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Advising guide for research students.

Success as a graduate student is a shared responsibility between students and faculty. For research students, the relationship with your research advisor, also known as your special committee chair, is extremely important.

Your responsibility to identify and choose an advisor is one of the most critical tasks you have early in your graduate school career. It’s an opportunity to meet and get to know faculty in your field, to assess your needs for support and supervision, and to collaboratively define your goals, values, and strategic plan for your academic and professional career.

Graduate School Requirement

At Cornell, the faculty advisor in research degree programs is referred to as the special committee chair.

Doctoral students have a special committee of at least three Cornell faculty, which includes the special committee chair and two minor committee members.

Master’s students have a special committee of at least two Cornell faculty, which includes the special committee chair and one minor member.

For both doctoral and master’s degree students, the special committee chair must be a graduate faculty member in the student’s own field.

Definition of an Advisor

Advising and mentoring are often used interchangeably, but understanding the distinctions is important as you choose an advisor.

Advisor Responsibilities

Guides you in meeting the requirements and expectations for your degree
Required coursework
Exams required by the graduate field or the Graduate School
Research proposal/prospectus
Research project
Thesis or dissertation
Writes informed letters of recommendation for your job applications
May be a valued colleague or collaborator after you graduate

Mentor Responsibilities

Provides support and guidance that extends beyond scope of advising
Demystifies the structure, culture, and unstated expectations of graduate education
Expands your professional network by introducing you to others
Provides nominations for awards or other recognitions
Brings job opportunities to your attention and writes letters of recommendation as you apply for jobs
Advocates for you within the graduate program and discipline
May serve as a role model and source of inspiration
May become a colleague and peer in your discipline and may continue serving a mentoring role

Finding an Advisor

When do i select my first advisor.

At Cornell, the process for obtaining your first advisor varies by field.

Your faculty advisor may be assigned prior to your arrival or you may begin your program with a faculty member you met during the application process.

In some graduate fields, the faculty director of graduate studies (DGS) advises all incoming students. This provides you with time to get to know faculty in your field. By the end of the first semester or year (varying by field), it’s expected that you will have identified your own, long-term advisor.

In fields where students apply to study with a specific faculty member (rather than do rotations and choose a lab or research group and advisor), you will have chosen an advisor prior to arriving on campus.

You can begin initial conversations about expectations and the advising relationship with your new advisor prior to the start of your program via email.

Start your graduate study and research with clear expectations and thoughtful communication about your plans for an effective advising relationship and success in graduate school.

How do I find an advisor?

Meet and get to know faculty in your courses and in graduate field seminars and other events.

Talk to advanced students about their experiences and perceptions of the faculty in your programs and ask questions about possible advisors:

How would you describe their approach to advising?
What can you tell me about their work style?
What can you tell me about their research interests?
How good are their communication skills?
How clear are their expectations for their graduate students?
Do they use timeliness in reviewing their students’ writing and their approach to giving feedback?
How available are they to meet with their graduate students?

After you have gathered information, make an appointment to meet with a potential advisor.

Possible Questions

Is there a typical timeline you encourage your students to follow in completing their degree programs?
How often do you meet with your students at different stages of their graduate program? (For example, during coursework, research, and writing stages)
What are your expectations for students to make conference presentations and submit publications?
What are your authorship policies? (This is especially relevant in fields where there is collaborative research and publishing involving the student and advisor or a group of students, postdocs, and faculty.)
How soon should I identify my research project?
How do you describe the degree of guidance and supervision you provide with regards to your students becoming more independent in their research and scholarship?
If you are joining a lab or research group: What are the sources of funding for this research? Are there any new or pending research grants?
How many of your students seek, and secure, external funding? What are your expectations for students to apply for external fellowships?
Do you have a statement of advising you can share that lists our respective responsibilities and clarifies mutual expectations?
What’s your advice on how students can manage what they find to be the biggest challenges in their graduate program?

Add other questions to your list based on your own needs and specifics of your program, such as questions about specialized equipment, lab safety, travel to field sites, support and accommodations for special health needs, communication during a faculty member’s sabbatical, funding in fields where there are fewer fellowships and research grants, etc.

Getting Other Mentoring Needs Met

How do i find other mentor(s) .

You may find one faculty member who can serve as both advisor and mentor, but that’s not always the case.

Consider identifying and cultivating additional mentors if that is the case.

Suggestions on where to look for a mentor:

The minor members of your special committee
A faculty member who is not on your committee, and perhaps not even in your graduate field
Peers and postdoctoral fellows who have knowledge and experience in pertinent issues

No one mentor can meet all your needs.

Good mentors have many emerging scholars they are working with and many other demands on their time, such as teaching, research, and university or professional service. They also may not have all the expertise you need, for example, if you decide to search for jobs in multiple employment sectors.

Develop a broad network of mentors whose expertise varies and who provide different functions based on your changing needs as you progress from new student to independent scholar and researcher.

NCFDD offers a webinar, “ Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors, and Collaborators “, which students can view after activating a free NCFDD membership through Cornell.

Maximizing the Advising Relationship

A successful relationship with your advisor depends on several different factors and varies with needs and working styles of the individuals. Some of these factors are under your control. But some are not.

Suggestions for Building a Successful Advising Relationship

Identify what you need from an advisor.
Communicate clearly and frequently with your advisor to convey your questions, expectations, goals, challenges, and degree progress. Follow up verbal communication and meetings with an email detailing your understanding of what you both agreed to and next steps.
Update your written academic plan each semester or whenever major changes or adjustments are needed.
Consider including your plans to write competitive fellowship applications and co-authored grant proposals.
Consider including plans for professional development that support your skill-building objectives and career goals.
Recognize that you and your advisor have distinct perspectives, backgrounds, and interests. Share yours. Listen to your advisor’s. There is mutual benefit to sharing and learning from this diversity.
Work with your advisor to define a regular meeting schedule. Prepare and send written materials in advance of each meeting. These could include: your questions, academic and research plan and timeline, and drafts of current writing projects, such as fellowship applications, manuscripts, or thesis/dissertation chapters.
Be prepared to negotiate, show flexibility, and compromise, as is important for any successful relationship.
Be as candid as you are comfortable with about your challenges and concerns. Seek guidance about campus and other resources that can help you manage and address any obstacles.
Reach out to others for advice. Anticipate challenges and obstacles in your graduate degree program and their impact on the advising relationship.

Be proactive in finding resources and gathering information that can help you and your advisor arrive at solutions to any problems and optimize your time together.

Making Use of Meetings

First meetings.

Your first meeting sets the tone for a productive, satisfying, and enduring relationship with your advisor. Your first meeting is an opportunity to discuss expectations and to review a working draft of your academic plan.

Questions to ask about expectations

What do your most successful students do to complete their degree on time?
How often do you want us to meet?
May I send you questions via email, or do you prefer I just come to your office?
Would you like weekly (biweekly? monthly?) updates on my research progress?
Do you prefer reviewing the complete draft of a manuscript or may I send you sections for feedback?
After each meeting, I’ll make a list of what we each agreed to do before our next meeting, to help me keep moving forward with my research. Would you like a copy of that list, too, via email?

Draft Academic Plan

Prepare and bring a draft plan that outlines your “big picture” plans for your coursework, research, and writing, as well as an anticipated graduation date. (Or, email in advance with a message, such as, “I’m looking forward to meeting with you on [date] at [time], [location]. In advance, I’m sending a copy of my academic plan and proposed schedule for our discussion.”)

Contents of the plan

Include the requirements and deadlines of your degree program. (This is information you should be able to find online or in your program’s graduate student handbook.)
Include a general timeline indicating when you plan to meet requirements for courses or seminars, any required papers (such as a second-year paper), exams required by the graduate field (such as the Q exam) or by the Graduate School (the A exam and the B exam for research degree students).
If your graduate field has a specific set of required courses, indicate the semester you may complete each of them, and be open to suggestions from your advisor.
If your field does not have required courses, have some idea about the courses you are interested in taking and solicit input and suggestions from your faculty advisor.

Subsequent Meetings

Use each subsequent meeting as an opportunity to update your written academic plan and stay on track to complete your required papers and exams, your research proposal or prospectus, and the chapters or articles that comprise your thesis or dissertation.

In later meetings, you can elaborate on your general initial plan:

Adding specific coursework or seminars
Add professional development opportunities that interest you (workshops, dissertation writing boot camp, Summer Success Symposium, Colman Leadership Program, etc.)
Include intentions to participate in external conferences and travel to research sites
Identify a semester or summer when you would like to complete an internship.

Your written plan is also important to document what your advisor has agreed to, especially when the deadline to submit a manuscript or your thesis is looming and you are awaiting feedback or approval from your advisor. Use a combination of oral and written communications to stay in touch with your advisor, establish common expectations, and mark your progress toward degree completion.

Meeting Frequency

The frequency of meetings between advisors and advisees varies by field and individual. Assess your own needs and understand your advisor’s expectations for frequency of communication (in person and via email).

Does your advisor like to provide guidance each step of the way so that he or she is aware of the details of everything you are doing?
Does your advisor want you to launch your work more independently and report back at pre-determined or regular intervals?
What do you need to be productive? Are you ready to work more independently?

Be proactive in seeking information. Explicitly ask how often your advisor usually meets with new students and how the advisor prefers to be updated on your progress in between meetings. Ask your peers how frequently they meet with their advisor and whether this has changed over time.

There will be disciplinary differences in meeting frequency.

In humanities and in some social sciences, where library, archive, and field research take students away from campus, maintaining regular communication is essential, including through scheduled meetings, whether in-person or virtual.
In life sciences and physical sciences and engineering, students often see their advisors daily in the lab or meet as a research group about externally funded projects; these regular check-ins and conversations may replace formal meetings. Make sure that you are also scheduling one-on-one times to talk about your broader goals and academic and career planning progress, however.

Some of your decisions about meeting frequency will be informed by talking to others, but much of it you learn through experience working together with your advisor. Even this will change over time as you become a more independent researcher and scholar. Communicate with your advisor regularly about your changing needs and expectations at each stage of your graduate career.

Resolving Conflict

In any relationship, there can be conflict. And, in the advisor-advisee relationship, the power dynamic created by the supervision, evaluation and, in some cases, funding role of your advisor can make conflicts with your advisor seem especially high.

