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+ | ====== Visiting Graduate Programs ====== | ||
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+ | You can visit a graduate program before or after you apply/get accepted. | ||
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+ | For more information about computer science graduate school in general, see the [[grad_school|Graduate School]] page. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Preparing to Visit ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Before Acceptance ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Contact a program well in advance that you'd like to visit. | ||
+ | |||
+ | These visits typically last about a day. The grad program will customize a schedule for you, based on your research interests. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== After Acceptance ==== | ||
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+ | Many programs host specific days where all their accepted students from North America are invited to visit. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the program doesn' | ||
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+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Questions to Ask ===== | ||
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+ | Your goal is to ask the right questions to help you figure out if the program is a good fit for you. For a program to be a good fit, you should be able to identify several faculty members that you would like to work with, identify graduate students that have similar backgrounds and personalities that you can relate to, and feel that you could live in the area for 5-7 years. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== General Questions ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Requirements/ | ||
+ | * What are the course requirements for a master' | ||
+ | * For how long do students typically take courses? | ||
+ | * What are the major milestones to earning a Ph.D.? | ||
+ | * Is there a breadth requirement? | ||
+ | * When do students start doing research? | ||
+ | * How long do students take to graduate? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ** Expectations/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | * What do faculty typically expect of students--what do they make students do to " | ||
+ | * If you are interested in contact with undergrads, what possibilities are there for doing that? Or is working with undergraduates frowned upon? | ||
+ | | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Funding** | ||
+ | * How are students funded during the first year? Later years? | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Student Life** | ||
+ | * What do students do outside of graduate school? | ||
+ | * What kind of social support groups does the Program offer? | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Faculty ==== | ||
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+ | Your goal is to determine if you'd like to work with this person for 3+ years. | ||
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+ | **Advisees** | ||
+ | * How many graduate students do you advise? | ||
+ | * How do students typically start working with you? | ||
+ | * Do your students work on large group projects or individual projects? | ||
+ | * How are your students typically funded? | ||
+ | * What have your students done after graduating? | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | **Research** | ||
+ | * What is the work you're most proud of? | ||
+ | * Which of your work do you expect to have the biggest impact? | ||
+ | * What are projects/ | ||
+ | * Do you collaborate with industry? | ||
+ | * Specific research questions from publications you've read. For advice on reading papers, see [[research: | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Only After You're Accepted === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ask these questions after you've been accepted or after you've decided to attend the graduate program to help you pick an advisor. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Advisees** | ||
+ | * After the preliminary/ | ||
+ | * Do you have students that just don't finish? why? | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Mentoring** | ||
+ | * What is your mentoring style? | ||
+ | * What do you do when someone isn't making good progress? | ||
+ | * How do you motivate people? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Graduate Students ==== | ||
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+ | Your goal with graduate students is to learn about their background and their experience in graduate school and to figure out if the graduate program is a good fit for you. You have a little more leeway with the types of questions that you can ask students, but remember that they may be judging you as well and may give feedback to the faculty who may be considering working with you. These are some questions you may want to ask, and always ask them // | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Their Background** | ||
+ | * How far along are you? | ||
+ | * What was your background before graduate school? | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The Program** | ||
+ | * How do you like the program? | ||
+ | * What are the qualifying exams/ | ||
+ | * What was the most difficult milestone/ | ||
+ | * What kind of social support groups does the Program offer? | ||
+ | * What are some reasons that students leave without graduating? | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Their Advisor** | ||
+ | * Who is your advisor? | ||
+ | * How did you find an advisor? | ||
+ | * When did you start working with your advisor? | ||
+ | * How many other students does your advisor have? | ||
+ | * How does your advisor fund students? | ||
+ | * How long does it take students to graduate with your advisor? | ||
+ | * Do you work on group projects or individual projects? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ** Faculty ** | ||
+ | * How narrowly focused are the faculty? | ||
+ | * What opportunities are there for cross-disciplinary work? Do faculty of different disciplines co-advise students? (If cross-disciplinary research is of interest to you.) | ||
+ | * Can students switch advisors easily? | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | **Quality of Life** | ||
+ | * How do you like living in the area? | ||
+ | * What do you do in your spare time? | ||
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+ | ===== Questions Asked of You ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | **NOTE** The people involved in the graduate program are not allowed to ask you about your race, age, sexual orientation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Why do you want to go to graduate school? | ||
+ | * What research have you done? | ||
+ | * To answer this question, have your " | ||
+ | * Why did you take that approach instead of alternative X? (Know your related work or understand the intuition behind your solution.) | ||
+ | * What problem are you trying to solve? | ||
+ | * Are you continuing on the work? | ||
+ | * What is the future of this work? | ||
+ | * What classes did you take? (Checking if you are well-prepared for graduate school) | ||
+ | * What operating system(s) do you use/know? | ||
+ | * What programming languages do you know? | ||
+ | * What were your favorite classes? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Acknowledgments ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sara Sprenkle is the main author of this page. Valerie Barr, Holly Esquivel, Emily Hill, and Lori Pollock contributed ideas and gave feedback on this document. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Our advice is based on our experiences and the experiences of our colleagues, students, and friends. There are many different approaches that will lead to your own personal success, which may or may not include a graduate degree. | ||
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+ | **Good Luck!** | ||