[套词] 美国老板说陶瓷A Message for Prospective Graduate [复制链接]

月色
UID：111922

中级会员

Rank: 4

声望: 2
寄托币: 281
注册时间: 2002-10-5
精华: 8
帖子: 0

楼主

发表于 2004-5-11 13:40:59 |只看该作者

美国老板说陶瓷A Message for Prospective Graduate

发信人: deartina (deartina), 信区: goabroad
标题: 美国老板说陶瓷A Message for Prospective Graduate
发信站: 饮水思源 (2004年05月08日16:03:49 星期六)

A Message for Prospective Graduate Students

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Hello,

This message is intended primarily for students who are applying to graduate s

chool, or are starting graduate school, and are considering working in my rese

arch group. For students who are already here, you can sign up for an advanced

course or reading group that I am organizing. Other possibilities are even dr

opping by and talking with me, or sending e-mail to set up a visit. First, how

ever, please read this message, especially before trying to visit.

Thanks for your interest: First of all, I would like to thank you for taking t

he time to look at my web pages. I appreciate your interest in my research and

in the activities of our group. Due to increasing internet connectivity and a

large interest in my research area, I receive an overwhelming number of e-mai

l messages from prospective students. Unfortunately, there are too many messag

es for me to give a response to each one. I regret that I cannot reply to mess

ages that are so important to the people who send them. For this reason, I hav

e decided to write this message to help give some useful information to you.

Learn about what we do: If you believe that my research area might potentially

be interesting to you, please look carefully at my web pages to learn about o

ur research. You might even want to try downloading some of our papers (if you

are unable, please let me know). In general, I am more likely to reply to a s

tudent who has taken the time to get some idea of what my research involves, e

specially if they can explain why they would be well-suited to make contributi

ons in our research group.

No "openings" in the usual sense: Many students appear to be send a form lette

r to a large number of faculty without a much mention of any research activiti

es that are particular to a research group. In this case, I usually discard th

e message. Even if the message is personalized, many seem to send resume-style

information in hopes that my research group has "openings" to fill in the sen

se of a typical job. For some research groups, this might be true; however, I

usally do not operate this way. I usually do not offer funding directly to stu

dents before I have been able to get to know them. Thus, it is highly unlikely

(although it happens once in a while to an exceptional student) that I would

offer a research assistantship before getting to know a student well. I prefer

that students take a course or two from me, and that they have a chance to sp

end some time here. After a semester or two, they can refine their interests a

nd determine whether my research area would be most exciting to them. I could
also have the opportunity to determine whether we are a suitabl
e match in terms of technical background, motivation, personality, etc.

GREs are worthless: With regard to sending resume-style information, it is use

less to report GRE scores to me; they are not a factor in any of my decisions

(general motivation for this can be found by reading The Mismeasure of Man, by

Stephen Jay Gould). I am less likely to respond to a message that contains GR

E scores.

My goals for students: I am very excited about the possibilty of working with

exceptional M.S./Ph.D. students. I intend to give strong personal guidance tha

t will maximize their chances of building a rewarding and enjoyable career in

research. Important goals that I have for students are: 1) the identification

of fundamental research problems by developing a thorough understanding of cur

rent literature; 2) the development of a strong technical background that enab

les the proposal of independent and innovative solutions to challenging proble

ms; 3) the presentation and publication of research in the most prestigious jo

urnals and conferences; 4) the development of personal communication and prese

ntation skills that are needed to maximize visibility in the research communit

y, and increase chances of future success. If you find this emphasis and my re

search area appealing, I believe our group could provide you with a vibrant an

d exciting educational experience.

How to possibly squeeze in: Admissions in the Dept. of Computer Science are ba

sed on merit, and teaching assistantships or fellowships are usually awarded t

o the admitted students. This is one of the best ways to come to graduate scho

ol, and then spend time trying to find the right research group. At present, m

y research group is pretty much full; however, I am sometimes willing to make

an exception. The ordinary path into my group is to become a graduate student

here and then take an upper-level course from me. If there is strong mutual in

terest between me and a student, chances are good she or he can start working

in my group.

In any case, good luck with your prospective graduate studies.

Best wishes,

Steve LaValle