Column: Two Steps to Select a Supervisor at an American University

Mohammad Abdul Halim
Assistant Professor
Kennesaw State University

First Step
Generally, in the statement of purpose, you need to align your research interests with the research of three professors. You should pay attention to which journals the professor’s research papers are published in, how many articles the professor publishes each year, and whether there are graduate students in the professor’s group when selecting a supervisor. It is also helpful to check if there are international students in the professor’s group. Some professors are not comfortable supervising international students because, even though international students are interested, it can take them some time to adapt to the communication style and the American lifestyle.

If a professor does not publish even one article in a year, it indicates they are not very interested in research. If the professor does not have any graduate students in their group, or only one or two students, it suggests they are not very keen on supervising students.

Second Step
The supervisor should be selected after arriving in America. Even if you mention a professor’s name in your statement of purpose or communicate with them via email before admission, there is no obligation to work with that professor. After admission and arriving in America, in the first semester, most schools allow new graduate students to meet various professors, directly ask questions about their research, rotate in their groups, learn about funding opportunities, speak with other senior graduate students, and visit the labs.

I believe that after coming to America, you should select your PhD supervisor only after doing these things above.

Note: Collected from Facebook:——–
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15fa7ccFbC