You have options, however, including:

Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty
Campus Code of Conduct
Policy on Academic Misconduct
Research Misconduct
Graduate School Grievance Policy
Intellectual Property policies
Graduate Student Assistantships (Policy 1.3)
Talking with your advisor to clarify any miscommunication. Cornell University’s Office of the Ombudsman , one of the offices on campus that offers confidentiality, can also assist you by talking through the issue and helping you gather information you need before you speak directly with your advisor.
Speaking with someone in the Graduate School, either the associate dean for academics ( [email protected] ) for academic issues, or the associate dean for graduate student life ( [email protected] ) for other issues. These deans will listen, offer advice and support, and coach you through any conversation you might want to have with your advisor. Together, you can brainstorm possible solutions and evaluate alternative plans for resolution.
Touching base with your director of graduate studies (DGS) – if this person is not also your advisor – to talk to about policies and possible solutions to the conflict.
Soliciting peer advice. Discuss strategies for managing and resolving conflict with your advisor. “Do you have any suggestions for me?” “Have you ever had an issue like this…?” can be effective questions.
Identifying a new advisor if the conflict can not be resolved. Your DGS can help with this, and the Graduate School (as above) can help as well.

The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity offers a webinar, “ How to Engage in Healthy Conflict “, which students can view after activating a free NCFDD membership through Cornell.

Changing Advisors

On occasion, students find that they need or want to change their advisor. An advisor can resign as the student’s special committee chair/faculty advisor. The Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty describes the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty in each of these situations.

Typical reasons to seek a new advisor include:

Research interests that veer from the faculty’s expertise or ability to fund a certain project
Your advisor retires or resigns from the university or takes an extended leave of absence for personal or professional reasons
Differences in goals, values, or an approach to work or communication style that can’t be resolved
Serious issues, involving suspected inappropriate behavior, questionable research conduct, or alleged bias, discrimination, or harassment

If you are considering changing advisors:

Talk to a member of your committee, your director of graduate studies (DGS), or someone in the Graduate School about the proposed change. Some issues, such as funding, require timely attention.
Identify other faculty members who could serve as your advisor, then meet with one or more of them. The goal is to decide together if you are a good fit with their program. Tips: Discuss or rehearse this conversation with a trusted person, especially if there were issues with your last advisor. Be transparent about these issues and address them going forward with a new advisor. Often prospective advisors are more willing to take on a new graduate student who conveys genuine enthusiasm for their area of study rather than a student who seems to be looking for a way out of a current advising relationship that has gone sour.
Consider how and when to inform your advisor if you plan to change advisors. Be professional and respectful. Thank your advisor for past support and guidance. Don’t damage, or further damage, the relationship.
Your DGS, if appropriate
Office of the University Ombudsman
Graduate School’s associate dean for graduate student life ( [email protected] )
Graduate School’s associate dean for academics ( [email protected] )

Forms:

Use Student Center if you are changing your advisor before your A exam (for Ph.D. students).
Use the Post A Committee Change Petition form for changes after the A exam. More information is available on the Graduate School’s Policy pages .

Challenges and Potential Solutions

All good relationships take work. To navigate an advising relationship successfully over time, you should familiarize yourself with some common challenges and possible actions to take.

Challenge: Mismatch in communication needs or style

One example of a communication challenge in an advising relationship is when you want input along the way during a writing project, but you have an advisor who prefers to wait to comment on a complete written draft.

Some possible steps to address this might be to talk to peers about they have handled this in their relationship with their advisor or to explain to your advisor how his or her input at this earlier stage will help speed you along toward having a complete draft for review. It’s important in communicating with your advisor to show that you understand what alternative they are proposing and why (e.g., “I understand that …”).

Challenge: Advisor unavailable or away

Your advisor might be away from campus for a semester or more to conduct research or take a sabbatical leave. Or when a grant proposal deadline or report is looming, your advisor might be less available. Maybe you’ve emailed your advisor several times with no response.

Planning and stating in advance what you need, such as feedback on a manuscript draft or signatures on a fellowship application, can help your advisor anticipate when you will have time-sensitive requests. Making plans in advance to communicate by email or video conference when either of you will be away from campus for a longer period of time is another useful strategy. Your director of graduate studies (DGS) and other faculty who serve as special committee members can also provide advice when your advisor is unavailable.

Challenge: Misaligned expectations

You are ready to submit a manuscript for publication. Your advisor says it needs much more work. Or you begin your job search, applying to liberal arts colleges with very high reputations, or schools in your preferred geographic location, but your advisor insists that you should apply for positions at top research universities.

Discussing your needs and expectations early, and often, in the advising relationship is essential. Get comfortable, and skilled, advocating for yourself with your advisor. Use the annual Student Progress Review as an opportunity to communicate your professional interests and goals with your advisor. Use multiple mentors beyond your advisor to get advice and expertise on topics where you need a different perspective or support.

Sometimes challenges can become opportunities for you to develop and refine new skills in communication, negotiation, self-advocacy, and management of conflict, time, and resources. For example, although you might feel abandoned if your advisor is unavailable for a time, even this potentially negative experience could become an opportunity to learn how to advocate for yourself and communicate about your needs and perceived difficulties in the relationship.

Advising Resources

Graduate School deans and directors are available to answer academic and non-academic questions and provide referrals to useful resources.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) staff offer confidential, professional support for students seeking help with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, adjustment challenges, relationship difficulties, questions about identity, and managing existing mental health conditions.

Let’s Talk Drop-in Consultations are informal, confidential walk-in consultations at various locations around campus.

External Resources

University of Michigan Rackham, How to Get the Mentoring You Want

Laura Gail Lunsford & Vicki L. Baker, 2016, Great Mentoring in Graduate School: A Quick Start Guide for Protégés

Michigan State University, Guidelines for Graduate Student Advising and Mentoring Relationships

Michigan State University, Graduate Student Career and Professional Development

Template for Meeting Notes

Adapted and expanded from Maria Gardiner, Flinders University © Flinders University 2007; used with permission and published in The Productive Graduate Student Writer (Allen, 2019). Used here with permission of the author and publisher.

Use this template for making notes to help you plan for a productive meeting with your advisor, keep track of plans made, and clearly identify next steps that you’ll need to take to follow up on what you discussed.

Mentoring Resources

Graduate school programs focused on mentoring, building mentoring skills for an academic career.

Develop and enhance effective communication and mentorship skills that are broadly transferrable to all careers. Offered by Future Faculty and Academic Careers.

Graduate and Professional Students International (GPSI) Peer Mentoring Program

Share lessons learned as a new international student at Cornell as a peer mentor with new international student peer mentees. Offered by the GPSI in collaboration with the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement.

Graduate Students Mentoring Undergraduates (GSMU)

Share knowledge with and provide support to undergraduate students interested in pursuing further education. Offered in collaboration with the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI).

Multicultural Academic Council (MAC) Peer Mentoring Program

Develop strategies to excel academically and personally at Cornell and beyond as a peer mentee or share strategies as a peer mentor. Offered by MAC in collaboration with the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement.

NextGen Professors Program

Learn from faculty in Power Mentoring Sessions and prepare for careers across institutional types. Offered by the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement and Future Faculty and Academic Careers.

Graduate School Programs with a Mentoring Component

Graduate school primer: navigating academia workshop series.

Program for new students on navigating graduate school with sessions on mentoring.

Perspectives: The Complete Graduate Student

Program for continuing students on common issues with some sessions on mentoring.

GPWomeN-PCCW Speaker Series

Series for all students featuring talks by Cornell alumnae with an occasional mentoring focus.

Future Professors Institute

One-day event featuring workshops and guest speakers with occasional mentoring focus.

Intergroup Dialogue Project (IDP)

Peer-led courses blending theory and experiential learning to facilitate meaningful communication with occasional mentoring focus.

Building Allyship Series

Series for the campus community featuring panels designed for productive dialogue with occasional mentoring focus.

Institutional Memberships

Center for the integration of research, teaching, and learning (cirtl) network.

Access to resources on teaching and research mentoring.

Access to career development and mentoring resources.

New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS)

Access to resources, including webinars and articles on mentoring.

Mentoring Programs Across Campus

Give and receive advice as part of a peer mentoring program for all College of Engineering students. Offered by the College of Engineering Office of Inclusive Excellence.

Mi Comunidad/My Community

Peer mentoring program run by graduate and professional students affiliated with the Latin@ Graduate Student Coalition (LGSC) and supported by the Latina/o Studies Program (LSP) and Latina/o/x Student Success Office (LSSO) at Cornell University.

Additional Resources:

Mentoring and Leadership Tips from Graduate School Programs
Cornell University Office of Faculty Development and Diversity – Resources for Mentors and Mentees
Careers Beyond Academia LibGuide
National Research Mentoring Network

Graduate School Articles on Mentoring:

Alumna Addresses Importance of Mentoring
Becoming Better Mentors Through Workshop Series
August Offers Mentoring Advice
‘A Better Chance of Providing Access’: Future Professors Institute Fosters Inclusivity

Virtual Training and External Resources

How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate Students – University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School
The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM – National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine
Mentor Training: Online Learning Modules – University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Mentor Curricula and Training: Entering Mentoring – Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research

For other resources, view the Advising Guide for Research Students.

If there is anything not included on this list that we should consider, please send the information and a link to [email protected] .

Sep. 11, 2023

Questions for a potential advisor and their research team, by: manuel carmona pichardo. manuel explores essential questions to pose to both the principal investigator (pi) and the students in the research group before deciding to join them..

Rice faculty at the graduate graduation.

Selecting the right advisor is crucial in one's academic and professional journey. An advisor can significantly impact your research trajectory, learning experience, and overall success. To make an informed choice, it's essential to ask pertinent questions when considering a prospective advisor. Therefore, this blog delves into the key questions you should ask the prospective advisor as well as the members of the research group. I must clarify the questions are not in any specific order, and the relevance of each question will vary depending on everyone’s situation.

What is the research focus of the group?

Understanding an advisor's research focus is fundamental. The research done in the lab can be focused on a direct application (e.g., new drugs, more efficient batteries, etc.) or trying to answer fundamental questions in the field. This leads into theory development, which may lead to an application in the future. Also, asking about their current projects and the areas they specialize in is important so you can ponder how your interests align with their expertise. Enquire about their recent publications or collaborations, as this can give you insights into their dedication to staying current in their field.

What’s the availability of the PI? And how easy is it to communicate with them?

Effective communication with your advisor is essential for a productive working relationship. Ask about their preferred communication modes, whether in-person meetings, emails, or virtual calls. Additionally, inquire about their availability and expected response time, ensuring that their availability aligns with your needs and work style.

What are the expectations and the workload for graduate students in this group?

It is essential to notice that each advisor's expectations can differ; therefore, clearly understanding their expectations and anticipated workload is vital for managing your academic commitments. Also, ask about the frequency of meetings, progress updates, and the level of involvement they expect in your research. This will help you gauge the advisor's approach, expectations, and involvement to determine if it fits your preferred working style.

