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 their visit day meetings. This article only covers question suggestions for one-on-one meetings with professors. However, this is not to discount the importance of other types of sources, like department policies, previous post-graduation placements, and so on. As an aside, Twitter is (at the time of this writing) a surprisingly good place to ask questions about academia.
The Visit Day Advisor 1:1
During visit day, you’ll be allocated anywhere from 30 minutes to half a day to spend time with a potential future advisor one-on-one (sometimes it may unexpectedly be a 1:2 or a 2:1). These meetings may take place as a series of scheduled rotations where you meet professors in their offices, unstructured time where you tour labs, or a variety of arrangements. The experience varies significantly across disciplines: some have visit days for accepted students, others are more of an interview (a whole separate subject not covered here).
I have several strong recommendations. Before your visit day, make sure to schedule a private chat(s) with currently advised students outside of this time (although those valuable conversations aren’t the focus of this article). Closer to visit day, try to get a copy of your schedule to check that you’ll have time with everyone you’re interested in talking to. Throughout visit day, get to know more than one potential advisor; committing to a PhD program that has several aligned professors is a highly underrated safeguard (see: Bus Factor). During visit day you’ll also want to get to know current students (and how they made their decision) — reaching out to them will be particularly invaluable later when you start deciding between specific schools, labs, projects, and non-grad school opportunities (example: AI residency).
Your 1:1 meeting is a good time to ask pointed, direct questions to the person that will potentially be mentoring your PhD, guiding your research direction, recommending you for career-advancing opportunities, etc. A handful of these may seem overly direct, but are common visit day questions since they address critical information for a decision regarding 5+ years of mentorship. If you still don’t feel comfortable asking any of these questions, you can likely ask their current students. On a similar note, some questions are much better answered beforehand with a quick Google search, like if said professor is tenured. You can find these questions on the poster mentioned in the ‘About’ section. However, note that some questions may be dodged – it might not be as easy as asking the question straight from this guide to get a satisfactory answer.
Advisor Style and Expectations
There’s no two ways about it — you should understand your advisor’s personality and style before committing to working in their lab.
→ Do you consider yourself more of a ‘hands-on’ or ‘hands-off’ advisor?
This is a nuanced question and also a Big One™️. Since this question is fairly high-level and dense with field-specific norms, it is commonly reworded but always speaks to the same point of advisor intensity. Understanding some of these requires a bit of background.
In academia, there is an unspoken phenomena of divergent student experiences between those mentored by pre-tenured and tenured professors. Perhaps as a result of many factors such as: research momentum, a lack of senior students, and the inevitable tenure case, it’s not uncommon for students of pre-tenure professors to be directly working and speaking with their advisor multiple times a week and frequently collaborating on funding-related tasks. This is in contrast to the experience of students working under tenured professors, which anecdotally usually involves a single weekly (even biweekly or rarer) meeting and primarily high-level direction. Of course, there are many variants here. Another potential data point to use here is the expected PhD length of a lab compared with the department average (although deviation can mean a number of things), but this can be deduced from the CVs of graduated students.
Understanding the best style for you will require reflecting on what kind of guidance you feel you may need, for example, some students prefer leaving meetings with a set of defined tasks they’ve decided upon with their advisor. Others may prefer to be left with the freedom to investigate different methods/solutions without the pressure to conform to what the professor believes is the “right” approach. Whatever the method, a good advisor should be pushing a student to develop their own research vision.
After you begin your PhD, explicitly communicating your preferred style with your advisor is important to getting the support you need, and modifying it as needed. As an incoming student, you may not know what kind of mentorship will suit you best, and their adaptivity may be more important.
→ How is the lab structured? [More directly] How do you envision collaboration between students of this group?
The answer to the first question can be partially gleaned from the lab’s website, but it is also important to hear directly from an advisor. Often, the answer will make it very clear who you will be expected to work with (alone, with a undergraduate/Master’s student, with a senior PhD student, with a postdoc, directly, etc), and how you will fit into the current set of students. It also may indicate flexibility in that structure and the role you’ll take on in the future.
