Tips for Potential Graduate Students Evaluating Prospective Programs

Ask questions about professors and their habits.

Watch how both current graduate students and professors answer your questions. It might be in an oblique and diplomatic way. If they say something like…”The students who do best in this program, and who have the highest levels of satisfaction, are the most independent ones, the ones who want to go off and do their research and be left alone…”

That may be interpreted to mean faculty members treat grad students as a burden. They agree to do the minimum that they’re required to do (e.g. they return papers/dissertation chapters with comments). They also may or may not be willing to meet with you in their office to run ideas by them for papers and outlines for thesis chapters etc.

Try to find out if your potential advisor has demonstrated a willingness to:

Read and comment on drafts of papers you are looking to send to journals or present at conferences;
Look at all your job search materials prior to sending out (letter, CV, writing sample, teaching philosophy, research agenda, etc.);
Provide feedback at the brainstorming phase of a project; and
Walk around with you at conferences or academic events and introduce you to other scholars in the field, and promote you as appropriate.

Weigh the benefits/drawbacks of having a junior vs. a senior faculty advisor.

Having a junior faculty advisor can be a potential drawback compared with having a well-established senior faculty advisor. Try to find out if your potential advisor has the influence to generate adequate financial support to allow that advisor’s students to live in that locale. If your projected financial support budget for a particular program still requires you to take out more student loans, rethink the wisdom of signing on with that program.

Find out how teaching assistant-ships are doled out.

Is there a merit-based selection system based upon graduate students’ past coursework and research interests? Or do they go to the last person to pester the person in the department who rations them?

Try to find out among the reputable senior faculty those who are energetic and dedicated advisors. Do your best to avoid the ones who seem to work begrudgingly or put in the least amount of effort. The latter won’t get stellar Letters of Recommendation or crucial follow-up calls to potential academic employers.

Consider the atmosphere within the department you are considering.

Try to choose a program (even if it is not in the “top 10”) where you fit in well and the people you will be working with want to work with you.

Speak in person or on the telephone with previous graduate students before you choose your graduate supervisor (don’t rely on e-mail as people may be less than candid). Who among the faculty do graduate students mark as “difficult to work with”?

One backup plan to consider if you end up having a “bummer” graduate advisor is to join a department which has a larger number of faculty members than is typical for your type of program. If things do break down between you and your supervisor you can hopefully be supported by another member of the faculty to complete your graduate program.

Find out whether the professors are actually going to be there over the next few years.

The more prestigious the school, the more likely that professors will have visiting appointments, sabbatical leaves, multiple appointments to boards and committees away from campus. If a grad student intends to work with one or two professors in particular, the student should ask the professors about their plans for the next few years.

Find out what courses/seminars are actually being taught during a typical 2-3 year cycle.

There may be all sorts of courses listed on the books and topics that are only taught once every eight years. Do a little research to find out if you’ll have the opportunities to learn about what you’re truly interested in.

This article was based partly from content in this post http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2005/11/irresponsible_p.html in the Leiter Reports blog. Additional input was received from several graduate students and professors in the humanities and social sciences at public and private, national and regional universities. These tips are not listed in any order of importance.