What is the average time students take to graduate in this group?

Enquiring about the average time it takes for students under the advisor's supervision to complete their degrees will give you a sense of their track record in supporting students toward graduation. Additionally, ask about their support regarding funding opportunities, resource access, and assistance publishing your research. Also, there are some cases where certain achievements, such as having a certain number of publications, are required for the advisor to approve or allow the student's graduation.

What is the mentorship style of the advisor?

Understanding the advisor's mentorship style is crucial to ensure a productive and harmonious collaboration. Ask about their approach to guiding students – do they encourage independent thinking and problem-solving, or do they prefer a more hands-on approach? It also relates to the communication question (2): In case of a problem or when you are in doubt, should you talk with them immediately, or are you free to try different solutions and solve the problem yourself? This question will help you decide how well their mentoring style aligns with your learning and work preferences.

What have been the experiences of previous students?

Speak to current group members about former students who have worked with the prospective advisor. Ask about their experiences, both positive and challenging, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of what it's like to work with this advisor. This feedback can offer valuable insights that may not be readily apparent during initial interactions.

What is the funding situation of the research group?

The lab's funding situation can directly impact your research situation and the number of available spots in the group. You must inquire about funding availability for your research and different possibilities, such as conference attendance and other academic endeavors. Understanding the group’s financial situation and the advisor’s commitment to supporting your financial needs can give you a clear idea of your future in the group and what could be expected from you and the group’s possibilities.

What long-term career guidance does the advisor offer?

An advisor should guide you through your immediate research and offer guidance on your long-term career goals. It’s relevant to inquire about their approach to mentoring students beyond graduation and how they help students navigate post-graduate career paths.

What are the group policies regarding vacations and holidays?

Taking time off and resting is critical to maintaining focus and mental health through grad school. However, each group handles vacation periods differently. Some groups tend to be more flexible, allowing you to take breaks and vacations when required, and other groups follow strict calendars, and you must request vacations with a specified amount of notice. Therefore, knowing this information before joining a group is essential to see if it aligns with your needs and work style.

What are some of the lab traditions? This is arguably the least important of the questions. Nevertheless, all groups have different traditions and shared activities, and you will be expected to participate. Also, it increases your interest in joining a lab if you enjoy partaking in the group traditions.

I hope this insight into what I believe to be the key questions you should ask the prospective advisor and the research group members can help you make a more informed decision when joining a research group.

About the author:

Manuel Carmona Pichardo is a current Ph.D. student in Chemistry. He earned his bachelor's in Chemistry from the Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH) in Pachuca, Hidalgo in Mexico. Read more .

Dissertation Advisor 101

How to get the most from the student-supervisor relationship

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | January 2024

Many students feel a little intimidated by the idea of having to work with a research advisor (or supervisor) to complete their dissertation or thesis. Similarly, many students struggle to “connect” with their advisor and feel that the relationship is somewhat strained or awkward. But this doesn’t need to be the case!

In this post, we’ll share five tried and tested tips to help you get the most from this relationship and pave the way for a smoother dissertation writing process.

Overview: Working With Your Advisor

Clarify everyone’s roles on day one
Establish (and stick to) a regular communication cycle
Develop a clear project plan upfront
Be proactive in engaging with problems
Navigate conflict like a diplomat

1. Clarify roles on day one

Each university will have slightly different expectations, rules and norms in terms of the research advisor’s role. Similarly, each advisor will have their own unique way of doing things. So, it’s always a good idea to begin the engagement process by clearly defining the roles and expectations in your relationship.

In practical terms, we suggest that you initiate a conversation at the very start of the engagement to discuss your goals, their expectations, and how they would like to work with you. Of course, you might not like what you hear in this conversation. However, this sort of candid conversation will help you get on the same page as early as possible and set the stage for a successful partnership.

To help you get started, here are some questions that you might consider asking in your initial conversation:

How often would you like to meet and for how long?
What should I do to prepare for each meeting?
What aspects of my work will you comment on (and what won’t you cover)?
Which key decisions should I seek your approval for beforehand?
What common mistakes should I try to avoid from the outset?
How can I help make this partnership as effective as possible?
My academic goals are… Do you have any suggestions at this stage to help me achieve this?

As you can see, these types of questions help you get a clear idea of how you’ll work together and how to get the most from the relatively limited face time you’ll have.

Need a helping hand?

2. Establish a regular communication cycle

Just like in any relationship, effective communication is crucial to making the student-supervisor relationship work. So, you should aim to establish a regular meeting schedule and stick to it. Don’t cancel or reschedule appointments with your advisor at short notice, or do anything that suggests you don’t value their time. Fragile egos are not uncommon in the academic world, so it’s important to clearly demonstrate that you value and respect your supervisor’s time and effort .

Practically speaking, be sure to prepare for each meeting with a clear agenda , including your progress, challenges, and any questions you have. Be open and honest in your communication, but most importantly, be receptive to your supervisor’s feedback . Ultimately, part of their role is to tell you when you’re missing the mark. So, don’t become upset or defensive when they criticise a specific aspect of your work.

Always remember that your research advisor is criticising your work, not you personally . It’s never easy to take negative feedback, but this is all part of the learning journey that takes place alongside the research journey.

Fragile egos are not uncommon in the academic world, so it’s important to demonstrate that you value and respect your advisor’s time.

3. Have a clear project plan

Few things will impress your supervisor more than a well-articulated, realistic plan of action (aka, a project plan). Investing the time to develop this shows that you take your project (and by extension, the relationship) seriously. It also helps your supervisor understand your intended timeline, which allows the two of you to better align your schedules .

In practical terms, you need to develop a project plan with achievable goals . A detailed Gantt chart can be a great way to do this. Importantly, you’ll need to break down your thesis or dissertation into a collection of practical, manageable steps , and set clear timelines and milestones for each. Once you’ve done that, you should regularly review and adjust this plan with your supervisor to ensure that you remain on track.

Of course, it’s unlikely that you’ll stick to your plan 100% of the time (there are always unexpected twists and turns in a research project. However, this plan will lay a foundation for effective collaboration between yourself and your supervisor. An imperfect plan beats no plan at all.

4. Engage with problems proactively

One surefire way to quickly annoy your advisor is to pester them every time you run into a problem in your dissertation or thesis. Unexpected challenges are par for the course when it comes to research – how you deal with them is what makes the difference.

When you encounter a problem, resist the urge to immediately send a panicked email to your supervisor – no matter how massive the issue may seem (at the time). Instead, take a step back and assess the situation as holistically as possible. Force yourself to sit with the issue for at least a few hours to ensure that you have a clear, accurate assessment of the issue at hand. In most cases, a little time, distance and deep breathing will reveal that the problem is not the existential threat it initially seemed to be.

When contacting your supervisor, you should ideally present both the problem and one or two potential solutions . The latter is the most important part here. In other words, you need to show that you’ve engaged with the issue and applied your mind to finding potential solutions. Granted, your solutions may miss the mark. However, providing some sort of solution beats impulsively throwing the problem at your supervisor and hoping that they’ll save the day.

Simply put, mishaps and mini-crises in your research journey present an opportunity to demonstrate your initiative and problem-solving skills – not a reason to lose your cool and outsource the problem to your supervisor.

5. Navigate conflict like a diplomat

As with any partnership, there’s always the possibility of some level of disagreement or conflict arising within the student-supervisor relationship. Of course, you can drastically reduce the likelihood of this happening by implementing some of the points we mentioned earlier. Neverthless, if a serious disagreement does arise between you and your supervisor, it’s absolutely essential that you approach it with professionalism and respect . Never let it escalate into a shouting contest.

In practical terms, it’s important to communicate your concerns as they arise (don’t let things simmer for too long). Simultaneously, it’s essential that you remain open to understanding your supervisor’s perspective – don’t become entrenched in your position. After all, you are the less experienced researcher within this duo.

Keep in mind that a lot of context is lost in text-based communication , so it can often be a good idea to schedule a short call to discuss your concerns or points of contention, rather than sending a 3000-word email essay. When going this route, be sure to take the time to prepare a clear, cohesive argument beforehand – don’t just “thought vomit” on your supervisor.

In the event that you do have a significant disagreement with your advisor, remember that the goal is to find a solution that serves your project (not your ego). This often requires compromise and flexibility. A “win at all costs” mindset is definitely not suitable here. Ultimately, you need to solve the problem, while still maintaining the relationship .

If you feel that you have already exhausted all possible avenues and still can’t find an acceptable middle ground, you can of course reach out to your university to ask for their assistance. However, this should be the very last resort . Running to your university every time there’s a small disagreement will not serve you well.

Communicate your concerns as they arise and remain open to understanding your supervisor's perspective. They are the expert, after all.

Recap: Key Takeaways

To sum up, a fruitful student-supervisor relationship hinges on clear role definition , effective and regular communication , strategic planning , proactive engagement , and professional conflict resolution .

Remember, your dissertation supervisor is there to help you, but you still need to put in the work . In many cases, they’ll also be the first marker of your work, so it really pays to put in the effort and build a strong, functional relationship with them.

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Questions to Ask a Potential PhD Advisor: Step 1 in Applying to Fully Funded PhD Programs

By ProFellow Founder, Dr. Vicki Johnson

One of the big “unspoken” steps in applying successfully to PhD programs is conducting faculty outreach before applying. This step is necessary to find research alignment with a faculty member or members who might serve as your PhD advisor if you are accepted to the program, and necessary to ensure you’ll receive adequate support! PhD advisors are faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee and will be officially responsible for advising you throughout your graduate school career. You want to identify potential faculty mentors before applying because your relationship with them will be pivotal to your success as a graduate student. They will meet with you regularly to give you feedback, guidance, and support on your research dissertation, and so it’s important that your PhD advisor has similar academic research interests.

I advise PhD applicants in my Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program to speak with potential advisors as soon as possible in the graduate school application process. Outreach is step 1. But once you have a meeting set with a potential PhD advisor, you might be thinking – what now?!

Knowing where you start with contacting potential advisors can be daunting and intimidating–especially if you don’t know the questions to ask! Here is a step-by-step guide to get started.

How to Find Potential PhD Advisors

It’s not always obvious which faculty members will be available to serve as your PhD advisor. I provide some tips in this article on how to find your ideal PhD advisor using Google Scholar . But before sending off cold emails to faculty it can be prudent to first ask the Admissions contact (typically the Department Chair) for some guidance. Here are two questions to ask:

Which faculty members will be advising incoming PhD students?
Would it be ok if I reached out to faculty in the Department directly to discuss my proposed dissertation topic?

