Ulp.

[rivka]

My dissertation advisor e-mailed me this morning to say that one of my committee members will be out of town from the middle of June to the middle of August.

Alert readers may remember that I had been told that I need to defend my dissertation by the end of July or re-take my comprehensive exams. My advisor is convinced that he can make this requirement go away with a wave of his hand. I hope he's right. I'm not sure what we'll do if he finds out that he isn't.

Needless to say, this whole thing makes me nervous.

I'm now looking at defending in the last week of August - right after alt.polycon 10. I'll still want to get my dissertation in to the Graduate College and distributed to my committee by the end-of-July deadline, because I think it will strengthen my case that I'm only delaying the defense for scheduling reasons.

Yikes.

Comments

[melebeth]

How horrible would it be to get a replacement person for your committee? It's not the ideal situation, but if you could finish pre-deadline with an alternate, it might be worth looking into to save your sanity.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

As a dissertation *supervisor* who's *being* replaced at a similar event this upcoming fall, I doubly second this suggestion.

-J

[dlacey.livejournal.com]

I don't know how it works at your school but I have a friend here in a similar situation. She was hoping to defend at the end of August and needs to defend by the end of September or pay a whole terms tuition. Meanwhile, one of her committee members will be away the entire time. Anyway, as long a definate time is set for defending the committee member has said they are willing to come back for the day for her defense. Is this perhaps possible in your situation?

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Yikes indeed. Best wishes for getting things worked out and not having to you-know-what.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

<crosses fingers on your behalf>

I hope that your advisor is correct in saying that he can get the deadline waived/moved; I also think you're right that your best chance lies in "I'm ready but I can't assemble my committee -- see, here's my dissertation before the deadline."

Not that I would expect you to overlook this (quite the contrary!), but for your own sanity's sake get the waiver in writing as soon as it's (theoretically) granted.

Good luck!

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

I agree. Keep aiming for submission in time for the deadline, and that will make an exemption appeal more credible. Also, don't just leave it to your advisor to sort out the exemption, especially if he is vague about it. (Having a backup plan would also be good - maybe asking around in e-mail to identify a potential substitute committee member who will be around at the right time ...)

Anyway, good luck with the writing and assembly despite this complication.

[claire.livejournal.com]

I'll send good thoughts and keep my fingers (and toes) crossed for you!