Advising

Choosing an Advisor
The choice of an advisor may be the decision which has the most repercussions on your graduate career. It is a decision you should begin thinking about as early as possible. In many departments, the advisor-student relationship grows from classroom interaction. This is especially true in humanities departments where students take significant coursework and advisors are not known upon entrance. Student and advisor tend to come together through similar research interests explored through coursework, seminars and day-to-day interaction. Keep in mind, though, that great teachers are not necessarily great advisors, and vice versa.

You should start getting to know the professors in your department right away. Find out their research interests, theoretical standpoints, and teaching methods. Take advantage of informal opportunities to chat so that you can interact with each other informally, paying attention to the interpersonal aspects of the advisor-student relationship. Find out faculty members' availability. How do they interact with other advisees? Are they easy to reach? Are they likely to meet with you regularly or only by appointment? Or are they always around? Do they have an open door policy? Knowing such things will help predict the compatibility of your working styles.

What are your needs as an advisee? Are you the kind of person who requires regular contact and constant guidance? Would you prefer an advisor who leaves you alone until you have something to discuss? Are you looking for a mentor? Or do you want a clearly defined and structured relationship? Remember that the fit between advisor and advisee is rarely a perfect one. As you make your decision, know what issues you will not compromise on and where there is room for a little trade-off-for example, in reputation vs. availability, organization vs. compassion.

Explore attitudes and temperaments, both theirs and your own. From the beginning, pay attention to how faculty members react to students. How does your potential advisor seem to feel about non-academic pursuits such as passions and hobbies (e.g., singing in choir), participation in student government, proctoring, tutoring or being a resident assistant? Will he understand when you spend time on non-thesis activities?

Keep your ears open. You will find that one of your best sources of information is other students in your department. Listen to what they have to say but research and verify what you hear for yourself, just as you would do with your academic work. Ask lots of questions from many different sources. No point of view represents The Truth.

Finally, have realistic expectations about your relationship with your advisor, but be aware of the responsibility that person has to you. It is part of a professor?s job to mentor graduate students. Although this relationship seems rather medieval in nature, you are not an indentured servant and your advisor is not a feudal lord (despite appearances).

Many students also have a choice of other members of their thesis committee. These faculty members supplement the help of your advisor, providing advice on research and helping with professional development. All the advice given in this section can be used in the process of choosing thesis committee members as well.

Questions to Ask when Choosing an Advisor
As the above indicates, selecting your Ph.D. advisor is as tricky as it is consequential. The following questions should be asked when considering potential advisors. Get the answers from potential advisor(s), current advisees of the potential advisor(s), former advisees of the potential advisor(s) whenever possible, and your own intuition.

1. How long have previous students taken to complete the Ph.D. degree?
2. Why did current students choose this advisor? Did they get what they expected?
3. What is the person?s advising and mentoring style? How often does s/he meet with students to talk about their work? How often do they meet informally? (Be quantitative, e.g. hours per week or month.)
4. What are the advisor?s current/future research and scholarly interests?
5. If the advisor is non-tenured junior faculty or lecturer, will a decision on his/her tenure be made before you finish your degree? If he leaves while you are still working on your Ph.D., will you be able to continue to have him/her as an advisor? Will he be willing to work with you if he leaves?
6. Is the advisor loyal to his/her students?
7. Where have former students gone to work after graduation? What job offers did they receive after the Ph.D.?
8. How much help does the advisor give students in finding jobs after graduation (e.g., Does s/he call potential employers, ask about possible positions, write letters, etc?) Does s/he support students seeking non-academic careers as well as those seeking academic jobs?
9. Is the advisor supportive of students who spend time on unrelated work, on raising a family, or on extra-curricular activities?
10. Are the advisor's students happy? If they work together, is the group dynamic good?
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