Dissertation chair problems: what to do when your chair is silent, slow, gone or demanding

Most chair problems have a procedure, and the first step is to know which problem you have. This page sends you to the right guide and sets out the escalation path that applies in nearly every case.

Find your situation

What is happening	Read this
Your chair has died	My dissertation (thesis) chair died: what do I do?
Your chair does not answer emails	My dissertation chair is not responding
Your chair answers, but only after weeks	Dissertation chair taking too long to give feedback
Your chair left, retired or is on leave	My dissertation chair left the university: what now?
You want or need a different chair	How to change your dissertation chair
Revisions keep coming with no approval	My dissertation chair keeps asking for more revisions
You have committee comments to answer	How to respond to committee comments

The escalation path

In almost every program the order is the same. Move to the next step only when the one before has failed.

1. Your chair. A clear, short email with a deadline.
2. A second channel. Office hours, a phone call, or the department administrator.
3. A committee member you trust, asking for advice and not for blame.
4. Your graduate program director, with dates and the attempts you made.
5. The graduate school, the dean's office or an ombudsperson, who handle formal cases and give confidential advice.

Five habits that protect you

• Keep every email, comment file and meeting summary.
• Send a short email after each meeting listing what was agreed.
• Read your program handbook for time limits, committee rules and turnaround expectations.
• Keep your tone factual. Messages are saved, and your chair or committee may still sign your degree.
• Keep working on the parts you control while a problem is being solved.

Where we can help

We are not your chair, your committee or your program, and we cannot mediate or promise approval. What we can do is give you independent written feedback while the situation is resolved, so your work moves forward:

• a manuscript review of the whole document
• a chapter review of one chapter
• a committee feedback review that turns comments into a revision plan
• formatting to your university template

Your ideas, arguments and research stay yours. Our thesis or dissertation editing cost page shows what the services cost, and the quote form shows your price as you type.