Choosing a Thesis Adviser
A few graduate students come to the Illinois Physics Department with a specific research goal and previous experience in that line of research. For such students, it is often possible to sign up for Physics 597 (Individual Study) with a faculty member, and begin research immediately, in some cases supported by a research assistantship. For other sutudents, the future research direction may be defined in a general way, e.g. theory vs. experiment, but is still open to a number of possibilites. Finally there are students who are open to a very wide range of research possibilities. For these latter two groups, there are several ways a student can
get a better sense of his or her desired research direction and settle into thesis research with an advisor. One of these is the series of lectures given in the orientation course Physics 596, required of all first year students in the PhD program. These lectures are intended to be informative about the research going on in the Department.
Speakers try to give the big picture of the topic under discussion. They also occasionally mention that their research group does or does not have openings at that time.
The net result of attending the full set of 596 lectures should be a reasonably accurate overview of the physics research going on in the Department. Students who are open to a number of research directions often find themselves attracted to research in a field they had not previously considered. Any strong feeling of interest in a certain research field should be followed up in two ways: The student should contact faculty in research groups that interest them and try to meet one on one to discuss the research in more detail and find out if there is any possibility of beginning research in that group. Second, all students who do not have a definite
research arrangement with an advisor should meet with the Associate Head for Graduate Programs for a general discussion of research plans as well as advice on what courses to take in future semesters. In general, until the arrangement for PhD thesis research is made with a specific advisor, a student should regard the Associate Head as his or her advisor. The Associate Head will make suggestions and point out advisors the student may not be aware of, but ultimately the process of finding an advisor is the student's responsibility. In recent years, for incoming students in the PhD program, about 2/3 find their advisor by direct contact.
Another mechanism for finding an advisor is the Faculty Research Talks, formerly called "Choose-Up." This involves another set of talks, usually on a Saturday in February. These talks are given by leaders of research groups that definitely have openings in their groups. Some of the speakers are members of other departments who have physics PhD students in their groups. Students who are interested in any of these groups, whether they are with a faculty member within the Physics Department, or with a faculty member in another closely related department, should contact the speaker and arrange a one-to-one meeting. At the present time, about 1/3 of the students in each incoming class find their advisor through the Faculty Research Talks.
Whether by direct contact or the Faculty Research Talks, the initial arrangement between a student and a research advisor is in almost all cases, a trial period for both sides, usually in the summer of the student's first year in the program. While there is initially no commitment by either student or faculty member, a large percentage of these do lead on to PhD thesis research.
In general, the process of finding an advisor involves (i) identifying your own interests, (ii) being active in seeking contact with advisors, and (iii) being persistent. Ultimately, the student must find the advisor, not vice versa. The Illinois Department is very large and has many research opportunites. There is a constant flow of students finishing PhD research and graduating and new students entering research groups. Although some effort is required, students who make that effort are always able to find a satisfactory research advisor and group within which to pursue their PhD.