Graduate Program Enhancement Committee Recommendations for First Year PhD Students

Choosing an advisor is a really important task for all first year PhD students. During your first year at Northwestern, you need to find a faculty member who you would like to work with and who, in turn, is willing and able to work with you and fund your graduate work. Thus, we give the following recommendations to all incoming PhD students:

• In your first month at Northwestern, schedule research meetings with several (at least two or three) faculty members. Ask them what projects and problems they are working on, and if they currently accept new PhD students into their research labs.
• Your “faculty advocate”, assigned before you arrive, is here to assist you as you begin your graduate studies at Northwestern. With their help, by the end of the Spring quarter, you must find a permanent PhD advisor. Your “faculty advocate” is not permanent and is not your advisor by default. You should instead seek out the faculty member that you find is your best guide through your PhD program.
• In your first year, you should be involved in at least one research project (this may include reading papers to build your background and participating in reading groups, research seminars, and lab meetings). Please, keep in mind that it is unlikely that a faculty member will become your advisor if you did not work with her or him previously.
• Also, consider working on several research projects with different faculty members during your first year. Some research groups may offer rotation programs that let students work with a different faculty member every quarter. For some students, rotations may offer a good opportunity to get engaged in research. Other students may benefit from working with a single faculty member during their first year.
• Finally, we recommend that you take a look at the suggestions given by CSPAC here: picking advisors.