Next you might be wondering, if I set up these meetings, what questions should I ask potential PhD advisors? Let’s discuss the goals of these meetings and specific questions you can ask.

Goals of Your Meeting with a Potential PhD Advisor

Here are the goals you should have set for your meetings with potential PhD advisors.

#1 Identify dissertation topics of interest to the faculty

You may have many ideas, or one specific idea, for the subject of your future PhD dissertation research. But it’s important that you identify faculty members at PhD programs who would be enthusiastic about supporting your proposed research. You can share your broad ideas for research topics that interest you, but it is in your best interest to ask these scholarly experts what innovative topics interest them. They will know the current research landscape and what topics will be of interest to the discipline and to funding bodies. So first, you’ll want to use this opportunity to learn more about their research interests and recent publications.

#2 Identify sources of funding

Often, faculty are pursuing research in response to funding opportunities from external sources like government, corporate and non-profit grants. Often, faculty will use large grant funding sources to provide full funding packages to their selected PhD students. Therefore, it’s important for you to know what research topics are of interest to funding bodies, so that you can achieve funding from the university as a graduate student! Many PhD programs offer full funding , which provides a stipend and a tuition waiver in exchange for taking on some teaching or research duties. Full funding offered by the university is THE way to fully fund your PhD, as there are very limited sources of external funding that you can apply for to cover your tuition and living expenses.

# 3 Build rapport

These meetings will also help you determine if the faculty member is a good fit for you and will be supportive and inspiring to work with. In addition, they may advocate for your acceptance if you build goodwill and rapport with them.

How to Prepare for a Meeting with a Potential PhD Advisor

Before your meeting, be sure to review their university profile and recent research publications. You can check out the faculty’s university profile as well as their profile on Google Scholar, if they have one. Also r eview which students they currently supervise and their dissertation topics, if possible. Often current PhD students are featured on the university’s website with name of their faculty supevisor. You might also want to investigate the university’s website for any news about major research grants awarded in the last 3 years, which might give you some clues about funding sources for the PhD students there.

Questions to Ask a Potential PhD Advisor

What areas of research can I get involved in as a graduate student within this program? OR Does my proposed research subject align with the interest areas of you and other faculty in the program?
Are there any research topics that I should consider for my dissertation proposal? What research topics would meet an urgent need or would address a timely issue in the discipline?
What type of methods are your PhD students using in their research? Do any of the current students have a particularly interesting approach to the research that they’re doing?
Is there anything you recommend I do to ensure I would be eligible to receive funding if am I accepted to the program?
Are there any students that you recommend that I speak to for insights on the PhD program?

What if Faculty Don’t Respond to Meeting Requests?

Sometimes faculty to do not respond to initial outreach emails. There are numerous potential reasons for this – including that they are extremely busy with current students, or you did not provide enough information about yourself or did not ask a specific question, or the Department has a blanket policy on communicating with aspiring applicants, or they simply didn’t see your email or forgot to respond. A non-response from any graduate school contact does not equate to rejection. Let me repeat. Non-response does NOT mean rejection!

For those not hearing back , I can tell you with certainty that the lack of a response is NOT the result of someone who doesn’t appreciate your email. Consider with empathy that your email message may be a low priority among a huge list of demands. Politely follow-up in one week’s time, but don’t take it personally if you don’t hear back! Instead, contact the Admissions or Department Chair to find out the best way to connect with faculty in the Department for the next steps, and also be sure to attend program information sessions that may be offer.

Best of luck! The ProFellow community is rooting for you!

Applying to graduate school and seeking full funding opportunities? Get our FREE 73-page Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards listing 1,000+ programs here!

Dr. Vicki Johnson is Founder and CEO of ProFellow, the world’s leading online resource for professional and academic fellowships. She is a four-time fellow, top Ph.D. scholar, Fulbright recipient and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the Creator and Director of Fully Funded , an award-winning online course and mentorship program for graduate school applicants seeking to find and win full funding.

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Choosing a Dissertation Advisor

Introduction.

While some graduate groups may assign an advisor to a student upon admission to the program, in many graduate groups the responsibility for finding a dissertation advisor rests with the student. The choice of a faculty member who will supervise the dissertation work required to fulfill degree requirements is one of the most critical decisions a graduate student will make. A student will spend several years working with the faculty member of choice, and that choice will significantly affect the direction of the student’s career. Choosing a dissertation advisor, therefore, is an extremely important decision for doctoral students, although it is not immutable, as will be discussed later.

A student undertaking dissertation work needs an advisor who will be not only academically competent in a particular area but also willing to act as the student’s advocate when necessary. It is important that the student be able to work and communicate effectively with the advisor and not feel overwhelmed or intimidated in the relationship. Dissertation work can be lonely and isolating, and support from an advisor can be a crucial connection. Each student requires the guidance of someone who will stimulate thought, who has sufficient interest in the student’s topic to produce new insights jointly, and who will challenge the student to think in a novel manner about the research.

Obtaining Information on Potential Advisors

Advisors generally serve as the dissertation supervisor. Students should be familiar with the University rules about who can supervise dissertation research and serve on a dissertation committee. Several resources and strategies can help students identify an appropriate faculty advisor, as follows.

The graduate group website or handbook is a valuable source of information on potential advisors. Many graduate groups have developed websites that profile affiliated faculty members, including their areas of research, recent publications, and other academic activities. Literature searches can provide further information on the publications and preferred journals of particular faculty members. The graduate group chair can also provide valuable advice on potential advisors and can help students to become familiar with any specific graduate group policies on supervision.

Students can get to know potential advisors by taking a course, doing a lab rotation, acting as a teaching assistant, and/or attending seminars and other presentations by the faculty member.

Graduate students currently working with the potential advisor are an invaluable source of information. Students who are working or have worked with a particular advisor can be asked about their experience with that advisor and about the advisor’s expectations and working methods. Getting to know these students is also useful because anyone choosing to work with a faculty advisor would likely have close, future interactions with their students. Talking to multiple students is always encouraged given the possibly strong and differing opinions one might hear.

Students should make an appointment to meet potential advisors. Meeting a potential advisor is an essential step in determining whether a faculty member would be a good fit in terms of mentoring and interpersonal style and research interested. The following is a list of issues that might be covered in such a meeting:

How many graduate students do you advise? (Students may not want to pick a faculty member who has too many students already.)
Typically, how often do you meet with your students?
Typically, how much time do you expect students to take to complete their dissertation?
How will we agree upon my research topic?
Are there sufficient funds available for the research project?
What will be the sources of my stipend/funding? What are ways you can provide assistance for finding additional funding if/when my stipend expires?
What level of independence is expected of your graduate students?
Is there any specific knowledge I need to have before starting to work with you?
Will I have the opportunity to attend conferences? Publish papers? Present work at colloquia? Are there funds available for me to do so?
Are you planning a sabbatical leave soon? If so, what arrangements for continued supervision will be made during your absence?
What opportunities would I have in this area of research when I graduate?
How do you typically assist students on the job market?
Will guidelines be drawn up for working together?
How will I receive feedback on my progress?

These questions are designed to help the student and the potential advisor determine whether a good match exists. Where appropriate, the student may also want to ask about the order of authorship on publications and intellectual property issues.

For students who are able to pick an advisor, the choice of a dissertation advisor is a decision to be made with a great deal of care and consideration. Discussion of the topics listed above will also give faculty members a sense of what students expect in terms of meetings, feedback, turn-around time on submitted work, etc. Taking time to explore these issues should result in a productive relationship for both student and advisor that culminates in a dissertation of original research, completed within a reasonable period of time.

Changing Advisors

There may be situations in which a student must change advisors. Some situations are beyond the student’s control; for example, when an advisor leaves the University or otherwise becomes unavailable. In other situations, the student may want to choose a different advisor; for example, if the focus of the research project changes to something outside of the current advisor’s expertise, or if work styles do not mesh well.

In these latter situations, students should understand that while there can be risks in changing advisors, it usually can be negotiated in a positive manner. Students deciding to change advisors should be sure to consult the graduate group for any specific policies and procedures that apply and be sure to ascertain if funding may change under a new advisor. Students should always be professional and respectful in interactions with the current advisor and potential new advisor and be certain that the proposed new advisor is willing and able to add them as a new advisee before discussing such a change with the current advisor. Students should focus discussions on interests and goals and not on negative incidents or difficulties. The potential new advisor, as well as leaders or other members of the graduate group, may have advice regarding how to broach this change with the current advisor.

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Choosing a Thesis Advisor: A Complete Guide

One of the most important choices that you will make about your dissertation or thesis happens before you write a single word. Choosing a thesis advisor or dissertation advisor (often referred to as a dissertation chair) will have a significant impact on your entire dissertation writing experience, and for many years to come. For many doctoral students, their thesis advisor is their single greatest influence in graduate school.

Selecting a thesis advisor is a big decision with far-reaching implications. The stakes are very high, and it is imperative to choose your thesis advisor wisely. There are many factors to consider when choosing a thesis advisor, from expertise to personality, and it pays to think carefully and weigh your options before approaching a faculty member to chair your dissertation committee . While there are subtle differences between a dissertation chair and a thesis advisor, we’ll focus on the commonalities in this article.

These are commonly asked questions about selecting a thesis advisor:

What does a thesis advisor do?
How should I choose my thesis advisor?
What makes a faculty member a good thesis advisor?
What if it doesn’t work out with my thesis advisor?

college professor explaining stuff to his student on a laptop

Thesis Advisor Responsibilities

While writing a dissertation is a largely solitary pursuit, a good thesis advisor will be with you every step of the way. While you are very much in the driver’s seat, it is your thesis advisor’s job to keep you off the guardrails. And deploy the airbag, if necessary. There are a few purposes that your thesis advisor will serve during your time together.

Guidance . While the dissertation process is new to you, your thesis advisor will know it very well. She will help you navigate the obstacles and pitfalls that have derailed many projects–department politics, university regulations, funding, research opportunities, etc. Your thesis advisor will also serve as a sounding board as you distill the nebulous concept of your research project into a fully-formed idea that you can move forward with.

Organization . A good thesis advisor will run a tight ship and keep your dissertation project moving like clockwork. As a researcher, it’s very easy to get lost in the minutiae of the literature, and it’s not difficult to find yourself trapped down a rabbit hole of scholarship. Regular milestones set by your thesis advisor are a great way to stay on track and maintain forward momentum.

