The Reading Committee consists of at least three members drawn from the Supervisory Committee. It must include at least two core faculty. For more details see UW Graduate School Policy 4.2. When the Supervisory Committee Chair determines that the dissertation reflects mastery of research techniques, he or she will recommend the appointment of a Reading Committee through an email to megrad@uw.edu identifying the Reading Committee Chair (or Co-Chairs), the GSR and the remaining committee members. When the committee has been approved, an email from the Graduate School will be sent to the student, and all members of the Reading Committee.

Core faculty comprises Mechanical Engineering Faculty in all ranks with tenure or tenure-track appointments, and research, emeritus, and joint appointments. Faculty with adjunct and affiliate ranks are not included.

Appointment and responsibilities of a Doctoral Reading Committee

After the General Examination, the Graduate Program Coordinator uses MyGrad Program to inform the Dean of The Graduate School of at least three members of the supervisory committee who will serve on the reading committee. At least one of the members of the reading committee must hold an endorsement to chair doctoral committees. The reading committee is appointed to read and approve the dissertation. It is the responsibility of a reading committee to (a) ensure that the dissertation is a significant contribution to knowledge and is an acceptable piece of scholarly writing; (b) determine the appropriateness of a candidate's dissertation as a basis for issuing a Committee Signature Form for a Final Examination and; (c) approve a candidate's dissertation.