Advisory Committee

An advisory committee is established by the student in consultation with their supervisor(s). One member of the Neuroscience Program Committee is assigned to each advisory committee and will act as the committee chair. At least two other members are chosen for their expertise in an area related to the proposed research topic. Appropriate experts from outside the Neuroscience Program and Western University may be included.

Within one month of entering the graduate program, student's should submit the names of their chosen advisors and their proposed thesis topic using the Advisory Committee Approval Form. The neuroscience program committee will approve the final advisory committee and a program representative will be assigned to chair the committee. 

Each student meets with their Advisory Committee within their first term. Subsequently, each student meets with their Advisory Committee at approximately six-month intervals; this schedule is particularly important for M.Sc. students because of the short duration of their training program. These meetings, which generally last for about 1 hour, focus on the proposed research, progress to date and future plans. Students should be prepared to make a short (5-10 minutes for first meeting, ~15-20 min for subsequent meetings) oral presentation of their project outline and recent research findings.

Every member of the advisory committee has an important role to play. Here we have outlined the roles and expectations of all members.

Before every meeting, students must provide their Program Rep with a copy of the applicable Advisory Committee Form and pre-fill the first two pages. At least one week before your meeting, a copy of your previous meeting report should be circulated to your advisory committee with your pre-meeting report and Gantt chart. After the advisory committee meeting, students must ensure that the Neuroscience office receives a signed copy of the most recent meeting report.

Pages 1-4 are mandatory. Review additional pages and use those that are applicable.  Formatting of form works best when used in Adobe.

At each meeting your progress will be reviewed. If a committee indicates that a student needs improvement on more than one occasion, a mandatory meeting will be scheduled with the Director of the program. A student that receives this rating on more than one occasion may be required to withdraw from the program.

**TIPS FOR SCHEDULING YOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS**
1. RECOMMENDED: Schedule your next meeting at the end of each meeting.    
2. Schedule at least two months in advance
3. Speak with your supervisor first to determine their availability.  This will help you send a more limited Doodle Poll to your advisory committee.  Faculty receive a lot of meeting requests – be considerate and try to limit your options to a maximum of 10 dates/times.