Mentorship. While an effective thesis advisor will ensure that you see your project to fruition, a great one will be with you for decades. Though I graduated with my Ph.D. in 2012 and I’m now an associate professor myself, my thesis advisor remains a guiding light in my career. Your thesis advisor can be a cornerstone of your professional network.

red haired student explaining stuff in a classroom with her professor looking at her

Choosing a Thesis Advisor

So, how do you select a faculty member to chair your dissertation committee? With extreme care. Once you have set your sights on a dissertation chair or thesis advisor, the next step is the Big Ask. I remember being very nervous to approach the faculty member who became my chair– it seemed like such an imposition, but, as a grad student in her department, I was already on her radar. Keep in mind, your faculty members are expecting to be asked to chair dissertation committees, and they may even be a little flattered that you chose them.

While chairing and serving on dissertation committees is a requirement for the tenured and senior faculty members in your department, it’s a lot of work. Make no mistake: accepting the role of your dissertation chair makes them nervous, too. As a faculty member, I can say with absolute certainty that a good dissertation chair will be almost as invested in your dissertation as you are.

What Makes a Strong Thesis Advisor?

There exists a gulf between what many students desire in a dissertation chair or thesis advisor and what they actually need. While there may be a temptation to approach one of your department’s superstar faculty members to chair your committee, this may not serve you in the long term. Faculty members who have made a name for themselves through an abundance of publications, grants, awards, and conference appearances typically have jam-packed schedules, and it may be difficult for them to make you and your dissertation a priority.

Dissertation Committee Member Mentoring Student

A safer bet that is likely to have a more rewarding outcome is to work with a faculty member who has already shown enthusiasm for your work. Select a thesis advisor who makes time for you, and one who always responds to your emails. This is the person you want in your corner during the sometimes stressful journey of researching and writing a dissertation. Also, it never hurts to spend some time talking to potential dissertation chairs or dissertation advisors. Get all of your questions answered, and then make a decision.

What If It Doesn’t Work Out?

The possibility that your thesis advisor is a bad fit for your project or is incompatible for some other reason is a worst-case scenario that lurks in the furthest reaches of every graduate student’s mind. There’s no way to sugarcoat it: this is not a good situation to be in, and it can derail dissertations. The soundest strategy for dealing with an internecine conflict with your thesis advisor is prevention.

This is why it is vital to do your homework and put a lot of thought into choosing your thesis advisor. Find someone you are compatible with and make sure you’re on the same page. Check in with them regularly, and keep them updated. Clear communication is a great way to ensure a solid partnership with your dissertation chair. Don’t forget, your dissertation chair should also be making your success a priority. You should be comfortable enough to ask questions and let them know what’s on your mind.

The good news is that a bad fit isn’t likely to happen. Most grad students have a completely workable relationship with their dissertation chairs, and for many it turns into a long friendship built on mutual respect and admiration. Personally, every time I serve on a doctoral student’s dissertation committee, I feel a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction when they take their place in the academic world. It’s truly an honor to help them achieve such a major milestone in their academic career, and I’m delighted to be part of it.

close up of taking notes in front of laptop

Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include Studies in American Culture , Dialogue , and The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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The First Steps: Choosing a Topic and a Thesis Supervisor

People working together, showing only hands.

There are two key choices you must make when you embark on your thesis: choosing a topic and choosing a supervisor.

Choosing a topic

A research topic can be very broad - you have not yet developed a specific research question but instead, have an expansive area of interest[1]. Here are some tips for choosing a successful thesis topic:

Let your interests guide you. This project will consume a considerate amount of your time during your junior and senior years, so pick a topic that you are genuinely interested in and committed to exploring. Think about interesting topics or readings from your coursework—what caught your attention?

Pay attention to your social world. Look to the media, news outlets, your friends - what issues are people debating now? What questions need answering?

Think of this as a chance to do something totally new. Is there a course you wish that the School of Hospitality Management offered about a certain topic? What research questions follow from that topic?

Engage with current or past research. See what has been done. Look at journals like the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and the International Journal of Hospitality Management. What topics have they covered recently? What can you add to the debate?

Your research topic does not have to be specific yet. Do some brainstorming—write down 5 to 10 topics that interest you. Talk with friends and professors to see which topics are the most interesting (and could provide the starting point for a strong thesis). Once you have decided on a topic, you are ready for the next step.

Choosing a thesis supervisor

Once you’ve identified the broad subject area you are interested in exploring, you should think about who to choose as a thesis supervisor. Any graduate faculty member of the School of Hospitality Management may serve as a thesis supervisor. A list of the current graduate faculty members is provided in the Appendix. We have one research center within the School of Hospitality Management, the Center for Food Innovation. If you work with this center as part of your thesis work, you should plan, consistent with best practices across laboratories in the College of Health and Human Development, to choose a faculty member other than personnel from the center to be your thesis supervisor. However, it is assumed you will also work closely with personnel from the center during the completion of your thesis work.

There are several ways to go about choosing a thesis supervisor. One strategy is to consider professors in whose courses you have been or are enrolled. Is your thesis topic relevant to their research interests? A second strategy is to look on the School of Hospitality Management website for a listing of faculty members and their research interests ( /shm/directory/BioList.aspx ). You can also think about interesting articles or books you’ve read in your coursework. Finally, you can meet with the School’s honors adviser to brainstorm about who a suitable thesis supervisor might be.

Once you have identified a potential thesis supervisor, you must ask him or her to advise the thesis! This should take place during the fall or spring semester of your junior year. Before approaching potential supervisors, do some brainstorming on your own. For your own use, write a brief description of your potential topics and 2-3 more specific research questions. When you meet with a potential supervisor, you do not yet need to have a definitive research question. This is something a thesis supervisor will help with.

You should set up appointments to discuss the thesis with potential supervisors. Send them an email requesting a meeting to discuss the possibility that they advise your thesis. Include the description of your topic. When you have scheduled a meeting, present your potential topic and ask them if they would be interested in advising it. If you are still working on developing your specific research question, ask for their advice or feedback on your potential research questions.

Examples of the questions to ask during your first meeting with a potential supervisor:

How promising do you find my research topic?
Are there particular directions you think I should explore in developing a research question?
How often do you like to meet with advisees?
How many drafts are you willing to read? How many days do you require to read a draft?
What is your preferred method of maintaining regular contact?
Do you have any books or journal articles that you think I need to read before our next meeting?

[1] Note that a topic is a broad subject area while a research question is much narrower. A research question is a specific problem or question within a given subject area that can be addressed within the approximate 1.5-year time frame given over to the thesis A research question is typically tested with empirical data.

Return to Thesis Guide Table of Contents

People sitting together in a community garden

Ruminating…

Random thoughts about conducting scientific research, supervising students and «toys» that make creative activities even funnier….

Questions you should be asking your future thesis advisor

A part from the obvious discussion on salary, TA or other forms of support, here is a list of relevant questions you should be asking your future thesis advisor:

Will we meet on a regular basis (group meeting, individual meeting)?
Is there specific graduation conditions i.e. must have published at least 3 manuscripts in the top journal of the field ?
Publication policies: will I be first authors?
In your group, under what condition graduate students get to go to meetings/conferences?
Will I get the chance to supervise an undergraduate student?
What will be the infrastructure (field specific) available for my project through your group / Department / University?
Is there any possibilities during my PhD to able to spent a few months in one your collaborator’s lab (if advisor has ongoing, established collaboration)?

Note that before getting to the point where you will be asking the above questions, you should also do your homework and research your thesis advisor activities, realizations and past grad students:

Does he/she publish on a regular basis in the best journal in the field?
Learn about past students: how long to graduate on average and what are these students doing now?
Who are the current students and what are they working on (how will you fit in this group)?
Does this group has a website and is it up to date?

Is it a good thesis topic?

Does the topic have a clear aim?

Is the topic researchable, is the topic original enough, will the topic be interesting to your audience.

What methodology will your topic require?

Additional criteria for a good thesis topic

Frequently asked questions about having a good thesis topic, related articles.

Before starting the actual research for your thesis, you need to make sure that your topic is well formed. Take a look at this list of questions to find out if your topic is ready to work on.

First things first, is your topic clear enough? The ideal path of deciding a topic starts by making it as comprehensive as possible. This is easier said than done, as people often have one idea in mind but another one in the paper.

Tip: To ensure that your topic is clear and comprehensible, try explaining it to a friend or colleague.

As James Hamilton, coach for Ph.D. students, concludes in his guide on finding a thesis topic “clarity is the key.” Therefore, we recommend explaining your topic to someone foreign to your field.

Dissect every part of the topic and describe them in the most simple way. This will help you see your topic from a different perspective. Once you have a simplified version, you can start adding layers of complexity.

Once you are sure the topic is crystal clear, it is time to find out the most important factor: does the topic offer enough information? If you came up with the topic from material you read before, or you heard about it in a lecture, it means the topic is probably highly researchable.

Use keywords related to your topic and search for them in:

library catalogs
academic databases
academic search engines
Google scholar
academic repositories

Consider meeting with an academic librarian, who can help you generate keywords.

Every thesis requires a level of originality but, let's be honest, research is never completely original. Still, why not make it as original as you can within your limits? You will dive in a sea of papers with a similar approach to yours. This is your chance of finding an angle that has never been taken before.

Therefore, we recommend finding a gap in the research, or a certain angle that has been done before but could be further developed. How? By simply paying particular attention to your sources.

Tip: To determine if your thesis topic is original, consider speaking with your advisor, or others in your field, who may know the research landscape really well.

Academic writing shouldn’t be boring. Depending on the level of your thesis, its appeal will vary. Identify the audience of your thesis and adapt its style and structure accordingly.

A bachelor’s thesis has to be interesting for the professor who grades it it. An MA thesis should attract your supervisor, and potential future employers. A Ph.D. thesis should strive to make a clear intervention in the field that will catch the attention of other scholars. It should engage peers, supervisor, and general researchers.

Once you know who you are writing for, it becomes easier to adapt your style to your target audience. We also recommend these 13 ways to make your writing more interesting to read.

W hat methodology will your topic require?

Picking a suitable research methodology is one of the most important components that can make a project fail or succeed.

Being aware of what type of outcome you want and how much time you have to conduct research will help you choose the right methodologies. For example, if you want qualitative data and you have enough time, then you can carry out a focus group.

If you want quantitative data in a short period of time then an online survey suffices. Time and goal will be the decisive factors in almost every project.

Check out our guide on How to gather data for your thesis for further instructions on collecting empirical data and choosing a methodology.

Qualitative : focus groups, interviews, literature reviews, etc.
Quantitative : surveys, experiments, longitudinal studies, etc.

