At UT, each graduate degree program has a graduate studies committee. The GSC is made up of all professors (at all ranks) in the program.
The GSC appoints a chairperson.
Here is what the GSC does:
Make recommendations for new graduate courses and any changes.
Set goals for the numbers of new students to be enrolled in the programs.
Setting admission requirements.
Recommend admission of students.
Set requirements for degrees.
Establish supplementary requirements for continuation in its program.
Recommend the committee chairs and committee members for supervision of theses and dissertations.
Recommend students for doctoral candidacy.
Make available to its students a description of its requirements, the procedures that a student is expected to follow in achieving a degree, and the standards demanded for continuation in the program.
The current GSC chair is Prof. Don Fussell.
Contrast the graduate studies committee role with: Graduate Coordinator, Graduate Adviser, and department chair.