Selil

So you need an advisor. I only take on a few graduate students each semester keeping a rolling total of about 12. The following is non-negotiable and you should read it BEFORE you apply. I rarely accept new grad-students after they have already applied. If you think you are only going to take a few classes and graduate you are wrong. Graduate school is a life-style. I will expect you to work outside of class and on topics before and after classes. If I am to be your advisor then there are a few things you should know and be willing to agree too.

First, I have second right to refusal right after you to not being somebody’s advisor. There are many reasons you should not ask me to be your advisor. In a world of different opinions, thoughts, personalities you should be sure that I am going to be a good fit for your academic goals. I am demanding, I require you to work hard, and I am ill-tempered. I will not accept a student until we have met and talked in person.

Second, graduate school is not about the course work, the directed project, or any of that. Graduate school is about learning in and out of the class room. In my PhD studies and Masters Degree I found that as much of my learning happened between myself and my peers as did the interaction with my professors. If you watch clocks or are lazy I am likely not the advisor for you. Classes are dates on a calendar. Learning neither begins when class starts or end when the class completes. Some of the most critical moments in learning have happened sitting in an office with my advisor or reading a book he suggested.

So, third, I have some requirements for my advisees.

1. If you ask me to be your advisor you must send me (email is Ok)  before we meet; 1) A resume, or curricula vitae; 2) A one page plan on what you want to research; 3) a list of your relevant course work (not a transcript); 4) A letter telling me about yourself. I will not meet with you until you have done this.
2. You must get, have, maintain a blog with at least weekly posts and preferably more. I could care less about Web 2.0 but I do care about your writing and more importantly your thinking. Failure to do this can be grounds for me dropping you as a graduate student. 
3. You should work your way through the ever expanding graduate reading list. The books found there will help you understand the deeper meaning of being a technologist and are part of the root literature of the discipline. If you are not willing to do this you are likely not ready for graduate school.
4. Do not call me on the phone.
5. If you need aid, tuition reimbursement, a job, I need to know before you apply.
6. Read what I have written. Know what I am teaching, researching, and areas that I have expressed interest in researching. It is OK to have something new, but will it be a good fit with my interests? 
7. Opinions are great. I have mine and you should have your own. 
8. I will not require you to have an Apple Macintosh laptop but you should have a laptop. I however, primarily only work with Macintosh software so any software/files you write/produce will have to be compatible.
9. Any semester papers you write you will send to me at the end of the semester for any graduate or under-graduate class you take while my advisee. 
10. Along with course papers I have another requirement. You should present to me at the end of the semester at least one paper to be published in a journal or conference proceeding. 
11. At the end of each semester you must submit a short paper as a synopsis of your classes and what your grades were. Even if you take a course with me.  
12. Do use Microsoft Word, do not send me docx files ever.
13. Do use EndNote because if you do we can share libraries back and forth.
14. Though I will not require it I strongly suggest graduate students teach at least one class within the discipline.

My job is to help you through the process and produce the best graduate student possible. Your job is to work hard and through the process. Nothing I require should be considered an impediment to the process. Asking me what classes to take is equivalent to saying you don’t belong in graduate school. I will advise and suggest but beyond that rarely require a course of study. If you are not taking some of my classes though why am I your advisor? Always remember this is your education and you will get out of it what you put into it. 

What do you get out of this?

1. You will have access to my laboratory.
2. You will have access to my software repository including MSDNAA.
3. You will have access to my internal research library.
4. You will have have my mentorship and tutelage.
5. You will have an unparralled masters degree experience.
6. You will have first dibs as my graduate student on teaching courses that I am the course lead (pending department and my approval).
7. I look to my graduate students first to hire for grant funded projects.

If that sounds interesting, you are willing, and you have done everything required, then feel free to apply. If you apply and I accept you. Realize you are making a commitment to finish.