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Joey Reed  My search for an advisor may be considered a bit nonstandard. I am now specializing in optimization, an area in which I had never taken a course as an undergraduate. In fact, before graduate school, I did not care for applied mathematics. When I came into graduate school, my plan was to do research in algebraic topology. After talking with another graduate student about courses, I decided to enroll in the Numerical Analysis series taught my first year by Philip Gill. While I did pretty well in Numerical that year, I did not find the material as interesting as Algebra (my other qual class at the time). After passing my quals in the spring, I planned to pursue representation theory. During the summer I began to see that it just wasn't for me. Not unlike my first year, the beginning of my second year was an experiment. I enrolled in a course on number theory and within a week, I dropped it. Instead, I took the year-long course in optimization taught by Professor Gill, which I knew would certainly be very well motivated. I found the material much more illuminating than Numerical Analysis. Things that we had used in Numerical were coming up in practical computations. I could also see how creativity came into applied mathematics. It requires a lot of ingenuity to construct a workable algorithm. After much thought, I decided to study optimization. I asked Dr. Gill if I could take a reading course with him. I read about some different techniques in optimization and capped the spring quarter off implementing an algorithm. That summer I worked at Argonne National Laboratory and my desire to go into numerical mathematics only increased. Graduate school is a fantastic time to broaden your horizons. Step outside of your comfort zone and do not be intimidated by the thought of learning something new. Take as many classes from as many professors as possible. But do not lose sight of the fact that you are here to do research, not to ace the quals. |
Some students come to UCSD with the intention of working with a certain professor and that is what they end up doing. Others (i.e. the majority of students) have an idea of what they want to pursue and with whom they would like to work.
One graduate student came to UCSD knowing that he wanted to pursue Probability. After discovering the research interests of the faculty members, he narrowed his list down to two professors with whom he would like to work. When he wanted to take a reading course, though, one of the faculty members was away on sabbatical. As such, he read with the only professor left and found the material interesting. The next quarter he asked that professor to be his advisor.
Another graduate student came to UCSD thinking he wanted to do Numerical Analysis. During his first year, on a whim, he decided to take Applied Statistics and discovered that he had an intuition for the subject. The instructor noticed as well and suggested that he take a reading course with him the following fall. By the winter quarter of his second year, he had an advisor.
Working with an advisor is like a marriage. Before getting hitched, one needs to date. And this may involve dating many people until you find the "right" person.
The best advice from current graduate students is to take reading courses. Take them early and take them in subjects that you might not have considered before. You might be surprised to find that you are intrigued with a subject you might have otherwise dismissed.
Even if you know what subject you would like to pursue, take a reading course with as many faculty members who work in that subject as possible to see which personalities you get along with and which you do not.
Just because you took some reading courses with a faculty member does not necessarily make them your advisor. You still need to formalize the "marriage." But be warned: There is no common-law thesis advisor rule on the books. One student thought he had an advisor (he had taken three reading courses with the faculty member), but he never confirmed it. When it came time to fill out the paperwork, the student was stunned when the faculty member said that he did not want to be the student's advisor.
The following is a rough timeline for how your search for an advisor should progress.
Note to International PhD Students:
It is important that our international students advance to candidacy before the beginning of their third year. This is because International Students will NOT be establishing California residency after their first year in the program. As such, International Students will be charged Non-residential Supplemental tuition until they advance to candidacy.
First Year:
One graduate student came to UCSD knowing that he wanted to pursue Probability. After discovering the research interests of the faculty members, he narrowed his list down to two professors with whom he would like to work. When he wanted to take a reading course, though, one of the faculty members was away on sabbatical. As such, he read with the only professor left and found the material interesting. The next quarter he asked that professor to be his advisor.
Another graduate student came to UCSD thinking he wanted to do Numerical Analysis. During his first year, on a whim, he decided to take Applied Statistics and discovered that he had an intuition for the subject. The instructor noticed as well and suggested that he take a reading course with him the following fall. By the winter quarter of his second year, he had an advisor.
Working with an advisor is like a marriage. Before getting hitched, one needs to date. And this may involve dating many people until you find the "right" person.
The best advice from current graduate students is to take reading courses. Take them early and take them in subjects that you might not have considered before. You might be surprised to find that you are intrigued with a subject you might have otherwise dismissed.
Even if you know what subject you would like to pursue, take a reading course with as many faculty members who work in that subject as possible to see which personalities you get along with and which you do not.
