How to Choose an Advisor

Read this article for tips on how to select a doctoral program advisor.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• patience
• an idea of what you want out of your academic experience
• basic knowledge of the backgrounds and interests of the professors in your department

1. Obtain as much information about the professors in your department regarding their research interests, teaching philosophy, and advising style. You can usually find out about research interests from the university website, but for information about teaching philosophy and advising style, the best source is current and former students. This information can take some time to collect, but it is very important in choosing an advisor who will best fit your needs.

2. Make a list of the characteristics of your "ideal advisor." For example, is it very important to you that your research interests match with your advisor or is it more important to you that you both have similar ideas about how a student/mentor relationship should be conducted? This is a critical step in narrowing down your selections as it allows you to think about your own academic needs in relation to who is available.

3. Using the information you obtained in step 1 and the list you generated in step 2, narrow down your choices to 3-4 professors who meet at least two criteria from your list.

4. Email the professors on the list generated from step 3 to request a face-to-face meeting. In the email, mention that you are considering them as a possible graduate advisor. In some cases, professors are unable or unwilling to take on an additional student and will let you know this right away. This will save you from spending additional time considering them.

5. When you meet with the professors, come prepared with specific questions relevant to areas you are most concerned about. For example, if you are concerned about the amount of time you must dedicate to research other than your own, you would want to know if the professor expects his/her students to attend lab meetings and participate in research unrelated to the student's dissertation.

6. After meeting with each professor on your list, for each, write a pro/con list keeping in mind the priorities you set in step 2. Don't forget to consider the personal interaction factor when making these lists. Ask yourself which of the professors you interacted with the best during these interviews.

7. While the interviews are fresh in your mind, rank the professors from your first to your last choice.

8. Finally, you are ready to ask the professor of your choice to be your graduate advisor. This is best done in person, however, email requests are also considered appropriate. Once the professor has accepted your request, set up a meeting as soon as possible to begin discussing your academic plan and goals.

Tips & Warnings

• Take full advantage of the opportunity to ask professors questions about their advising style and make sure you get all your questions answered during these times. This is a very important decision as it is often very difficult to change graduate advisors once you have selected someone.
• If your request is not accepted by your first choice professor, the best thing to do is move on to your second choice. There are many reasons why professors may reject a request for advisement and this rejection should not be taken personally.
• You may want to be careful when sharing your list of potential advisors with the other students in your cohort. They too will also be looking for advisors and you don't want to give away too much information until you have talked with the professor and they have agreed to take you on as their student. While it is good to have friends, you also need to protect yourself. Remember, this decision will impact the next several years of your life, so choose wisely.