If you’re expected to work with a senior student or postdoc, it may be a good time to ask how long they’ll be around or if new postdocs are joining.
→ How often do you meet with your students? What does it look like? What do you typically discuss in meetings?
Many PhD programs have an informal expectation of a weekly one-on-one advisor meeting to structure the student-advisor relationship (this varies by discipline, notably the humanities where the norm leans rarer). Aside from learning about their attendance expectations, questions like this begin to examine what your day to day might look like.
You’ll also learn what you’ll be expected to present (amount of progress) each week and what happens after presenting it. Some advisors like to reserve meetings for high level goals and administrative tasks, whereas others like students to bring in a technical problem so they can dig in and help.
→ Are there lab meetings? Other meetings?
In addition to a one-on-one weekly meeting, some advisors will also host a lab or project-specific meeting. Understanding these will help you see the week-to-week experience, and hints at any lab-specific obligations and culture.
→ What progress do you generally expect from a student in the course of a semester?
This question is about expected research progress, and how your future advisor may judge if you are thriving or struggling (especially during evaluation periods). Since evaluations are a department-level process, a 1:1 may not be the best place to ask logistical questions regarding evaluation or qualifying processes (‘quals’), but it is a good time to understand specific milestones, which will vary advisor to advisor.
This should extend past research pace and into process: will you be expected to generate insights or systems and then turn those into a paper when ready, or target yearly conferences and work backward from submission deadlines? How ‘in the weeds’ will they get when writing papers: high-level passes or helping write sections? By getting an early understanding of what is normal, you’ll have a good chance of avoiding imposter syndrome, which can manifest as guilt of not getting enough done, or not being good enough. Most graduate students experience imposter syndrome at some point.
→ How do you know when to stop working or pivot on a project?
Research involves many failed ideas (and sometimes wasted work) — a good advisor should not only be able to identify how to shape a project to be publishable but also decide when one is not worth the effort (or no longer worth the effort). Some professors may prefer that you pick projects involving ‘low hanging fruit’, while others will prefer you boldly pick ambitious, ‘high impact’ projects (and this may change throughout your PhD). In particular, some students find working on one of each concurrently to be ideal.
Professors will also have different approaches to navigating the ‘repeated trying and failing experience’ – some who are more open to failure will allow an attempt to stall quickly before moving onto another idea, others may want you to continue working on a difficult project for years. Anecdotally, it can be very demotivational to get validation for an ambitious project for a long time, sink a bunch of time into it, and be asked to move on.
→ What do you do when students are struggling? [Regarding more junior students] How do you keep your students motivated when they are working through challenging problems?
I would argue this is the second Big One™️ — an advisor’s role is to enable your success, so it’s paramount to understand how they support their students. Almost certainly at some point you will feel stuck (sometimes coined the ‘Second Year Slump’ or ‘Mid-PhD Slump’), and will benefit from focused support and reassurance from your advisor. On a smaller scale, you’ll want to understand what type of support to expect on a weekly basis. Depending on how your conversation goes, you may want to ask a more direct version: “What have you done previously when your students have struggled”.
→ How do you help students onto the job market (or into industry)?
Some advisors are better than others at sending students to academia / helping them get a good job in industry. In particular, sending a large amount of students into prestigious academic positions is a source of pride for some professors. On this note, you can learn a lot by looking over the post-graduation jobs of former students (found online, sometimes listed on the advisor’s page).
Student Advisor Fit
In my opinion, the most valuable aspect of an in-person 1:1 is the ability to informally ask about things that are still up in the air. For example: how likely the advisor is to take you on as a student, or discussing alternative arrangements.
→ Are you taking students this year?
Ah, the ultimate Big One™️; this one pretty much determines everything. In some programs, student-advisor pairs are decided upon admission. In others, this is decided much later, potentially months after enrolling (example: free agent type system at Cornell). In situations like the latter case, however, it’s still possible that not everyone in your visit day schedule is taking students, which can be related or unrelated to funding (I know of one professor who consistently prefers to take students every other year). Even if not, there may still be room for collaboration in the future (might even be the ideal scenario). Notably, some advisors may change their mind during visit day after a very exciting one-on-one with a specific student.
