What should you look for in a grad school/advisor/program?
Ask a Biologist Monday 7/25/22
A professor that respects your work/life balance.
A professor that makes sure their lab is inclusive and pays their undergrads.
An empathetic and clear advisor and funding.
Someone who is willing to work with you to ensure you’re earing a livable grad stipend.
A kind human without a high drop out rate.
A fully-funded project with solid funding that won’t fall through during your project.
You don’t need a big-name school. Focus instead on a good advisor.
Don’t force yourself into a research project you don’t want.
Awareness of the needs of minority students and proactively supports them.
Make sure to get the inside scoop by talking to current and former grad students!
Funding. There were programs I had to turn down because of lack of funding.
Someone who will support your in your post grad school goals (eg: academia vs. industry).
A tuition waiver is key.
Make sure it’s funded and a project you’ll enjoy.
Only do non-thesis if you have extensive experience designing, managing, and funding projects.
Make sure they haven’t had a lot of students that recently left the program.
An advisor that you can actually discuss your research with.
Support staff for your statistics/coding helps a ton.
An online degree helped me continue to move up in my established career without having to leave it.
See if you can figure out past students finish rate. If only 50% of their students graduate, that’s bad.
Health insurance!
Full funding.
Talk to current grad students on the phone or in person (not email).
Someone willing to bring something to the table financially for conferences and training.
An advisor who is present.
Check with their former and current students. Some issues won’t arise until awhile into the program.
A person who understands your topic, pays a living wage, and has a decent sized lab (not too big or too small).
A project that is widely applicable and will give you a range of skills.
Someone who doesn’t just hire 4.0 GPA students and understands failure happens.
Kindness.
Financial support and networking opportunities (eg: conferences, relationship with state).
Funding. Don’t pay for grad school and look for a stipend that covers the cost of living in the area.
Just make sure your grad school tuition is paid for.
An advisor you can say “no” to. Especially about project ideas that aren’t feasible/achievable.
A program and advisor that puts student safety first and informs them about such.
Communication.
Make sure funding is provided by the school if the advisor doesn’t have it.
Be wary of advisors who say they are “hands off”.
An advisor who creates a good community among lab members.
