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Pre-research Advising: Applying to PhD programs

Ananya Ganesh & Michael Hoefer

10/13/2020

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Agenda

  • Why apply to do a PhD -- Michael
  • What a PhD entails -- Michael
  • What professors look for -- Michael
  • Choosing schools to apply to -- Ananya
  • Components of application -- Ananya
    • Letters
    • Statement
    • CV + publications
    • GPA
    • GRE/Language tests
  • Useful material - blogs, articles

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Introductions

Ananya

  • 1st year PhD student
  • Research interests: NLP, ML, AI in education

Michael

  • 2nd year PhD student
  • Research interests in cognitive science, human centered computing, social systems, problem solving, NLP
  • Background in industrial engineering / manufacturing

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Reasons to do a PhD

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Reasons to do a PhD

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What’s actually involved in a PhD?

Classes (~30 credits)

Research (~30 credits)

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Funding

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Research

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What Professors Look For

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Choosing schools to apply to

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Choosing schools to apply to - Factors

  • Time
  • Money
  • Quality of program
  • Chances of getting in (less important)

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Choosing schools to apply to

  • Research fit (http://csrankings.org/#/index?all)
  • Number of faculty in area
  • Institutional support - centers, labs
  • Ranking

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Components of application

GPA

GRE

Statement

Of

Purpose

Letters

CV

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What goes in a statement

  • Why do you want to get a PhD?
  • How have your experiences prepared you?
  • What are your interests?
  • What will you do with a PhD?

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What goes in a statement...stays in a statement

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Writing the statement of purpose

  • 1 - 1.5 pages
  • Introduction
  • Past research: 2-3 paragraphs
    • Motivation
    • *Your* contribution
    • Findings
    • Outcome - publications, internships, lessons
  • Proposed future research: 1-2 paragraphs
  • Why school X

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Examples and guidelines

https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/statement-purpose/

http://jxyzabc.blogspot.com/2008/08/cs-grad-school-part-4-applications.html

http://cwfletcher.net/Pages/SoP.php

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Letters of recommendation

  • 2 to 3 letters
    • Professors who advised your research
    • Industry research collaborators
    • Professors who taught you
    • Other research collaborators (e.g. senior grad students)
  • Ask early!

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Useful material

http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-apply-and-get-in-to-graduate-school-in-science-mathematics-engineering-or-computer-science/

https://martiansideofthemoon.github.io/2018/05/29/grad-resources.html

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