In my experience, this is the standard wording for the question.
→ [If uncertain] What factors will affect whether or not you take a student?
This is a classic followup if there’s uncertainty. Anecdotally, most professors know how many, or if, they are taking students by visit day. However, there are exceptions — they may actually have enough funding reserved to take an additional student or are in the process of applying for / receiving research funding.
However, even if professors know how many students they can fund, they may be unwilling to directly share their selection criteria. Follow-up questions should therefore try to establish how a professor chooses which student they want to fund.
→ [If taking students] Is it a funded position?
Many students find themselves accepting a position that has uncertain funding or none at all. This is a very stressful place to find yourself, as all the stress of finding funding will affect your ability to focus on your work. If the position is indeed funded, it’s a good idea to follow up with the funding-related question from the next section over (‘Research Fit / Projects / Obligations).
→ [If funding exists] Do you anticipate your funding to change during my time as a student?
Funding can be project-specific or limited by year. Being unfunded can be stressful — if the position is funded, it’s best to know the details. For example, European programs are typically tied to a single project and may end when the project finishes.
→ [If interested in] Would you be interested in co-advising? With X person?
Co-advising is a special case, and there’s little advice that generalizes. Communication style and general desire to collaborate will be important factors; some professors may know that they don’t want to work with specific professors.
→ Do you think our research interests are a good match?
This question is a classic way to validate your research fit. It bears repeating: I recommend you find more than one professor whose research interests you, and if possible, more than one of their research threads. Interests, projects, and advising relationships change over time, and don’t always work out. This is a good question to pair with the specific projects question from the next section over (‘Research Fit, Projects, Obligations’).
→ What are your near/mid-range plans for the lab?
Although this question (and any variant) focuses on research, it will probably tell you a good amount about how confident they are about staying / making other plans. Even though it is not super common, there are a multitude of things that may be happening behind the scenes that will affect your PhD, your advisor may be: planning a sabbatical (which may mean a number of things), going on paternity/maternity/’starting a company’ leave, weighing an offer from a different university, taking on a department chair position or 20/80 appointment, waiting on a tenure decision, or simply retiring.
→ I’m interested in working with you. Do you think I’d have a good chance of working with you if I come to {insert university}?
This question is a fairly direct way of soliciting an informal commitment. Unlike the previous ‘taking a student’ question, this is specifically about locking down an arrangement informally (which makes comparing opportunities later infinitely easier). A possible follow-up, depending on the logistics of the department, is asking to set up a research assistantship for your first semester.
→ Are there other students in my cohort that you’re interested in working with? If so, are you taking more than one student?
Due to the way that some admissions processes work, it’s possible that professors have students in mind before visit day (example: previous collaborators, REU students). Thus, even though they are ‘taking students’, they might be set on a specific arrangement.
→ Are there other faculty you think I’d be a good match for?
If things aren’t looking so great, it’s always good to get an informed recommendation. In some admissions programs, students are only accepted if it’s clear they have at least one research match, and you might have missed an obvious one in your search.
Research Fit, Projects, Obligations
You’ll want to understand how you fit in the lab, specifically in regards to your specific skills and how they contribute to research projects happening in the lab. You’ll also want to learn about specific projects in the lab and probe the chances of working on those projects. If you would like more freedom, you’ll want to understand your constraints. This might also be a good time to shop around a potential research project/direction idea.
→ What research methods does the lab use? What is the typical lifecycle of a project/paper?
Knowing the style/methods/timeline of research projects in the lab is important to understanding how you will contribute to the lab’s vision or extend it. In some disciplines, this is straightforward and determined by the field of study. In others, it may not be obvious from reading the lab’s papers and working backwards, and your advisor may provide a very helpful high level description. For example, some labs in HCI (my field of study) primarily conduct mixed methods research, which takes on many different forms. It’s worth noting that if the lab primarily does work of a very specific type, this question may come off as a bit uninformed.
