SAFE Labs

BoumendilLab_2026:

PhD students also have annual meetings with their external advisory committee, as set in the CBS2 doctoral school rule.

OttLab_2025:

Every PhD student is supervised by a PhD committee comprising the direct supervisor (usually myself) and at least two additional committee members. The PhD committee meets annually to provide feedback on the student’s progress. Please find specific rules and regulations regarding composition, meeting frequency, and documentation requirements on the respective PhD program’s website, for example, for the BCCN Berlin’s PhD program.

ReinhardLab_2025:

Two types of feedback and steering measures are in place:

• Annual progress reports: Every PhD student presents their research and answers questions during a public presentation that includes at least all Neurobiology faculty. These progress report meetings are annual at the end of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year. They are followed by a discussion among the faculty (without the student) and by an official written report that will be shared with the student. A discussion between the student and the committee, but without the supervisor, is not part of this format. However, PhD students have yearly meetings with the PhD coordinator to raise general issues and can request a meeting with the coordinator at any point during their PhD to discuss issues with their supervisor.
• External mentorship program: In addition to the school-intern reports, our lab has established an external mentorship program. For every student, we identify an external scientist who meets with the student at least twice a year for 2h (online), starting at the end of their first year. These meetings exclude the supervisor and can be used by the student as they wish, to discuss data, methods, career etc.

INSIGHTLab_2026:

This is embedded in policy at Tilburg University. At INSIGHT lab, the PhD committee always consists of at least 3 supervisors.

CoenLab_2025:

There are a number of different PhD programmes that the lab is part of (e.g. SWC, LiDO, RES, ROS, MRC-Birkbeck etc.) Each programme has its own system, and Pip may not be familiar with all of them (please be patient with him!) If you are part of a program within CDB (e.g. RES, ROS, or direct application to a position Pip Advertised), your PhD committee will meet at least once per year throughout the course of your time in the lab, and you “upgrade” after approximately 12-18 months. Annual PhD committee meets are now fairly common across programmes, and this can an extremely valuable process for both Pip and the PhD student.

Therefore, If your program does not have a PhD committee with (at least) annual meetings, please let Pip know and he will arrange for an informal “steering committee” to fulfil this role

AeryJonesLab_2026:

Thesis committee policies are set by the graduate programs.

BahlaiLab_2026:

Department rules say you should meet with them all together at least once a year, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to meet more often than that (okay it might, if you’re not using your time well- but we’ll cover that in this section).

Committee meetings are initiated by, and generally led by the student. They are for you to update your committee about where you are, get advice about next steps, and practicing talking about your work (and committee meetings are in addition to particular program meetings which are held for very particular milestones- candidacy exams, prospectus, and the like, though sometimes meetings are combined for efficiency).

The main things you need to think about when putting together a committee meeting are scheduling, establishing goals of the meeting, and providing information to update your committee on the progress of the project.

CognAcLab_2026:

Graduate students are strongly encouraged to avail themselves of the cognitive neuroscience area guidelines to have annual meetings with their dissertation committee. Area heads do not always do a good job monitoring this, so students may have to take charge in making sure the meeting occurs. Ivry is available to assist as needed in ensuring these meetings occur.

DiffenbaughClimateLab_2026:

The thesis committee should be convened prior to the Winter Quarter of the PhD student’s second year. The student is expected to consult closely with the advisor about the composition of the committee. The student is encouraged to keep in mind that the advisor has considerable experience with the committee process, and with the individual faculty in the Department. The thesis committee conducts the Qualifying Exam; meets annually with the student to discuss research progress, research plans, coursework, and professional/career goals; and conducts the Oral Exam (i.e., “dissertation defense”) and the evaluation of the written dissertation. Members of the thesis committee may in some cases also be research collaborators, and may also serve as mentors and/or letter writers for applications.

McDermottLab_2026:

PhD students have yearly committee meetings with a group of 3-5 faculty, including the advisor. These are an opportunity to get outside feedback on your research, and you will generally give a presentation of your work. Advice on what to do to get the most out of these meetings:

1. Try to schedule at least a 90-minute block for the meeting. One hour is usually not enough time.
2. Prepare at most 30 minutes of material. You will typically be interrupted with questions and suggestions, and so you probably won’t make it through more than this.
3. Send me slides in advance to get some feedback, and practice your presentation at least once ahead of time.
4. The faculty on your committee will usually both be interested in your work and eager to help, and may have lots of questions/suggestions. To make sure the issues that are most important to you get addressed, have a slide close to the beginning of your presentation where you state the things you would most like feedback on. This can help to focus the discussion to make it maximally helpful to you.

MsEELab_2026:

PhD students should schedule yearly Thesis Committee meetings as outlined by their Graduate Field’s Graduate Student Handbook. For more information on expectations, check your Field’s handbook (e.g., the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook; Cornell login required) and MsEE Lab’s mentorship philosophy statement.

UIGlacierDynamics_2026:

Before the end of each year in graduate school

• Hold a committee meeting, to update your committee on your progress, seek feedback on your work to date, and engage your committee in your entire professional development/trajectory.