Supervisory Committee

Plant Medicine Program Appointment and Duties of Student Supervisory Committee

Establishment of the Committee

As with all graduate students, each Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) student shall establish a Supervisory Committee (S/C). S/C establishment must take place by the midpoint of the student’s third semester in program. The Supervisory Committee shall consist of a minimum of three graduate faculty members, one each from the discipline areas of Entomology/ Nematology, Plant Pathology, and Plant Science (Agronomy, Environmental Horticulture, Forestry, Horticultural Sciences, or Soil and Water Science). It may be advantageous for a student to select a faculty member located at a UF research and education center as a member or chair of their supervisory committee.

It will also be possible and often advantageous for other qualified individuals outside of UF (those in industry, private practice, government, etc.) to serve as members of the S/C by Special Appointment. Instructions for this process and the necessary form may be found at the UF Graduate School Web Site. The student will consult with and request one of the faculty of the S/C (excluding the special member) to be appointed and serve as Chair of the Committee.

All S/C forms will be filled out by the Plant Medicine Program Assistant. Use the attached signature form to identify the faculty members who have agreed to serve on your S/C and bring it to the Program Assistant who will type the S/C form. The committee will be approved by the Plant Medicine Program Director and by the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Florida . Copies will be sent back to your S/C committee chair and the program Director after it has been processed.

Following appointment of the Committee and the Chair, the DPM student will also be considered a graduate student of the department of the Chair as well as the Plant Medicine Program. All documents and official correspondence concerning the student, however, must be approved and signed by the Director of the Plant Medicine Program, with copies of such documents, if needed, provided to the department of the Supervisory Committee chair.

Duties of the Committee

The Supervisory Committee will meet with the student soon after it is appointed and at least twice a year to recommend courses and review the progress of the student in mastering the discipline of plant medicine. The S/C discusses with the student and recommends to the program Director any graduate courses or internships that the student may have taken previously at UF or other institutions for which the student should be given credit towards the DPM degree. The S/C will also administer a final oral exam that will follow the final DPM comprehensive written exam. The oral exam will assess the ability of the DPM student to solve and make recommendations for plant health problems. The S/C should meet one or two semesters before the final oral exam to administer an oral progress evaluation exam. Based on the results of this oral exam, the S/C may recommended additional coursework/internships that the student needs to complete.

The Chair of the S/C will meet with the student and approve the courses to be taken each semester and the kind and duration (number of credits) of each elective internship. The program director will perform these activities until a S/C is established. The Chair, a member of the S/C, or another UF graduate faculty member who has appropriate expertise and is designated by the Chair, will interact with qualified non-UF faculty scientists located off campus concerning student internships. The same UF faculty member will also evaluate and assign a grade for internships in their discipline performed under the local supervisor.