Overview

Each student is responsible for selecting a research advisor to work with. Students usually choose an advisor during their first or second year. The student should try to find an advisor that is a good match in terms of personality, work style, interests, and expertise

The role of the advisor

In general, the role of the advisor is to guide the student in research and career development. Advisors often provide the student with a research project to work on, either by suggesting an idea for the student to pursue, or by bringing the student into a collaboration with other people. In other cases, the research project might originate from an idea that the student has.

Some advisors are very hands off, meaning that they only provide some general suggestions for the student to consider. Other professors are somewhat authoritative, in that they provide directions and expect the student to mostly follow these directions. Other professors work closely with the student and actually do some of the work.

When you are close to graduating, the professor will have to sign your thesis and write recommendation letters for you.

Finding your interests

When you begin your search for an advisor, it really does help to know what your interests are. If you are not sure what your interests are, then you should go to seminars, talk to people, take classes, read books, read articles, and soul search.

Looking around

Learn about a prospective advisor's research. Try to learn about the field and read some of the professors publications. Make an appointment with the professor to discuss his or her work. Find out what projects the professor is currently working on and what projects the professor is planning to pursue Tell the professor about your skills and interests, and ask if he or she would be willing let you join the group. Thank the professor for his or her time. Choosing an advisor is an important decision, so you should probably meet with many professors before you make a decision.

Making a choice

Here are some things you should consider when making a choice:

• Talk to all of the students in the professors group. Do they like being in the group?
• Are the students in the group productive? Are they getting papers out? Do they graduate in a reasonable amount of time?
• What do the students from the group do when they graduate?
• Is the professor a good match for you in terms of personality, work style, and expectations?
• Is the professor famous?
• Do the research projects interest you?

Working with two advisors

Some students end up working with two advisors. Sometimes the other advisor is from an outside department. A student might choose two advisors if the student wants to do interdisciplinary work or be part of some collaboration.

-- GregHather - 20 Jan 2007