Navigating through the graduate school application and admission processes is tough. The most challenging part is that you don’t know what you don’t know. Here are the types of information you need about your potential advisors to make your admissions process and life as a graduate student successful.
Accepting new students in the following year?
Not all professors accept new students every year. Therefore, it is crucial to know if the professors you’re interested in working with are accepting new students in the following academic year. The decision to accept or not accept new students depends on various factors such as availability of funding, project staffing, university politics, or turn-taking. The reason why you don’t hear back from the schools you applied to may simply be because they’re not accepting new students at the moment. The goal of this website is to make this critical information transparent and easily accessible.
Career Highlights
Learning about professors’ most acknowledged and impactful work can quickly tell you about the professors’ core expertise. They may also be the ones the professors are most proud of. Remember, professors are human beings just like any one of us. Knowing about their career highlights can give you something to start off the conversation during the interviews and signal you’ve done your research!
Current/Past Projects
The information regarding current and past projects is probably the most important information you need when applying for graduate schools. The current or incoming projects are likely going to be the ones you’re going to be working on and it can tell you a lot of what types of research outputs you’ll be able to produce during the doctoral study. Moreover, professors often look for students to staff vacancies on particular projects. Therefore, the fit between your skillsets and projects’ needs may be an important factor to consider for both you and the professor.
Latest Publications
Take a peek at a few of the latest publications the professors have worked on! It can tell you a lot about not only the core research interests but the full breadth of lines of research your potential advisor can support you with. You can also get a sense of how the professors have worked on publications with their advisees and who the collaborators are. Make sure to pay attention to theoretical frameworks (if applicable) and methodologies. They can tell you the type of academic guidance you’ll receive from the advisor.
Frequent Collaborators
An important but often overlooked component of searching for potential advisors is their frequent collaborators. The collaborators of your advisors are likely going to be the ones you will collaborate with so important to know who they are! And let’s face it. Life is sometimes all about who you know. The collaborators may be ones serving on your dissertation committee, writing recommendation letters, making referrals for your, or become your future boss! Learn about a few of the main collaborators and you’ll understand better the types of resources and social networks you’re getting yourself into.
What is it like to work with the professor?
Graduate student life is so much more than just academics. Getting some information about what it’s like to actually work with the professor can’t hurt. Are you someone who thrives under pressure? Or are you someone who needs space and time to explore your passion? Learn about what the type of mentorship and lab culture are like. Struggles during graduate school mostly come from the relationship with your mentor more so than stress from academics. How you vibe with the professor may be more important than you think.
Where are the past advisees now?
Learning about where the past advisees have moved on to can help you decide whether the graduate study will be a worthy one. This is because it can tell you a lot about the types of support you can expect to receive by working with a particular professor. Some professors want to build a network future collaborators and therefore push students to pursue academic paths whether it be research or teaching-focused. Some professors are open to having students to take on jobs in the industry and will help you to make connections and secure internships, if needed. You need to build your Curriculum Vitae (CV) differently depending on the types of jobs you want to have after. Therefore, in order to make the best use of the during graduate school, it’s important to know whether the professors would be willing and capable of supporting you in the right career trajectory.