Thesis Advisory Committee

The following information is for existing scholars. Please follow these guidelines when forming your thesis advisory committee (TAC), conducting annual TAC meetings, and writing TAC reports.

What is an IMPRS-IS thesis advisory committee?

An IMPRS-IS thesis advisory committee (TAC) consists of three or more individuals who agree to help guide an IMPRS-IS scholar’s doctoral research and career development.

To satisfy the IMPRS-IS criteria, a TAC must include:

The scholar's primary advisor and any co-advisors that they have.
At least two members of the core IMPRS-IS faculty.
A mandatory third member who comes from either the faculty or the associated faculty of IMPRS-IS.
A university professor capable of being the primary supervisor of doctoral researchers in the faculty/department from which the scholar intends to graduate.
Members representing at least two of the three IMPRS-IS partner institutions: the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the University of Stuttgart, and the University of Tübingen.

Can an IMPRS-IS scholar have more than 3 TAC members?

Yes, IMPRS-IS scholars may have more than 3 TAC members.

These additional members do not have to be affiliated with IMPRS-IS.
The inclusion of additional members, especially individuals who are not IMPRS-IS affiliated, must be approved by a scholar's primary advisor.

A TAC approves the doctoral project, reviews scholar progress, and advises on further studies and research.

Forming a TAC

Step 1: Searching for TAC members

In addition to your primary advisor, you need to secure at least two additional individuals so that your TAC meets all of the criteria listed above. A scholar can access a variety of resources to find ideal committee members, such as:

The scholar's primary advisor
The IMPRS-IS coordination office
The complete list of IMPRS-IS faculty and associated faculty

Step 2: Abstract and Project Plan

Proper planning increases the likeliness of successfully earning a doctorate. Therefore, it is required that IMPRS-IS scholars write an abstract and project plan. A scholar may choose to present these documents to an IMPRS-IS faculty member when asking that member to serve on their TAC. Scholars should upload these documents to their ZEBRA profile.

Abstract
- This document is a brief overview of the planned doctoral project. It should be roughly 350 to 550 words in length and can contain elements such as:
  - Motivation and goals
  - Research objectives
  - Future directions
Project Plan
- The project plan is essentially a timeline featuring scholarly milestones. Some examples could include:
  - Conference or journal paper submissions
  - Desired dates for future TAC meetings
  - Plans for internships, summer schools, or workshops

Step 3: TAC Agreement

In order for a TAC to be considered official, all committee members must sign the TAC agreement.

This should be completed within the first 6-9 months of a scholar's doctoral studies.
Traditional or digital signatures are considered valid for this agreement.
Scholars must upload the completed TAC agreement to their ZEBRA profile.

TAC Agreement
(TAC-Agreement.pdf)

Download PDF

The main way in which a TAC offers support and guidance is through the annual TAC meeting.

TAC Meetings

Each scholar must meet together with their entire TAC at least three times over the course of their doctoral research. While there are no specific rules on when these meetings must occur, we strongly recommend holding your first TAC meeting within the first year of your doctoral work. The image below outlines a suggested timeline for when meetings are likely to be most beneficial, aligned with key stages of your research progress.

Suggested Timeline for TAC Meetings

Suggested Format for a TAC Meeting:

45 minutes devoted to a research presentation by the scholar including the answering of questions and discussion with all participants present. We recommend that scholars plan a presentation of no more than 25 minutes to leave enough time for discussion.
10 minutes for discussion between the scholar and the TAC members (not including the scholar’s advisor).
10 minutes for discussion between the advisor and the TAC members (not including the scholar).
25 minutes for a summary discussion with all participants present to plan next steps and discuss the executive summary.

Estimated duration: 90 minutes

Following a TAC meeting, scholars write an overview of the meeting, which is reviewed, approved, and signed by the TAC. This is referred to as an executive summary (TAC report).

TAC Executive Summary (TAC report)

The guidelines for an executive summary are as follows:

Scholars are to write a two-page summary about (i) the discussion, the (ii) suggestions made, and (iii) the steps required to complete their doctoral thesis.
This report must be completed within three working days following the TAC, and it must be sent to all TAC members for review.
The report must be reviewed by all TAC members, who can request changes and rewriting. The document is final only after all TAC members have approved it.
The final, approved TAC executive summary must be sent by the student to the IMPRS-IS coordinator.
The executive summary should serve as a reference for the student and the TAC in the next TAC meeting, to track the progress of the student.
The summary must include signatures of all meeting attendees. These signatures can be added to the TAC meeting form, which should be attached to the executive summary. Digital signatures are also considered valid for this form.

Submission of Documents to IMPRS-IS Coordination Office

The final step needed to consider a TAC meeting successful is to submit the executive summary to the IMPRS-IS coordination office. This is done through two simple steps:

1.) A scholar uploads the executive summary, with the TAC meeting form attached, as a PDF to their ZEBRA profile.

2.) The scholar then emails Sara Sorce (sara.sorce@tuebingen.mpg.de) to inform the coordination office of this submission.

Remember: A TAC meeting officially counts toward a student's program requirements only after the TAC executive summary and signed meeting form have been submitted.

All needed forms can be found in the TAC procedure pdf below.

TAC Procedure
(TAC-Procedure.pdf)

Download PDF

Photo credit for all page images: MPI für Intelligent Systeme / Wolfram Scheible