The decision to change one’s doctoral advisor is a significant one; in some cases, the student and advisor may work through differences via structured conversations or mediation. However, when a change of advisor occurs, MSE PhD students and faculty advisors are expected to follow the policies and practices below. 

Guiding Principles:

• Doctoral students have the right to select a PhD advisor. 
• International students will not lose their visa or their status if they decide to switch doctoral advisors.
• The Associate Chair for PhD Education will facilitate transitional discussions between he student, the new advisor, and the previous advisor 
• The MSE department does not tolerate retaliation. Any perceived retaliatory behavior should be reported to the Department Chair, the Associate Chair for PhD Education, and/or the MSE Ombuds. 

1) Initiating the Change of Advisor

There are a variety of reasons that a doctoral student may switch PhD advisor, including but not limited to the following:

• The advisor leaves the institution,
• The student’s research project is no longer supported by research funding and GSI/GSA support options have been exhausted.
• The student transfers to a different academic unit or prefers a different research area.
• The student and advisor have fundamental disagreements regarding the research project/progress and/or the research environment/culture.
• Communication between the student and advisor has broken down, with no direct communication in a 30 day period (unplanned and unrelated to an internship, medical leave, etc.) 

To discuss a possible change in advisors, doctoral students may contact the MSE Ombuds (for confidential and impartial advice), the Associate Chair for PhD Education, or the Graduate Student Coordinator/Advisor. 

2) Change of Advisor Process

To request a change in advisor, select the ‘Change in Advisor’ form (include a link here) noting the date of the request, the effective date of change (typically the end of the semester), current funding (GSRA, GSI, or GSSA), the reason for the request, current advisor name, and potential new advisor name. The form will be signed by the student, the current advisor, and the Associate Chair for PhD Education. 

The Associate Chair for PhD Education and/or the Graduate Student Coordinator will review the steps for new advisor selection:

1. Identify new advisor (student to interview at least 3 faculty)
2. Wrap-up plan for current research, including deliverables (student and current advisor)
3. Plan for transfer of materials, data, and/or other resources to remain  in current group (student and current advisor)
4. Onboarding plan for new research (student and new advisor)
5. Completion plan including funding (student and new advisor)

Note that the MSE PhD program is not obligated to identify the student’s new advisor and will not guarantee that an advisor will be available to a student that seeks to change advisors. However, all offer letter commitments of student funding will be honored.

The typical timeframe for changing an advisor will be one to two months, and at most one semester. If the student is on academic probation when the change of advisor process is executed, a minimum of two months will be required for the completion of the process, as per the Rackham policy, but the maximum allowed time remains one semester.

Consequences for a doctoral student who fails to complete all of the necessary steps by the established deadline will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The student will be recommended to meet with a team member from the Graduate Student and Program Consultation Services (GSPCS) to verify their interest in finishing the PhD degree and obtaining a UMich MSE PhD degree.

3) Graduate Student Support during the Process

Changing advisors can be stressful and can cause students anxiety, which can also affect their academic progress. Students will be advised to utilize University support mechanisms (listed above) as well as departmental resources available through the Graduate Student Coordinator/Advisor. In situations of conflict between the doctoral student and PhD advisor, the program leadership will recommend that the dispute be resolved after direct consultation with the GSPCS.

 4) Relationship to Program Academic Milestones and Requirements

A change in doctoral advisor may impact the following academic milestones: 

• PhD qualifying exam,
• Achieving candidacy,
• Conference/workshop attendance,
• Submission of manuscripts, conference abstracts, fellowship applications, etc.

These changes may delay graduation. 

At each step of the process of changing doctoral advisor, the MSE Graduate Program will adhere to the Rackham Graduate School Academic Policies, Section 3.4. The doctoral student’s academic and research record will be carefully evaluated, in order to ensure that the student continues to make progress towards their PhD degree and the milestones required by the MSE PhD program. In case the doctoral student fails to make progress towards their PhD degree and/or department milestones, the academic probation process may be initiated (Rackham Academic Probation Policy).