→ I read about project X, is this ongoing? [If nothing to go off of] What are some of the projects that you and your students are currently working on?
It’s always worthwhile to scout out the specific projects of a lab, as you may be asked to join one of them for your first project. If possible, this should be done beforehand to not come across as uninformed. If you do not control your visit day schedule, try to get a copy beforehand to do your research.
However, in many fast-paced disciplines, advisors rarely put their current projects on their website and this informal setting allows you to ask about the exciting ‘up and coming’ stuff. In particular, this is a good time to explore how active the specific direction/field you are excited about is, as it may help to be in a field with a lot of attention. Note that more senior professors may have a main research direction alongside several other interests.
→ In general, do you tend to give your students projects or have them select their own?
This question speaks to research topic freedom and will be determined by many factors. Specifically, it also gives space for an advisor to mention if they ‘prefer’ that you work on a funding related project every so often.
→ [If there is selection] How much freedom could I expect to have in selecting my own projects? [Additionally] Would I have my own line of work or contribute to a bigger project?
You’ll want to drill down on understanding your freedom within ‘being able to pick your project’. Your interests will likely change over time, and if you have something in mind it’s nice to know they would support future ideas in a specific direction. Note that it’s possible an advisor may not have an exact answer for you on visit day. The second question is more so about the immediate configuration — some advisors prefer to pair students up with a senior student’s project during their first year, etc.
If the group largely works as part of a large collaboration, it may be valuable to ask about the interaction and how much it will determine your project / thesis topic(s). Anecdotally, some PhD students in large collaborations get assigned mundane tasks, and consequently it may take them longer to get independent/thesis-worthy research out. In addition, it may be worthwhile to ask how responsibilities are assigned within the group. Who gets which part of the project? When is this determined (e.g. before the project starts, before paper submission…)? What contributions will you be expected to make? Observing authorship order in published papers helps, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
→ Do you have particular projects that you see me working on?
This question (and its variants) speak to understanding potential projects so that you can follow up with a direct question that involves an informal commitment. Often advisors have a handful of projects in mind, and these will determine your trajectory for the next few years. Getting this locked down informally is particularly useful if deciding between schools.
→ Are there any specific courses that students in your lab take?
Coursework is typically determined by the PhD program, however, some advisors might expect you to take one or more of their classes. They may also have reservations about taking extra classes.
→ Where does funding primarily come from? [Furthermore] What does that entail?
This is a big question if you have reservations about funding sources. Certain funding sources involve opportunities/obligations such as preparing tech demos for industry visits, writing up progress reports, attending conferences, or participating in competitions.
You’ll particularly want to scope out if there are any deliverables unrelated to research, especially if these are mundane. Anecdotally, this is a difficult situation to be in: you’re likely not going to enjoy doing the work, you’re likely to not get a good paper about it, and you might feel extra bad because other students don’t have to do the same, and instead can focus all of their time on research. Another special case is work that is unpublishable due to a corporate or government non disclosure agreement (NDA).
→ If you run out of your primary funding for a student how would you expect the student to handle that?
This is a good question for follow-ups and a good one to look out for dodging. In the case that funding is uncertain (or is limited, such as a ‘start-up fund’), the answer lays out the working plan. You may be asked to scout for grants yourself, help out with grant writing, do teaching work, or work within the department.
Teaching requirements will likely be online, but if they are, you’ll want to know the details: will you be a teaching assistant in one of their courses or have the freedom to pick a class? Are there other teaching obligations (seminar, conference workshops, executive education, etc)?
→ How do you feel about students applying for fellowships?
Not all advisors treat potential funding opportunities the same. Some professors have a lot of funding and don’t want their students to spend time applying for fellowships. Other professors may want their students to apply for fellowships to help cover the student’s costs and to impress future employers by the credential.
In some cases, advisors will allow students with fellowship funding to have more freedom in choosing projects and feel less of an obligation to do funding-related non-research work for the group. On the other hand, some advisors will treat students with and without fellowship funding the same.
