Approval for external (outside of the U of M) committee member 

To request approval for an external committee member outside the U of MN, send an email request to the Director of Graduate Studies. Include the following:

a. A brief description of the person's expertise, a rationale for why the person's expertise contributes to your research, and how it complements the expertise of other committee members. 

b. Include in your email the person's: 1) first/middle/last name, 2) home and office mailing addresses, 3) email address, 4) birth date, 5) gender, and 6) phone number.

c. Provide an approximate date on which this temporary appointment will end (This would be an estimated defense date). Please over-estimate so we don't need to go back and extend, should something unexpected arise.

d. Conclude with a statement that you have discussed this with your advisor and have your advisor's approval. 

e. Attach a current copy of their CV.