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Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC)

1. TAC Committee Composition: (guidelines dated 2016)

  • The Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) should consist of 3 to 4 experienced scientists (including the doctoral student's advisor).
  • Other than the supervisor, 2TAC members must come from outside of the student ‘s research group, in order to foster interdisciplinarity.
  • It is not a requirement that all of the members of the TAC hold the position of professor. However, it is
    recommended that at least two members are professors.
  • TAC members must not necessarily be members of the LMU Faculty of Biology.
  • TAC members should be willing to remain on the TAC for the duration of the student's studies, when possible.
  • All TAC members should be present at each TAC meeting.
  • An important point of consideration: TAC members are not necessarily those who will serve on the
    evaluation board for the thesis defense.

1. TAC Committee Composition: (guidelines dated 2023)

  • The Thesis Advisory Committee (from here on referred to as TAC) should consist of 3 to 4 experienced scientists including the doctoral student's advisor who will act as the first thesis reviewer (TAC 1), and another member who will act as the second thesis reviewer (TAC 2). Other than the supervisor, 2 TAC members must come from outside of the student‘s research group, in order to foster interdisciplinarity.
  • It is not a requirement that all of the members of the TAC hold the position of professor. However, please keep in mind that the first and second thesis reviewers should have a habilitation and are members of the LMU faculty of Biology*
  • TAC members should be willing to remain on the TAC for the duration of the student's studies, when possible.
  • All TAC members should be present at each TAC meeting
  • The 1st and 2nd TAC members serve as the first and second reviewers/examiners for the doctoral thesis on the evaluation board for the thesis defense.

*If your direct LSM supervisor is affiliated to the faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Medical or Veterinary Medicine faculty, then in this case the second thesis reviewer (TAC 2) as well as TAC 3 or TAC 4 will need to be members of the faculty of Biology.

2. TAC Responsibilities:

  • The TAC exists to assist doctoral students by monitoring the pace and progress of a student's work and advising the student about the development of their research project, hereby complementing the role of the student's direct supervisor. This should occur on a yearly basis and include evaluating whether and to what extent the scientific approach, the scope of the proposal, and the research topic(s) are sufficient and suitable for a doctoral thesis project.
  • With respect to the above mentioned evaluations and assessments, the TAC can (and is encouraged to)
    recommend changes to a student's proposal, and may also recommend a timeline for accomplishing defined
    goals necessary for completing the thesis research in time.
  • Additionally, the TAC may advise students with regards to career planning and professional development.
  • Members of the TAC may eventually mediate discussions between students and supervisors.
  • Please read the full version of the TAC regulations, available here (dated 2016)!
  • Please read the full version of the TAC regulations, available here (dated 2023)!

 

Students should  arrange an initial meeting with their TAC members during which; the scope, impact, feasibility and associated risks of their project should be discussed. The first TAC-meeting should take place within the first six months of the doctoral studies. And then follow subsequently, every year.

This form (pdf) should be filled out at each TAC meeting and sent to the E-Mail schicken an lsm@bio.lmu.de LSM-office.

Please note: LSM-students should attend at least four TAC meetings during their whole doctoral studies, this includes the disputation (pdf).

 


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