You might also ask yourself these questions when you are assessing if your thesis topic is good:

Is the topic easy to find?
Is the topic of interest in contemporary culture?
Will the topic bring you any benefit after graduation?

Every thesis requires a level of originality but let's be honest, research is never completely original. To have an original topic, we recommend finding a gap in the research. How? By simply finding a certain angle that has been done before but could be further developed.

Academic writing shouldn’t be boring. In order to make it interesting, you should identify the audience of your project and adapt it accordingly. A bachelor’s thesis has to be interesting for the professor who grades it it. An MA thesis should attract your supervisor, and potential future employers. A Ph.D. thesis should strive to make a clear intervention in the field that will catch the attention of other scholars.

We recommend explaining your topic to someone foreign to your field. Dissect every part of the topic and describe it in the most simple way. This will help you see your topic from a different perspective.

If you came up with the topic from material you read before, or you heard about it in a lecture, it means the topic is probably highly researchable. Use keywords related to your topic and search for them in catalogs, databases, search engines, and libraries.

Some other questions you can ask yourself (or others) to know if your thesis topic is good:

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Ask an Advisor: How can I help clients retire to, not from, something? (Part 2)

Workplace procrastination. Old rich wealthy man

"Ask an Advisor ," the advice column where real financial professionals answer questions from real people. The topic can be anything in the world of finance, from retirement to taxes to wealth management — or even advice on advising.

what the client really needs is a therapist .)

we fielded a question from a wealth manager. He asked fellow advisors to weigh in on a few heavy questions regarding how best to assist clients who may be in danger of losing their identity and self-worth after retiring. Here's what he wrote:

Dear advisors,

What are the most common psychological challenges retirees face when transitioning from full-time work to retirement, and how can advisors help clients navigate these changes?

How do you address issues related to identity and purpose with clients who struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in retirement?

What strategies do you recommend for emotionally preparing clients for retirement, beyond the financial aspects?

Zack Swad, president and wealth manager

Swad Wealth Management

Santa Rosa, California

Read Part 1 here. )

Without further ado, here is Part 2:

Help clients focus on fun

But help them realize they can’t golf all day, every day, finding identity, avoiding isolation, get the creative juices flowing, flip the script on old habits, nourishing and flourishing in a new chapter of life.

The latest push-pull episode between the giant firm and its large branches came to light in its earnings call. Unanswered questions loom large for its future.

Eight Broadridge employees rowed at the Paris Olympics this summer through the fintech's Elite Athlete Management Program.

The New York-based firm recently passed $2 billion in AUM and now has over 30 financial advisors.

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The regional wealth manager reports losing 41 advisors in the second quarter, although its headcount was still up 4%.

Firms like Merrill, Morgan Stanley and Morningstar are finding ways to use AI to calm the storm of economic and political uncertainties

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The litigation comes amid heated debate over a Department of Labor rule meant to prevent excessive fees on sales of insurance products.

Questions to ask a financial adviser to help budget for your 1st home

By Mr. Digital Fingers
Aug 09, 2024

Buying your first home is an exciting milestone, but it can also be an overwhelming financial endeavor. One of the best ways to navigate this process is by seeking the guidance of a financial adviser who can help you budget effectively. This article will provide you with expert tips on approaching your financial adviser for help in budgeting for your first home, ensuring that you make informed and confident decisions.

Start the conversation early

When planning to buy your first home, starting the conversation with your financial adviser as early as possible is crucial. The earlier you begin discussing your financial situation, the more time you have to make adjustments, save money, and prepare for the various costs associated with homeownership. Early planning can also help you identify any financial challenges you may face, such as outstanding debt or low credit scores, and allow you to work on improving these areas before you start house hunting.

Bringing up the topic of homeownership with your financial adviser might feel daunting, but it’s important to remember that they are there to help you. Start by expressing your desire to purchase a home and asking for their guidance on where to begin. Your adviser can help you assess your current financial situation and set realistic goals for saving and budgeting.

Ask for a comprehensive financial assessment

Before you can create an effective budget for buying a home, it’s essential to understand your overall financial health. Ask your financial adviser to conduct a comprehensive financial assessment that includes your income, expenses, debt, savings, and credit score. This assessment will give you a clear picture of where you stand financially and help you determine how much you can afford to spend on a home.

During this assessment, be sure to discuss any upcoming life changes or financial goals that could impact your budget, such as starting a family or changing careers. Your financial adviser can help you account for these factors when creating your home-buying budget.

A comprehensive financial assessment also allows you to identify any areas where you can cut costs or increase savings. For example, if you have high-interest debt, your adviser may recommend paying it off before purchasing a home to improve your financial stability and reduce your monthly expenses.

Determine your home-buying budget

Once you have a clear understanding of your financial situation, your financial adviser can help you determine a realistic budget for buying your first home. This budget should include not only the purchase price of the home but also additional costs such as closing fees, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

It’s important to remember that your home-buying budget should be based on what you can afford, not just what a lender is willing to lend you. Your financial adviser can help you determine a comfortable monthly mortgage payment that fits within your overall budget and allows you to maintain your current lifestyle.

In addition to your mortgage payment, your budget should also include a cushion for unexpected expenses, such as home repairs or changes in your financial situation. Your financial adviser can help you set aside an emergency fund to cover these costs and ensure that you are financially prepared for homeownership.

Explore mortgage options with your adviser

Your financial adviser can also help you explore different mortgage options and determine which one is the best fit for your financial situation. There are many types of mortgages available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and choosing the right one can have a significant impact on your budget.

Discuss the various mortgage options with your financial adviser, including fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, and government-backed loans. Your adviser can help you understand the pros and cons of each type of mortgage and determine which one is the most affordable and sustainable for your financial situation.

In addition to helping you choose a mortgage, your financial adviser can also assist you in understanding the impact of interest rates on your budget. They can help you determine whether it makes sense to lock in a low-interest rate now or wait for potentially lower rates in the future.

Plan for the future with your adviser

Budgeting for your first home is not just about the present—it’s also about planning for the future. Your financial adviser can help you create a long-term financial plan that takes into account your homeownership goals and other financial priorities.

For example, if you plan to have children or retire in the next few years, your financial adviser can help you create a budget that allows you to achieve these goals while still paying for your home. They can also help you plan for potential changes in your financial situation, such as a job loss or health issues, and ensure that you are prepared to handle these challenges.

In addition to helping you plan for the future, your financial adviser can also provide ongoing support and guidance as you navigate the home-buying process. They can help you make informed decisions about your finances and ensure that you are on track to achieve your homeownership goals.

Conclusion: The importance of professional guidance

Purchasing your first home is a significant financial commitment, and having a professional by your side can make all the difference. By working closely with your financial adviser, you can create a budget that is realistic, sustainable, and aligned with your long-term financial goals. Whether you are just beginning to consider homeownership or are ready to start house hunting, these expert tips will help you confidently ask your financial adviser for help in budgeting for your first home.

Taking the time to prepare and plan with your adviser will not only make the home-buying process smoother but will also set you up for financial success in the years to come .

This story was created using AI technology.

budgeting tips , financial advisor , financial assessment , financial planning , first-time homebuyers , home buying budget , homeownership goals , mortgage guidance , mortgage options , real estate planning

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Academic Advising

Advising and Registration Updates

2024 updates.

Advising Changes | Advising FAQ | Registration Changes | Registration FAQ

The South Carolina Honors College is implementing several changes to advising and registration beginning in fall 2024.

Honors students in phase one will now have a single academic advisor who is an expert in their major and Honors requirements. This change was initiated by USC leadership to streamline undergraduate academic advising and to improve the student experience. Students in later phases will transition to the new model in the near future.
Honors advisors will no longer register students for Honors sections for courses during or after the advising appointment. Beginning with registration for spring 2025 classes, Honors students will register themselves for Honors and non-Honors courses during priority registration week.

Advising Changes in Honors

The new advising model will be implemented in the Honors College in several phases. Phase one begins immediately and will include students whose majors are housed in:

Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing (MCEC)
College of Information and Communications (CIC)
Darla Moore School of Business (DMSB)
College of Nursing (CON)

Later phases will eventually include all other academic colleges. During fall 2024, students not included in the colleges listed above will continue to be assigned both an Honors advisor and an undergraduate academic advisor for their major. The timeline for later phases will be implemented on a rolling basis, and students will be notified of any changes in advance.

The Honors College will continue to provide student programming, unique events and valuable engagement opportunities that we have always offered our students.

Phase One Students

Students in MCEC, CIC, DMSB and CON will be assigned a new advisor on August 7 , and that information will be shared via email. This change will be reflected in Self-Service Carolina and EAB Navigate after the add/drop deadline on August 26.

Undergraduate Academic Advisors (UAAs) in this model are expert USC advisors, with 2+ years of advising experience, and have received additional training on Honors requirements and opportunities. Appointments with these advisors will be 45-60 minutes, and will cover academic major requirements, Carolina Core and Honors requirements.

Phase one Honors students pursuing dual degrees:

Major #1 in a phase one college + major #2 not in a phase one college.	Student will be assigned a UAA with Honors-specific training in the phase one college. They will also be assigned a second UAA for their second major.
Majors #1 AND #2 both in a phase one college.	Student will be assigned two UAAs with Honors-specific training in both majors.

Students participating in later phases

Students participating in later phases will be advised by both an Honors advisor and UAA within their major in fall 2024. Appointments will continue to be 30 minutes with each advisor. Due to staffing changes, students may be assigned to a new Honors advisor for fall 2024. Students will be notified of their Honors advisor assignment on August 7 via email, and the change will be reflected in EAB Navigate after the add/drop deadline on August 26.

Advising FAQs

Once the Honors College has fully adopted the single advising model, all students will have an Honors-trained UAA embedded within their academic college.

To ensure equitable support and prompt responses, Honors caseloads must remain small. Due to staffing changes and the new single advising model, reassignments are necessary.

The UAAs chosen to work with our students in their academic colleges are experts in advising within that college and have received extensive training on Honors requirements and opportunities. Students will have the benefit of one advisor who can help navigate strategic overlaps between Honors and academic program requirements.

The timeline for later phases will be implemented on a rolling basis, and students will be notified of any changes in advance.

Reach out to your assigned advisor.

For additional information or questions related to Honors advising updates, please contact our assistant dean of student affairs Dr. Kay Thomas (803.777.2409).

Registration Model Change

With USC’s upgrade to Banner 9 (Self-Service Carolina), the Honors College must adjust our current procedure for course registration. In the new system, it is no longer possible for Honors advisors to register students in courses. Moving forward, Honors students will register themselves for Honors and non-Honors sections of courses during priority registration week at their assigned ticket time .

