Details of the meetings with the advisory committee

1. With the application documents for admission to doctoral studies (to be submitted to the Authority for Research Students), a proposal for the composition of the advisory committee will be submitted. The supervisor will propose 4 names, from which the Authority plenum will choose 2. The Faculty Doctoral Committee, if it recommends acceptance of the candidate, will include a recommendation for the composition of the advisory committee.

 

2. The supervisor, the student and the advisory committee will meet approximately 3-6 months after admission to Stage A (meeting 1).

The purpose of the meeting: Consultation, presentation of the initial research plan (such as the one presented in the admission documents) and joint discussion of the research plan. There is no need to submit documents to the committee. The person in charge of advanced degrees at the Secretariat for Teaching Matters must be informed of the meeting and its date (an email to Ms. Mazi Stein).

 

3. No later than 12 months from the approval of admission to Stage A, a research proposal and a supplementary study program will be submitted to the Authority for Research Students. The advisory committee will convene no later than two months after the submission of the proposal (meeting 2).

The purpose of the meeting: advice, judgment and approval of the research, examination of the student's readiness to carry it out, discussion and approval of the supplementary study program, and a recommendation regarding transition to Stage B. Part of the meeting will be held without the supervisor(s). In this section, the student will present the research proposal to the committee, and his/her readiness to conduct the research independently will be assessed. In the part held in the presence of the supervisor, the research proposal and research directions will be discussed in depth. The order of the parts is at the discretion of the committee.

At this meeting (meeting 2), the committee chaired by the supervisor will make one of four decisions regarding the research and the transition to Stage B:

a. Recommendation for the approval of the research proposal and transition to Stage B.

b. Request for minor corrections in the proposal and a recommendation for transition to Stage B, provided that the corrections have been made.

c. In cases where the progress of the research is insufficient, a request for the submission of an amended research proposal within six months, after which it will be decided whether to approve the transition to Stage B or to discontinue the studies

d. Doctoral studies termination. At this meeting, the committee will express its opinion and approve or request to change the supplementary study. The committee report will include the committee’s impression of the proficiency and mastery of the student's material and his/her ability to carry out the research independently.

If the committee recommends the submission of an amended research proposal six months later, another meeting will be held up to two months after the submission of the amended proposal. At this meeting, it will be decided to move on to Stage B or to discontinue the doctorate.

 

4. After 12 months from the transition to Stage B, a brief progress report will be submitted for approval to the members of the advisory committee detailing the achievements since the previous meeting and a plan for continuation.
The purpose of the report: Review. According to the progress of the study as reflected in the report, committee members will be able to request that the committee will have another meeting. In addition, the student and/or the supervisor will be able to initiate a meeting of the committee at any stage for consultation and advice.

5. After 24 months from the transition to Stage B, an additional progress report will be submitted to the Authority for Research Students after the advisory committee will meet to discuss the process of completing and submitting the PhD thesis, giving a final progress lecture and a schedule for submitting the thesis (meeting 3).

Purpose of the meeting: Review and approval of the research and the student's readiness to submit it, and discussion/recommendation on the submission format: monograph or chapter collection. The session will include part where the advisor is presence and part without the advisor. The committee may request an additional report and/or a meeting in another year in the event that substantial completions of the research need to be made. The report will be submitted to the Authority for approval by research students.

 

6. During the fifth year of study, the student and the advisor will contact the Authority for Research Students with a proposal for the names of judges for a progress lecture, and will receive from the Authority the names of the approved judges. After the progress lecture, the thesis will be written. The members of the advisory committee will be updated by the student on the submission of the thesis and on publications arising from the work.

 

7. It is generally expected that the doctorate will last no more than 5 years. In any case of deviation from the schedule specified above or within the 5-year time frame, the Faculty Doctoral Committee will be updated by the Authority for Research Students on the dates at which the review is carried out. Requests from students regarding lengths at the various doctoral stages will be directed to the Authority for Research Students.