Just because you took some reading courses with a faculty member does not necessarily make them your advisor. You still need to formalize the "marriage." But be warned: There is no common-law thesis advisor rule on the books. One student thought he had an advisor (he had taken three reading courses with the faculty member), but he never confirmed it. When it came time to fill out the paperwork, the student was stunned when the faculty member said that he did not want to be the student's advisor.
The following is a rough timeline for how your search for an advisor should progress.
Note to International PhD Students:
It is important that our international students advance to candidacy before the beginning of their third year. This is because International Students will NOT be establishing California residency after their first year in the program. As such, International Students will be charged Non-residential Supplemental tuition until they advance to candidacy.
First Year:
Think of professors as potential advisors. You will probably be busy taking quals in your first year, but it is important to remember that quals are not your last hurdle in the Ph.D. program. The reason you are in the program is to write a thesis. And in order to do that, you need to find an advistor. Looking for an advisor in your first year will make life easier later. Consider taking a seminar or two in an area of interest on top of your quals. (You need something to fill the third course in your schedule each quarter.) These seminars will also prepare you for reading courses.
There is no penalty for asking a faculty member for a problem or for direction in a field your first year. Many faculty will in fact be impressed with your pluck, and may hand you a paper/problem/book. You should not expect most faculty to pay attention to you until you have passed a few quals, but students who have shown some initiative may be directed into research or further study during the summer.
You need not solve the first problem you are handed; do not be afraid to ask for another one if you are having a lot of trouble with. The main purpose of this is to get some experience approaching problems in a particular area and learning tools to attack specific problems. This will direct your career at UCSD in a way that aimlessly taking courses does not. If at all possible, involve yourself in the summer activities of the department, be they seminars/reading groups/talks.
Second Year:There is no penalty for asking a faculty member for a problem or for direction in a field your first year. Many faculty will in fact be impressed with your pluck, and may hand you a paper/problem/book. You should not expect most faculty to pay attention to you until you have passed a few quals, but students who have shown some initiative may be directed into research or further study during the summer.
You need not solve the first problem you are handed; do not be afraid to ask for another one if you are having a lot of trouble with. The main purpose of this is to get some experience approaching problems in a particular area and learning tools to attack specific problems. This will direct your career at UCSD in a way that aimlessly taking courses does not. If at all possible, involve yourself in the summer activities of the department, be they seminars/reading groups/talks.
Your qual "heavy-lifting" should be done by now. That is, you should have already completed two of your three qualifying exams. (If you had to spend your summer studying for a qual rather than working with a faculty member, that is all right.) Provided you are only taking one qual in your second year, you should be actively looking for an advisor. If you are not careful to budget your time, that one qual course will take up all your time. You need to schedule yourself to do things other than your qual. In the fall, it is a good idea to take seminars, with the goal of a reading course in the winter or spring. A good idea is to sign up for three or four seminars that seem (remotely) interesting fall quarter, and keep the one or two you like best.
Do a reading course with someone in an area of interest. That person doesn't necessarily end up as your advisor, which is why it's important to start early. If you are interested in an area that doesn't have a qual, it's possible that when you ask for a reading course, the professor will suggest that you take a class or sequence of classes. If that is the case, try to start a reading course as soon afterwards as possible.
If you have found an area, and a potential advisor, ask them if you can do a reading course over the summer with them. Some professors even have some money to help you with funding during the summer.
Third Year:Do a reading course with someone in an area of interest. That person doesn't necessarily end up as your advisor, which is why it's important to start early. If you are interested in an area that doesn't have a qual, it's possible that when you ask for a reading course, the professor will suggest that you take a class or sequence of classes. If that is the case, try to start a reading course as soon afterwards as possible.
If you have found an area, and a potential advisor, ask them if you can do a reading course over the summer with them. Some professors even have some money to help you with funding during the summer.
By your third year, you should be reading seriously with someone. The department is encouraging people to advance to candidacy at the end of third year (the middle of the fourth year is the absolute latest, but it is not recommended, since it leaves you only one year to write your thesis!). By advancing early, you also give yourself more opportunities for being an Associate Instructor.
The following are some words of advice from the Graduate Vice Chair, Ron Evans:
We single out the act of finding a thesis advisor, because this is one of the critical transition points where students often drop out of the grad program. This happens mainly due to lack of correct information about graduate studies. Most students think of grad studies as a continuation of undergrad studies, but there is a distinct difference. The difference is that as a grad student you get to have one on one time with a professor who will guide you to work on research problems that are not known to very many people in the world. The privilege to work one on one with a faculty member is why we limit the number of students we can admit into the PhD program.
