List of questions to ask potential supervisor

[globy321]

Hi. I have an appointment next week with a potential supervisor and I was wondering if someone can help me get a list of questions I should ask? This is what I have so far:

1. How long has their lab been running?

2. Who are they funded by?

3. What are potential research topics?

4. Expected hours of work?

5. List of grad students to contact for direct opinion of the lab/supervisor?

 

What other important questions should I ask the potential supervisor?

[Laika]

5. List of grad students to contact for direct opinion of the lab/supervisor?

 

The grad students in the lab are just as important to talk to as the supervisor. Are they happy in grad school? Do they like their supervisor? How many hours a week are they expected to work? How much flexibility do they have in the schedules? Can you see yourself getting along with them and working with them for an extended period of time?

 

Speak to as many current/past grad students as you can... you don't want to end up with a bad supervisor since (s)he can make your life a real pain...

[9mAoTo]

Agreed. What you really need to find out is how hands-on the supervisor is (and then decide how much direction you realistically need/want). How often will he/she meet with you? Who designs the experiments? Are you going to be nothing more than a pair of monkey hands (depending on your goals, this may not necessarily be a bad thing)? What happens if you end up with a deadend project? Does the supervisor have a particular project in mind or are you just going to dabble until you hit on something (not a good thing for a master's and can even be quite an offputting way of starting a PhD)? Also, who will teach you the techniques? Does this person like teaching new students? Obviously, you won't ask the supervisor all these questions directly but you should try to feel him/her out. You must absolutely talk to the other students. I'd drop your first two questions since (1) is pretty easy to guesstimate and (2) doesn't matter nearly as much as: What is the funding situation like in the lab i.e. is there enough money? Regardless, I'm not sure I'd ask the supervisor this question but it's pretty easy to get a sense of this from the students. Good luck!

[globy321]

Wow thank you guys for your advice. I would never have thought to ask those questions. Anything else I should be asking the supervisor?

[NewfieMike]

my meeting with a supervisor was moreso just a casual conversation rather than Q&A. The questions came naturally in conversation, I had none prepared. Q&A seems moreso like an email to me

[thegame11]

Just google it. I found a good list of questions few months ago.

[globy321]

thegame11 can you please send me the list. I will send you a PM with my email address.