Lab Culture
→ How often do students take time off? [Additionally] Are there lab, department lunches/outings/events?
Understanding an advisor’s expectations regarding time off is important to know before choosing an advisor. Taking time off is crucial to staying productive and avoiding burnout, but graduate students often feel very guilty asking for a break, doubly so when the norms are not clear.
Outings in academic departments are, similar to those in any other organization, a pleasant way to stay connected and an indicator of the culture. Based on their answer, you’ll also understand how close professors are with their students.
→ Do students work together in a common space?
Many students enjoy working closely together with labmates for the sense of community. Since you’ll be spending a significant amount of time in your office, it helps to know (and see!) where that might be and if you can expect to sit close to senior students that can mentor you. Details that might seem small, such as whether you will have an office with a window and how many people you will share an office with (which correlates with the amount of noise in the office), are important to pay attention to. You will likely be working in this environment for the next 5+ years if things go well.
→ How often do you send students to conferences? What if they aren’t presenting a paper?
Conferences are a great way to meet researchers in your field, paving the way for future summer internships and potential collaboration. However, attendance is typically decided by advisors since they are the ones providing funding. Most advisors have a defined understanding with their students regarding which conference trips they’d be willing to fund and under which conditions.
This is a good question to follow up on because it tends to have a lot of details. Which conferences? International or strictly domestic ones? What does the funding process for that look like? Are students expected to apply externally for travel funds, or will the advisor just cover all costs?
→ What do students do during summers? What does the process for finding those positions typically look like?
Commonly, an internship is approved by the lab advisor. Some advisors may ask that students decline a summer internship offer if they expect a student to do a summer project with them. Expectations can vary by lab and discipline, in some fields external internships are rare and projects are long-term year-round commitments. Others may not automatically provide summer funding or prefer topic-specific research internships that encourage publishing. If your goal is to work on research on campus every summer, make sure your potential advisor is willing to fund this. Further, if they are willing to fund you for summers, is there a system in place to fund summer interns to collaborate with?
The process of finding graduate-level summer positions varies between disciplines, advisors, and student seniority. Some well-connected advisors may extend an academic-year research collaboration into a summer internship, while others may encourage you to seek out opportunities independently.
An Ending Note
There are quite a few things that won’t be covered by talking to an advisor, since they may not be familiar with policies that affect student life. These can be very significant, such as graduate cost of living, health insurance, mental health coverage (some cover weekly clinician visits), etc. Don’t forget to look into these as well – there’s much more to staying happy and productive during graduate school than meets the eye.
It’s also okay to not fit in every last question. Sometimes, the conversation leads to an interesting discussion, and that may also be a good way to judge if your wavelength matches well with the professor’s.
Even with the assistance I got in writing this, it’s possible I missed things. Or, as some people have pointed out, this may only apply to PhD programs in certain countries. Regardless, I hope this post serves you well: whether it’s a start, something to go over with someone else, or a last-minute primer.
The PhD journey is ultimately yours – certainly spend time to reflect on what you value and the experiences that matter to you. Much of the selection process is making sure that you have the necessary support to do (and continue to do) good work throughout grad school, and that others have the proper incentive to provide that support.
In my opinion, once you begin your PhD, you will likely realize that you’ve overestimated your understanding of what research is. For this reason, you should pick mentors that you believe do work that you currently enjoy and will lead you to even more (enjoyable) problems.
It’s a whole lot to soak in – best of luck on your visit day!
This post was written with help from many (in no order): Paul Liang, Morgan Evans, Amber Horvath, Sogu Sohn, Jeffrey Li, Matt Ho, Tom Magelinski, Sam Foley, Mahika Phutane, Napol Rachatasumrit, Ruotong Wang, Wode “Nimo” Ni, Daye Nam, Jacob Ritchie, Abhiram Kothapalli, Vinesh Kannan, Rachit Nigam, Naren Dasan, Roger Iyengar, Mariya Toneva.