Course registration will no longer take place during advising appointments. As a result, those appointments will no longer be scheduled by entry year, and students will have the flexibility to schedule their advising appointment any time between mid-September and priority registration week.

This change will go into effect for spring 2025 registration which occurs in fall 2024.

Permission to register for Honors sections of courses ( e.g. H01 ) will be granted to all Honors students in Self-Service Carolina before priority registration week. Non-Honors students will not have the ability to register for Honors sections.

During Honors advising appointments in the new format, advisors will:

Continue to discuss remaining Honors requirements and Honors course options
Provide a list of the Honors course options a student should register for during priority registration week. This list will also be available in EAB Navigate and DegreeWorks.
Discuss Honors Beyond the Classroom
Advise on programming and opportunities unique to the Honors College
Share information about campus resources, including national fellowships
Provide academic goal setting and future planning (e.g., pre-med, pre-health, pre-law, graduate school, career planning, etc.)

Honors courses are in high demand and, as in previous years, many course sections will fill during registration. Advisors will be available to answer questions about Honors course options during priority registration week, but students are responsible for identifying alternative courses prior to their ticket time, in case a course fills.

The Honors College will host advising workshops, and students are strongly encouraged to attend to prepare for course registration.

Registration FAQs

Honors students will register during priority registration week. Ticket times are assigned by the university registrar based on the number of credit hours, not entry year.

Based on the guidance of your advisor during your advising appointment, you are responsible for identifying back-up options to ensure that requirements can be met. If you believe a course is essential to Honors completion, first, consult your advisor. If the course is deemed to be essential, your advisor will ask you to complete the course override application .

Please consult the Honors course webpage .

You will need to contact your assigned advisor for assistance with adding fall 2024 courses as in the past. The change in registration will go into effect for spring 2025 course registration.

For additional information or questions related to registration and the new registration format, please reach out to your assigned advisor.

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What questions do prospective advisors ask during first meeting?

I'm in a PhD program and I'm preparing myself to meet a prospective advisor for the first time. I want to know what questions do they usually ask students in their first meeting? What do they expect? I've looked at the following discussions and they were helpful but did not answer my question completely.

How do I impress my prospective grad advisor? (first meeting)

Etiquette for an initial meeting with a prospective advisor: What is expected of the student?

graduate-admissions
research-assistantship

2 Answers 2

From the perspective of the prospective advisor, their goal in the meeting will be to determine whether they want to take you on as a student, so their questions are likely to be based on accomplishing this goal. This is very much like a job interview with a prospective employer, so you should prepare yourself in the same way.

(1) Make sure you have "done your homework" on the research interests of the advisor, and whatever research group they are in. This means that you should have read their faculty webpages, read about the projects they have done, and have a reasonable idea of the kinds of publications that advisor has done. I would expect that you have at least looked at the list of papers published by the advisor, and if you are well-prepared, you might even have skim-read a couple of them. You might be asked questions about why you want to be supervised by that advisor (or work within that group), and you should be able to respond to these with specifics.

(2) Depending on how this university works, you should either have some existing knowledge of projects that they want to put you on, or if you are expected to come up with your own project, you should have some reasonable ideas for this. If you are proposing your own ideas, make sure that they are within the expertise of the prospective supervisor, or else consider a different prospective supervisor. If you have already constructed a research proposal, bring this with you. You may be asked about your ideas for projects, or broad fields of research, and in this case the most important thing to do is to make sure you can explain your ideas in clear and simple terms . When a potential supervisor asks you to describe a project idea, often they are just looking to see if you can communicate your idea in clear non-technical terms to someone who has never heard it before. They want to know that you can communicate about your subject clearly, without falling into a muddle, or giving a stream of jargon.

(3) Your prospective advisor might ask you about your previous experience and courses, to get an idea of your level of existing knowledge. If you have sent them a CV and academic transcript in advance then this will help to narrow down the questions. Some advisors like to ask detailed questions about past courses, grades, etc., and others will just assume that if you got into the PhD program then you have the desired background. This varies a lot, but be prepared to talk about your past education/work, and give some highlights of things you have done well in (without appearing to brag).

(4) You ought to be able to make a plausible case for how you will fit into the advisor's research group, and how you can add value to this group. Expectations will be modest here, since you are a novice, so they are not going to expect you to have any expertise that is lacking in the research group. Still, you should be prepared to explain why you think you would fit well into that research group/project, and show that you have the potential to learn the material rapidly.

(5) Make sure you display an attitude of eagerness and flexibility, and are not too rigid in your desire to work on a particular project. A prospective supervisor will generally look for a student who is able to be slotted into projects where they are needed, and who can adapt to changes in a research project. At the level of a PhD candidature your supervisor will also generally want you to have a broad interest in the field, rather than a narrow interest only in a particular project. It is therefore helpful if you can display an enthusiasm and knowledge for the your field generally. (Some PhD students occasionally ask if it will harm them to show interest in multiple research subjects at once, on the basis that this might dilute their commitment to one project. Although academics often become highly specialised, this is not an expectation that applies to starting PhD students, and at this early stage it is best if the student has a broad interest in the discipline.)

Initial meetings with a prospective supervisor vary wildly, depending on the attitude of that academic. For some academics it is treated as little more than an informal meet-and-greet, while others may ask detailed questions and "grill" the prospective student. So, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst!

The best I can do is to let you know what I ask and want to talk about in these situations. I have worked with 30 Ph.D. advisees in my engineering faculty career to date.

I will not ask technical questions in the same way I would on an oral examination. But, I will certainly bring up technical ideas closely related to my research that I would expect an interested student to know at least a bit about. If the student has something interesting to say on these ideas, then I know that they are seriously interested in my research. I will say that it is better if the student admits that they do not know much about an area rather than "pretend" to be better informed than she/he really is. I'll have to say that I value honesty in these settings above all else.

I will be very interested to understand why the student wants to get a Ph.D., so she/he should be ready to talk about career goals with some specificity. In my view, it is not enough to simply say that they wish to have a career as a faculty member. Why? Where? What do they hope to accomplish?

I'd like to know a bit about their research goals. What types of research are most interesting? What impact do they hope to have with their research and scholarship? What journals do they hope to publish in?

Finally, and probably most importantly, I like to see some evidence of passion about a research problem or subfield or a particular aspect of academic research or the academic career. Students who have a passion to accomplish something and then can set goals that enable them to make it happen are the ones we want to work with most.

I hope this helps!

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8 Questions To Ask Your Mortgage Lender

Updated: Mar 3, 2023, 4:00am

Before you start working with a mortgage lender, it’s a good idea to ask a series of questions to see what loan products it offers and how well it can serve your needs.

It can be hard to evaluate a financial product you don’t understand well but desperately want. Ease your nerves by going into the conversation prepared with this list of questions—in addition to any questions you have specific to your situation.

1. What Types of Mortgage Loans Do You Offer?

If you already know what type of mortgage you want, it only makes sense to find out if a lender offers that product. Check the lender’s website and confirm with a loan officer before you apply.

If you don’t know what type of mortgage you want, a lender who offers a wide variety of loan products may be able to better match you to the best loan.

A lender with plenty of options can also be a smart choice if you have a small down payment, imperfect credit or want to borrow more than the conforming loan limit . You’re more likely to qualify for a home loan when a lender has more loan types to offer you.

2. What’s the Best Interest Rate You Can Offer Me?

When you’re shopping for a mortgage, one of the main things you want to know is which lender has the lowest rates. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get this information without applying.

You might get a general idea of whether a particular lender has competitive rates by seeing how its advertised rates compare to national averages. But advertised rates don’t usually reflect what you’ll actually qualify for.

The lowest listed rates are based on assumptions about down payment, credit score, purchase price and location that, combined, paint a portrait of an ideal borrower. Your situation may not match it. Plus, mortgage rates change so often that a lender’s best advertised rates can quickly become outdated.

3. What Are Your Closing Costs and Fees?

A lender’s best advertised rate also makes assumptions about the fees someone would have to pay to get that rate. If you read the fine print, you’ll see that a borrower might have to pay points —a fee based on a percentage of the amount borrowed—to get that low rate. If you don’t want to pay points, you’ll get a higher interest rate.

Most lenders also charge an origination fee to cover their costs of handling your loan, such as processing your application and underwriting your mortgage. You’ll also pay a number of third-party fees for things like a home appraisal, credit report, title search, title insurance and closing services. Your lender doesn’t set these fees.

The lender will pick providers for you by default—likely, a company they have a relationship with. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the company your lender wants you to use may be excellent and competitively priced. But you won’t know unless you exercise your right to comparison shop. In particular, it’s a good idea to shop around for title and closing services.

4. What Are the Key Requirements to Qualify for a Mortgage?

The requirements to qualify for a mortgage will largely depend on what type of mortgage you’re applying for. Most mortgages are heavily regulated by the federal government, which sets minimum borrower qualifications (and sometimes minimum property standards, too). For example, you won’t qualify for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan with a 450 credit score, no matter how big your down payment is.

The minimum requirements that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHA and others set don’t determine your eligibility for a loan with a specific lender, though. Lenders can impose higher requirements: For example, a lender might not approve an FHA loan for a borrower with a credit score below 620 even though the FHA allows a minimum of 580 with 3.5% down.

Unless you have excellent credit, a low debt-to-income ratio and are applying for a loan that’s well within your means, it’s not a bad idea to ask a loan officer what the company’s minimum requirements are before you apply.

5. Do You Offer a Mortgage Rate Lock and at What Cost?

Locking your rate while you’re waiting for the loan process to play out ensures that changes in the mortgage market won’t push up your rate and give you a monthly payment you can’t afford.

When you lock your rate for the first time, it should be free. At some point, your rate has to be finalized so you can pass final underwriting approvals and close on your loan.

Rate lock fees are more likely to apply after you’ve done that initial lock. For example, if rates drop, your lender might allow you to re-lock at the lower rate if you pay a float-down fee. You also might have to pay a fee to extend your rate lock if your loan closes late for a reason you could have prevented. Rate lock policies and fees vary by lender.

6. What Are Your Down Payment Requirements?

Similar to loan qualification requirements, minimum down payment requirements are set by federal law for many types of mortgages. However, lenders might ask you to put down more than the minimum, especially if some aspect of your finances makes you a riskier borrower.

7. What Is Your Process for Preapproval?

If you’re buying a home (as opposed to refinancing), a lender’s preapproval process can ultimately determine whether you get to buy the home of your dreams or lose it to someone else.

