The Physics Department requires a 4-member faculty committee plus an outside reader and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Therefore, the student should consult with their research adviser, core thesis committee and then the DGS about the make-up of the committee and when approval is given, the student should then ask those wanted on the Committee if they will agree to serve. The Committee should be made up of at least two tenured faculty members. Typically, the Committee would include the members of the core thesis committee and one more faculty member.
Usually, the make-up of the committee is as follows:
For students in an experimental field:
Adviser and another in same experimental field; another in same field but theoretical; another experimentalist (any field).
For students in a theoretical field:
Adviser and another in same theoretical field; another in same field but experimental; another theorist (any field).