Faculty & Staff Resources

Faculty Credentialing

Faculty who meet the definition of Graduate Faculty, or who are approved as Affiliate Members of Graduate Faculty,  are considered credentialed for the purpose of service on graduate student committees.  (Approval for teaching is a separate process - reference USF Policy 10-115 - Faculty Credentials for Teaching Undergraduate and Graduate courses - https://usf.app.box.com/v/usfpolicy10-115)

Procedures for Approval as Graduate Faculty

All tenure-track or tenured faculty appointed at the Assistant, Associate, or Professor rank, who hold a terminal degree or equivalent in their discipline is considered to be Graduate Faculty and are eligible to serve on thesis/dissertation committees.  No further approval is required to be classified as Graduate Faculty. 

However, approval to serve on a specific Committee, as a Member, Major or Co-Major Professor, or as an Outside Chair of the Dissertation Defense, requires approval as part of the internal College approval process for Committee appointments.  Graduate Faculty appointed to thesis/dissertation committees should have qualfications relevant to and in support of the student's research topic.  Check with the College for specific procedures on Committee Appointments.

Procedures for Approval as an Affiliate Member of Graduate Faculty

Individuals who do not meet the requirements to be Graduate Faculty may request approval to be an Affiliate Member of Graduate Faculty.  These individuals do not need to be tenure-track or tenured.  Affiliate Members are eligible to serve as members on thesis/dissertation committees, and in exceptional cases may be approved to serve as the Major Professor.  See the section on Affiliate Members of Graduate Faculty in the Graduate Catalog for more information.

Students select individuals that they would like to have serve on their committee. These individuals must be approved via a College-level approval process for Committee appointments. If this individual is not a member of the Graduate Faculty, they must apply for Affiliate Member of the Graduate Faculty. Affiliate Members of Graduate Faculty appointed to thesis/dissertation committees should have qualifications relevant to and in support of the student's research topic. Check with the College for specific procedures on Committee Appointments. Once appointed to a Committee, the approval to serve is valid for the term of that committee. Affiliate Member of the Graduate Faculty status is current for three (3) years and these individuals can serve on other committees if approved to do so by the Program/College. Once the three (3) years are over, the individual can continue on any committees of which they are already members, but to join new committees, they must renew their Affiliate Member status.

To request approval as an Affiliate Member of Graduate Faculty, the faculty member or external applicant must submit their CV to the Department/School Chair, who approves the request.  Once approved, the Department Chair or designated staff may submit the request with the CV:

  1. Open Curriculog
  2. Click on +New Proposal link in the top middle of the page
  3. Click on "Next 10" and Scroll until you see the Graduate Affiliate Faculty Approval Form
  4. Click on the check mark (√)  on the right side to start the form
  5. Review the text at the top of the form for important information
  6. Select the reason for the request: 
    • Serve as Co-Major Professor, Committee Member, and/or Outside Chair for a Dissertation Defense
    • Serve as Major Professor or
  7. If requesting approval to serve as a Major Professor, provide the specific qualifications that support this request.  These requests are approved on an exceptional basis. 
  8. Indicate if this is a new appointment or renewal (after three years from initial approval)
  9. Provide requested information (Name, email, employment, degree, institution degree earned from, date earned, and major/field that the degree is in)
  10. Indicate the role and level of committee that this person will be working with (masters/specialist/doctoral or a combination).  Indicate the level of expertise that makes participation important to the students research topic.
  11. Attach a current CV, and/or provide the URL where the CV may be found online
  12. Once the information is completed, go to the bottom of the left side and click "Save all Changes" - Then Click "Validate and Launch Proposal"
  13. If the CV has not been uploaded, click on the paperclip icon on the right side of the screen and upload the document.
  14. Once everything is uploaded, go to the decisions tab and click "Approve" and "Make my decision" to move this request forward for processing. 

Routing Steps:

  1. Department Chair or designated staff submits the request as Originator
  2. College Review / approval
  3. OGS Pre-Screen review step
  4. Graduate Studies Assoc. Dean reviews/approves
  5. OGS completes process and updates system(s)

Once approved the individual is eligible as an Affiliate Member of Graduate Faculty to serve on graduate thesis/dissertation committees for a period up to 3 years.  However, the actual approval to serve on a specific committee is part of the Committee approval process within each College.  Departments and Colleges may have additional requirements.

For questions on this process, contact Carol or Joe in the Office of Graduate Studies.