The best mortgage lenders offer a fully underwritten preapproval. This means they’ve reviewed your finances thoroughly and are committed to giving you a loan as long as the home you want appraises at the right price and meets other property-specific conditions. This type of preapproval allows you to shop and bid with confidence. Ideally, you’ll get this type of preapproval before you start seriously shopping for a home. It’s what you’ll need to make a competitive offer.

What you don’t want is a preapproval process that’s cursory or slow. An automated preapproval process based on inputs you provided can be hit-or-miss. And a preapproval that takes ages to get could delay your homebuying process to the point where you miss out on a property you want or incur extra expenses because you can’t move quickly enough.

8. Can’t I Just Submit My Information Online?

Sometimes, yes. A few lenders do offer fully online mortgages . But most lenders still won’t let you submit a complete application online, and some have websites that provide scant details about the products they offer or what, exactly, they require of you to get a mortgage.

The mortgage business is more nuanced than it might seem. Lenders do use automated systems to process and approve mortgage applications. But many applications require an actual human to carefully review the details of a borrower’s finances. The details of your application affect what loan types you might qualify for, and factors like your income, existing debt and credit history will all determine your eligibility.

Those details are a key reason why you’ll often have to actually talk to multiple loan officers to learn what your options are.

How to Choose a Mortgage Lender

Finding the right mortgage at the right price is key, of course. But with such a major financial commitment, it’s worth looking for a lender that offers that and more: patience, respect and clear, honest answers.

You might have to make a lot of calls and submit a lot of applications—and you should, since the terms of your mortgage will play a major role in how financially stable you are after closing. But eventually, you’ll find the right lender and the right mortgage.

Faster, easier mortgage lending

Check your rates today with Better Mortgage.

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Amy Fontinelle is a freelance writer, researcher and editor who brings a journalistic approach to personal finance content. Since 2004, she has worked with lenders, real estate agents, consultants, financial advisors, family offices, wealth managers, insurance companies, payment companies and leading personal finance websites. Amy also has extensive experience editing academic papers and articles by professional economists, including eight years as the production manager of an economics journal.

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(PDF) List of 20 Frequently Asked Thesis Defense Questions
😂 How to ask a professor to be your thesis advisor. Top 10 questions
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Choosing a Thesis Advisor: A Complete Guide
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COMMENTS

PDF The Definitive 'what do I ask/look for' in a PhD Advisor Guide
Who best to ask this question to... ⠀Advisor's website / publications⠀ ⠀Direct Observation⠀ ⠀Department⠀ ⠀Advisor Directly⠀ The Definitive 'what do I ask/look for' in a PhD Advisor Guide (minus lifestyle questions) You've been accepted to a PhD program, and have time to ask questions while visiting - what do you look for ...
Questions to Ask a Prospective Ph.D. Advisor on Visit Day, With
These are my (@andrewkuznet) opinions, formed by being a SCS PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University in the US.This post is meant as a followup to a poster I made in 2019 with the help of many people. Following the trend, this guide was also created collaboratively. Every PhD, advisor, and situation is different, but I've written this question guide to help a diverse set of readers during ...
Advising Guide for Research Students : Graduate School
Advisor Responsibilities. Guides you in meeting the requirements and expectations for your degree. Helps you develop a plan for completing your program that includes specific milestones and deadlines for the following: Required coursework. Exams required by the graduate field or the Graduate School. Research proposal/prospectus. Research project.
PDF Choosing a Thesis Advisor
In order to make this process as simple and effective as possible, students should keep in mind the following guidelines when choosing and approaching a faculty member to ask them to be their advisors: 1)Have a compelling and well-thought-out thesis proposal. Exciting and detailed proposals are much more likely inspire confidence and interest ...
Questions for a potential advisor and their research team!
An advisor can significantly impact your research trajectory, learning experience, and overall success. To make an informed choice, it's essential to ask pertinent questions when considering a prospective advisor. Therefore, this blog delves into the key questions you should ask the prospective advisor as well as the members of the research group.
Questions You May Want to Ask Before Choosing a Thesis Advisor
Questions to ask other Professors and senior-level graduate students. What is the advisor's professional reputation? Is the advisor close to retiring, or in poor health? Suggestion: Do a literature search of the prospective advisor's publications. Do they seem interesting to you? Also find papers from the group's graduate students.
Dissertation Advisor 101: How To Work With Your Advisor
Establish (and stick to) a regular communicationcycle. Develop a clear project planupfront. Be proactive in engaging with problems. Navigate conflictlike a diplomat. 1. Clarify roles on day one. Each university will have slightly different expectations, rules and normsin terms of the research advisor's role.
Questions to Ask a Potential PhD Advisor: Step 1 in ...
PhD advisors are faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee and will be officially responsible for advising you throughout your graduate school career. You want to identify potential faculty mentors before applying because your relationship with them will be pivotal to your success as a graduate student.
Choosing a thesis advisor: Choose wisely and avoid years of tears in
By: Jennifer Casiano Finding the correct thesis adviser can be a bit problematic for first-year graduate students. It is a 5+ year commitment and it needs careful analysis. Finding a strong mentor can be the key to success for a graduate student, in combination with the positive influence of a research area that students are passionate about.
Choosing a Dissertation Advisor
Choosing a dissertation advisor, therefore, is an extremely important decision for doctoral students, although it is not immutable, as will be discussed later. A student undertaking dissertation work needs an advisor who will be not only academically competent in a particular area but also willing to act as the student's advocate when ...
Choosing a Thesis Advisor: A Complete Guide
Courtney Watson, Ph.D. One of the most important choices that you will make about your dissertation or thesis happens before you write a single word. Choosing a thesis advisor or dissertation advisor (often referred to as a dissertation chair) will have a significant impact on your entire dissertation writing experience, and for many years to ...
Top 10 questions for your potential PhD adviser/group
Questions to break that silence when your potential advisor asks "So, do you have any questions for me?". 1. Are you taking new students? - 2a. if yes: How many are you looking to take? - 2b. if no: Ask them about the department or other professors. They've been there long enough to have opinions.
The First Steps: Choosing a Topic and a Thesis Supervisor
Once you have identified a potential thesis supervisor, you must ask him or her to advise the thesis! This should take place during the fall or spring semester of your junior year. ... question within a given subject area that can be addressed within the approximate 1.5-year time frame given over to the thesis A research question is typically ...
What should I ask a potential PhD advisor in an informal interview?
These questions are more likely to be asked by the advisor to a potential candidate but I like "What topics do you feel are under-explored in our sub-area?" also as a question to the advisor. (Be sure to have a good answer ready since you will probably will be asked yourself.) I will give some advice which is not quite an answer to the question.
Questions you should be asking your future thesis advisor
A part from the obvious discussion on salary, TA or other forms of support, here is a list of relevant questions you should be asking your future thesis advisor: Will we meet on a regular basis (group meeting, individual meeting)? Is there specific graduation conditions i.e. must have published at least 3 manuscripts in the top….
The perfect thesis topic: 5 questions you need to ask
For example, if you want qualitative data and you have enough time, then you can carry out a focus group. Organize your papers in one place. Try Paperpile. If you want quantitative data in a short period of time then an online survey suffices. Time and goal will be the decisive factors in almost every project.
Questions to ask Master's Thesis Advisor : r/GradSchool
Questions to ask Master's Thesis Advisor . Clueless undergraduate here, I've only had a little bit of research experience throughout my Undergrad career and I'm applying to an MS engineering program. I have a potential advisor who seems pretty excited to take me on and we had an initial meeting where he said to reach out to some of his students ...
What questions should I ask my thesis advisor? : r/Thesis
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To make that determination, ask your advisor how they will integrate your benefits into your overall financial plan. Don't hesitate to ask them specific questions about the BRS, the TSP, SGLI and the Post 9/11 GI Bill. It may also be a good idea to ask them how they will help you replace your benefits when you separate or retire from service. 6.
phd
Ask Question Asked 3 years, 8 months ago. Modified 2 years, 9 months ago. Viewed 570 times ... Abandoning the meetings doesn't sound like a way to handle this where you end up with a good thesis. Your advisor will be grading you and it is your best interest to make the thesis in such a way that they understand and are comfortable reading. Share.
What to know before hiring a retirement financial advisor
4. Ask questions. It's important to ask questions in order to understand how advisors are paid, their approach to investing and other experience and credentials. Good advisors should be ...
How do you prepare for a meeting with a potential masters thesis advisor?
There are a few things you can think about in advance to have a more productive meeting. Look at some of his recent publications, and recent publications of students he is supervising. You don't have to read every word, but you should get a sense of what the advisor works on. If you happen to think of an intelligent question or potential ...
Advising and Registration Updates
The South Carolina Honors College is implementing several changes to advising and registration beginning in fall 2024.. Honors students in phase one will now have a single academic advisor who is an expert in their major and Honors requirements. This change was initiated by USC leadership to streamline undergraduate academic advising and to improve the student experience.
Ask an Advisor: When Will I Get the Most Social Security and My Wife
SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you're ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
What questions do prospective advisors ask during first meeting?
Some advisors like to ask detailed questions about past courses, grades, etc., and others will just assume that if you got into the PhD program then you have the desired background. This varies a lot, but be prepared to talk about your past education/work, and give some highlights of things you have done well in (without appearing to brag). ...
8 Questions To Ask Your Mortgage Lender
8 Questions To Ask Your Mortgage Lender Amy Fontinelle Personal Finance Expert Amy Fontinelle is a freelance writer, researcher and editor who brings a journalistic approach to personal finance ...

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/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="questions to ask thesis advisor"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Graduate School Requirement

Definition of an Advisor

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Sep. 11, 2023

Dissertation Advisor 101

Overview: Working With Your Advisor

1. Clarify roles on day one

Need a helping hand?

2. Establish a regular communication cycle

3. Have a clear project plan

4. Engage with problems proactively

5. Navigate conflict like a diplomat

Recap: Key Takeaways

Psst... there’s more!

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Questions to Ask a Potential PhD Advisor: Step 1 in Applying to Fully Funded PhD Programs

How to Find Potential PhD Advisors

Goals of Your Meeting with a Potential PhD Advisor

#1 Identify dissertation topics of interest to the faculty

#2 Identify sources of funding

# 3 Build rapport

How to Prepare for a Meeting with a Potential PhD Advisor

Questions to Ask a Potential PhD Advisor

What if Faculty Don’t Respond to Meeting Requests?

Related Posts:

Fully Funded Master’s Programs in Criminal Justice

Fellowship Resources

Fellowship Tips

Choosing a Dissertation Advisor

Obtaining Information on Potential Advisors

Changing Advisors

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