Special Appointment Process

Special appointment to a graduate student’s supervisory committee allows qualified UF or non-UF personnel who do not have regular graduate faculty status at UF to serve as guest experts on graduate students’ supervisory committees. 

Special appointments are made individually, student by student, on a case-by-case basis.

Special appointments can serve only as members on supervisory committees (not as chairs, co-chairs or externals). 

Special appointments do not count toward the required minimum for a valid supervisory committee (which must be filled by current UF graduate faculty), but over and above that number.

Nominations for special appointment to a graduate student’s supervisory committee are processed through the Graduate Information Management System (GIMS).

To start this process, please:

  1. Log into GIMS.
  2. Enter the student’s UFID number in the “UFID/Name” slot.
  3. Click the “Find” button.
  4. On the student’s GIMS screen, click “Actions” on the pertinent light-blue Degree Segment bar.
  5. Click “Submit Special Appointment” on the drop-down menu that appears.
  6. On the pop-up screen that appears, follow the prompts and fill in the blanks.
  7. Click the “Submit to Grad School” button.

Those steps will send your request to the Graduate School for final processing. 

You will receive a confirmation e-mail once your request is processed by the Graduate School. 

Before you start this process, you will need:

  1. A UFID number, if the appointee doesn’t already have one. (Your payroll/personnel staffer generates this in PeopleSoft.)
  2. The nominee’s most up-to-date curriculum vitae.
  3. An evaluative statement from your department chair or school director, explaining what knowledge, experience and skills this special appointment will bring to the student’s research as a guest expert on his/her supervisory committee.

If you have any questions about this process, please e-mail UF Graduate School at gradschool@aa.ufl.edu or telephone us at (352) 392-6622.