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hobbit
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« on: March 23, 2010, 09:27:03 AM » |
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I plan to defend soon, and have heard about graduate students providing gifts to their committee members after a successful defense. Most of the students in our department are international, and gifts are commonplace. What are appropriate gifts for committee members? I was thinking of wine, but then there's always the concern of someone who cannot drink alcohol. Should gifts be given at the end of the defense, or included with a copy of the dissertation?
Thanks in advance -
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madhatter
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« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2010, 10:56:04 AM » |
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In my program, the expected gift was a bound copy of the dissertation. Wait until you see just how much that costs!
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"I may be an evil scientist, but it doesn't take a degree purchased from the Internet with your ex-wife's money to know how special and important you are to me." -- Dr. Doofenschmirtz
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laurel_knx
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« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2010, 12:00:50 PM » |
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I don't know what gifts would be appropriate, but I would suggest waiting until after the defense to present any gifts. If you bring a big bag of presents with you to the defense, it seems a little presumptuous and vaguely like a bribe.
Alcohol is a bad idea depending on region and how well you know your committee. Seems like maybe you don't know them well enough for that if you don't even know for sure they all drink. Do you know of any gifts that have been given in the past?
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scampster
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« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2010, 12:49:44 PM » |
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In my program, the expected gift was a bound copy of the dissertation. Wait until you see just how much that costs!
At my grad school, they hard bound theses for $16. SIXTEEN DOLLARS! It's like they made some pact with the devil. My master's thesis was three times that I think! |
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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obprof
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« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2010, 01:55:53 PM » |
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A bound copy of the thesis would be nice.
A card with a note of thanks would be especially nice.
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madhatter
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« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2010, 03:42:29 PM » |
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In my program, the expected gift was a bound copy of the dissertation. Wait until you see just how much that costs!
At my grad school, they hard bound theses for $16. SIXTEEN DOLLARS! It's like they made some pact with the devil. My master's thesis was three times that I think! Gawd. Mine was more like $70 per copy, and that was over a decade ago. |
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"I may be an evil scientist, but it doesn't take a degree purchased from the Internet with your ex-wife's money to know how special and important you are to me." -- Dr. Doofenschmirtz
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monita
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« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2010, 04:34:42 PM » |
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In my program, the expected gift was a bound copy of the dissertation. Wait until you see just how much that costs!
Gifts are not standard in my department, but I wanted to give my advisor something, and went this way. It can definitely be pricey, especially with color illustrations or a long document. However, my advisor was pleased and it didn't put me in the uncomfortable position of buying a nice gift for someone with 1000x more money than me. I just sent nice thank you cards to the rest of the committee and my outside reader, and everyone seemed happy with that. |
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dolljepopp
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« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2010, 05:59:58 PM » |
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OP, are there recent graduates you can ask about what they did / gave?
I honestly have no idea what the standard practise has been / is in my department -- but I will by the time I defend.
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"Double standards are the warning signals of a free society." - Timothy Garton Ash
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anon99
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« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2010, 10:15:51 PM » |
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For your supervisor, a bound copy of the thesis is a nice idea. For other committee members, perhaps a small gift or thank you card. This may sound bad, but I am on some committees where I'd never look at the thesis again after the defense. This has nothing to do with the student, but the topic is not related to what I do.
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boringmember
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« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2010, 11:06:33 PM » |
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Are you getting a job at a university after? If so, you could give a mug or something from your new place.
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pisces
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« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2010, 07:51:39 AM » |
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OP, thanks for asking this. I've been wondering about gifts as well. I know the members of my committee drink wine so I was thinking of a bottle of wine for each and something unique for my adviser.
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shrek
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« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2010, 08:41:54 AM » |
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From the side of the committee chair or committee member, I like thank you notes a bound copy of the dissertation (if I'm the chair). If I'm a committee member I would like to have a copy, but I get that it's expensive, so the cheap option (spiral bound on regular paper) is fine. Beyond that some students have given me plaques with funny things about doctoral work or my messy office. Stuff that's memorable, but not terribly expensive. I also collect wind-ups and puzzles so some people add to those collections. A small token is much more meaningful and thoughtful-- Of these little things I have in my office, I know exactly who gave me what and why.
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mended_drum
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« Reply #12 on: March 24, 2010, 08:42:19 AM » |
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I sent my committee flowers after I'd signed the contract for my job. They made sure to tell me that they didn't want any gifts before I was employed.
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hobbit
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« Reply #13 on: March 24, 2010, 11:04:12 AM » |
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OP, are there recent graduates you can ask about what they did / gave?
All the recent grads have been from countries outside the US, and gave the committee members gifts that were typically given to highly respected teachers in their countries - small tasteful art works or artifacts, specialty foods, things like that. Unfortunately, I have no job lined up, but a mug from the new institution sounds like a nice idea if that were the case. Giving the advisor a bound copy of the dissertation is a requirement here. Any faculty out there reading this - are there any dissertation gifts you received that you liked or did not like? Thanks for the suggestion not to bring anything to the defense - I had not thought of the implications. |
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obprof
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« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2010, 11:45:16 AM » |
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I've never actually received a gift from a graduating PhD student -- it is not the norm here.
I have received small gifts (kind of like what you describe) from international undergraduate students, though (all my colleagues do too), and I have to admit it's a little awkward (they are so kind, and I don't want to refuse it or cause offense, but it's just not something I'm always comfortable with).
So I think what I'm saying is that your committee really won't expect you do give them anything.
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