Graduate School when a new tenured or tenured track person will be added to the Graduate Faculty.

Academic and Professional Track Faculty: Full-time Academic and Professional Track faculty hired at any professorial rank may serve as members of the Graduate Faculty if departmental policy permits. Department policies allowing Academic and Professional track faculty Graduate Faculty roles may grant these faculty Full Membership or place limits on the Full Membership roles they may assume. Such policies must have prior approval before an Academic and Professional track person is nominated. See Policy on Academic and Professional Track Full Time Faculty a Participation as Graduate Faculty for more information.

Use the Academic and Professional Track Faculty Nomination Form for Full Membership to nominate a non-tenure track person for full or limited membership in the Graduate Faculty. Submit the completed form to the Graduate School for final review and approval.

Special Members

A qualified person who is visiting or employed at UT Arlington on a part-time basis may be appointed a Special Member of the Graduate Faculty for the duration of the appointment. Newly hired tenure track faculty who do not hold the appropriate terminal degree but are ABD and qualified persons serving in non-faculty positions also may be appointed a Special Member of the Graduate Faculty. Nominees for Special Membership are recommended by the department’s chair, Graduate Studies Committee, or by any five full members of the Graduate Faculty and approved by the Graduate School.  In emergency situations the Dean of the Graduate School may make temporary appointments subject to confirmation by the appropriate Graduate Studies Committee. Special members may teach graduate level courses, serve on both Master’s and Doctoral supervising committees, and chair Master’s committees (a Special Member may not chair a dissertation committee without approval by the Graduate Studies Committee and the Graduate School). Special Members are non-voting members of the Graduate Faculty.

The appropriate Graduate Studies Committee may nominate a person for special membership by submitting the Special or External Membership Nomination Form along with a curriculum vitae to the Graduate School.

External Members

External members are qualified experts in a field of study who are not employed at UT Arlington. In virtually all cases, external members hold a terminal degree in their discipline. An external member may serve as a voting member on a thesis or dissertation supervising committee but may not chair a supervising committee. Only one external member may serve on a student’s committee as a voting member.

The appropriate Graduate Studies Committee may nominate a person for external membership in order to serve on a specific supervising committee by submitting the Special or External Membership Nomination Form along with a curriculum vitae to the Graduate School. The appointment ends when the committee’s work is complete. A new nomination form must be submitted in order for the individual to subsequently serve on a new committee.

Special Associate Members

Special associate membership in the Graduate Faculty recognizes outstanding sustained service to the University's graduate programs and is intended to encourage the continuation of that service. This form or appointment is rarely used at present. See Graduate Faculty Policy AA-UA-PO-03 in the Handbook of Operating Procedures for details.

Graduate Instructors

Upon recommendation by the program offering the course(s), their Academic Dean, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Graduate School Dean, experts who are not members of the Graduate Faculty may be approved to teach specific graduate courses for specified periods. Graduate Instructors are not eligible to serve on graduate supervising committees and do not have Graduate Faculty voting privileges.

To request permission to teach a graduate level course, submit a Certification of Credentials and Qualifications form.

For further information about credentials and qualifications  completing the Certification of Credentials and Qualification form see Faculty Credentials/Qualifications. 

Please send all Faculty Nomination Forms to:

By mail:
Graduate School
Box 19185
348 University Administration Building

By email:
Dr. Raymond Jackson
jackson@uta.edu

If you have questions please contact Dr. Raymond Jackson at jackson@uta.edu