Winter quarter contains a lot of uncertainty.
Who do I want to be my advisor? How do I ask him or her? What is my thesis object (some of you may not know yet- hang in there!)?
What will I eat on Fridays, now that social hour is only once every few weeks?
I have so many questions!
How can I do reading for class as well as for my thesis? There are only 24 hours in a day, and I need 8 of them for sleeping!
And then there is the question on so many of our minds- What will the last season of Parks & Recreation be like? What happened in that three-year time jump? So many questions!
First of all, it is good to have a lot of questions. This means you are challenging yourself and getting into new territory, whether it is in your course selection, thesis topics, or advisors. Even if you feel unsettled or confused, that is a productive feeling. The thesis process looks and feels different for everyone, but I think these questions and anxieties are pretty universal.
As for approaching potential thesis advisors:
- My first piece of advice here is to consult with your preceptor. They likely know or know of the professor you hope to meet with and can help advise you how to best approach him or her
- To quote Scar, “be prepared.” When you set up/attend a meeting, make sure that your proposal in good shape (again, trust your preceptor). Make sure that you’ve looked up this professor, too, so you can articulate how your project connects to the professor’s interests/research. This not only shows the professor that you’ve done your homework, but it can give you some common ground during the meeting.
- My third piece of advice is to meet with multiple people. I met with three faculty members about my thesis last January, and got completely different reading suggestions from each one. It was a great way to get ideas and perspective. At some point, you’ll start to parse all of this down. But in January and even February, it helps to just read everything you can.
- Meetings are the best time in which to ask a professor to be your advisor. Avoid asking faculty through email. Instead, use email to set up a meeting and then, if it feels right, ask them face to face to
go to promadvise your project.
- Write down questions. For myself, I find it easy to go off track or to be flummoxed in a professor’s office. Confronted with the person and the amazing amounts of book in their office, I found (and still find) it very helpful to have a list of questions. Likewise, having your annotated bibliography and or proposal can be a good anchor.
- My final piece of advice- chose an advisor you’ll want to work with the next 5 months. How much do you want to meet with this person? How accessible are they? These are all practical concerns worth thinking through!
The king of great advice