Students must declare a DAC and submit the DAC form within three months after passing their qualifying exam, no later than Feb of G3 year.
The DAC should be formed in consultation with the Dissertation Advisor and the SHBT Academic Advisor. The composition of the DAC needs to be first approved by either the Program Director or the Director of Student Affairs. The next step is to have the SHBT student tracking committee approve the composition of the DAC; this is done by the approval of the form submitted with the dissertation proposal. The Dissertation Proposal Form should be submitted to the SHBT Program Administrator.
The committee should have at least three members, not including the advisor. A DAC Chair should be identified who will be responsible for reporting on each DAC meeting. The DAC Chair must be a Harvard Faculty member and must be well acquainted with the academic policies of DMS. Faculty members with relevant expertise from outside Harvard may serve on the DAC if approved by the SHBT tracking Committee. It is recommended that two members of the DAC be formally affiliated with the SHBT Program and one member not be affiliated with the Program, in order to provide a broad perspective. Deviations from this recommended pattern may be allowed if approved by the SHBT Tracking Committee. When in doubt about the DAC composition, the student should consult the Program Director or Director of Student Affairs prior to submitting the DAC form.
The student's Dissertation Advisor as well as other faculty collaborators cannot serve as formal committee members or committee chair – although the Dissertation Advisor is expected to attend all meetings.
The Chair of the DAC committee is expected to serve as examiner for the dissertation defense, Other members of the DAC committee cannot do so.
DAC Chair
Each DAC is headed administratively by a Chair, chosen by the student in consultation with the Dissertation Advisor. The DAC Chair is responsible for overseeing the committee meetings that are convened at least once each semester to review research progress and submitting a report after each DAC meeting.
The DAC Chair must be a Harvard faculty member and must be well acquainted with the academic policies and procedures of DMS. The Dissertation Advisor may not serve as DAC Chair.
The DAC chair is responsible for making sure that the views of the DAC are effectively communicated to the student and that any major concerns of the DAC are effectively communicated to the advisor and to the SHBT Director of Student Affairs via the Program Director.
The DAC chair is responsible for the preparation and submission of the report, which should be approved by all committee members immediately upon conclusion of the meeting. Immediate submission of the DAC report is important, not only so potential problems can be remedied quickly, but so student registration status is not jeopardized.