At UCSD, the main way to find a thesis advisor is to take reading courses with several of the math professors. On average, students take 4-5 reading courses before finding a compatible thesis advisor. Usually, the student has taken the basic graduate courses so that he or she has enough background to look at advanced material. Then he or she meets with a faculty person and requests an opportunity to take a reading course. Reading courses are ways to spend time with the faculty person. They can take on several forms- you may read a book or research paper and meet with the professor where the professor goes over the material you have read. Or you may give talks in a seminar and meet with the professor to help you prepare the talk. Or the professor may give you talks on subjects that do not appear anywhere in the literature.
The professor attempts to match your research interests with the topics of the reading course. You need to be thinking about several issues- Are the topics covered in the reading course of interest to you? Could you perhaps find a problem worthy of a thesis by working on these problems? How well do you work with the professor? The professor is also thinking about how compatible he or she would be with you. If the professor were to accept you as a student there is a commitment to meet with you fairly frequently. The professor is looking to see if you are a self starter or if you need lots of assistance to get you working The professor is also gauging your interest in the problems suggested because you need to demonstrate some drive to be able to solve these problems.
It might be useful to describe how some students drop out of the PhD program due to not finding a thesis advisor. Sometimes students think you just pick an advisor and that person is automatically your thesis advisor. Several students have taken a couple reading courses with a professor and then assumed that person was the student's thesis advisor. There actually has to be an agreement between professor and student that you are their student. The professor then sends an email to the Graduate Program Coordinator, or to the Graduate Vice Chair, Ron Evans, confirming this.
Some students take one reading course and then decide that since they are not compatible with that professor, they drop out of the program. In reality, you need to get to know at least 3 professors, ideally through reading courses. These 3 faculty will be part of your dissertation committee and eventually will write letters of recommendation for your job. Most faculty here at UCSD are eager to help work with you in reading courses. Actually at many other universities, many professors are unwilling to accept many students.
Another way to find a thesis advisor is to attend the seminars. There are numerous seminars going on that you can attend. I encourage you to begin talking to grad student who are also attending the seminars. They are often the students who have already found thesis advisors and they can give you some useful information about what it is like to work with some of the professors in this field. If you have already decided on a field of interest, you might talk to me as I am aware of which faculty have PhD students and which faculty might be looking to take on students.
At UCSD, the main way to find a thesis advisor is to take reading courses with several of the math professors. On average, students take 4-5 reading courses before finding a compatible thesis advisor. Usually, the student has taken the basic graduate courses so that he or she has enough background to look at advanced material. Then he or she meets with a faculty person and requests an opportunity to take a reading course. Reading courses are ways to spend time with the faculty person. They can take on several forms- you may read a book or research paper and meet with the professor where the professor goes over the material you have read. Or you may give talks in a seminar and meet with the professor to help you prepare the talk. Or the professor may give you talks on subjects that do not appear anywhere in the literature.
The professor attempts to match your research interests with the topics of the reading course. You need to be thinking about several issues- Are the topics covered in the reading course of interest to you? Could you perhaps find a problem worthy of a thesis by working on these problems? How well do you work with the professor? The professor is also thinking about how compatible he or she would be with you. If the professor were to accept you as a student there is a commitment to meet with you fairly frequently. The professor is looking to see if you are a self starter or if you need lots of assistance to get you working The professor is also gauging your interest in the problems suggested because you need to demonstrate some drive to be able to solve these problems.
It might be useful to describe how some students drop out of the PhD program due to not finding a thesis advisor. Sometimes students think you just pick an advisor and that person is automatically your thesis advisor. Several students have taken a couple reading courses with a professor and then assumed that person was the student's thesis advisor. There actually has to be an agreement between professor and student that you are their student. The professor then sends an email to the Graduate Program Coordinator, or to the Graduate Vice Chair, Ron Evans, confirming this.
Some students take one reading course and then decide that since they are not compatible with that professor, they drop out of the program. In reality, you need to get to know at least 3 professors, ideally through reading courses. These 3 faculty will be part of your dissertation committee and eventually will write letters of recommendation for your job. Most faculty here at UCSD are eager to help work with you in reading courses. Actually at many other universities, many professors are unwilling to accept many students.
Another way to find a thesis advisor is to attend the seminars. There are numerous seminars going on that you can attend. I encourage you to begin talking to grad student who are also attending the seminars. They are often the students who have already found thesis advisors and they can give you some useful information about what it is like to work with some of the professors in this field. If you have already decided on a field of interest, you might talk to me as I am aware of which faculty have PhD students and which faculty might be looking to take on students.