Graduate Student Expectations

This document lays out some of my expectations for a computer science graduate student working under my advisement. It also serves as a sort of guide to navigating graduate school, if you’re not sure what’s in store. The goal here is not to intimidate you or worry you, but rather to ease the transition. I know it’s hard! I was in your shoes not too long ago, and my hope is that this will make things easier.

To help prospective applicants have a better idea of what they’d be getting into with me, I’m sharing this on my public blog as well. I also recommend that you read the general advice I offer here.

The first two years

Many of the guidelines here will be geared toward PhD students, since they do a lot more research. The first two years of your graduate life, however, will be much the same between PhD and on-site Master’s students.

You’ll have to take several classes during this period: approximately two 3-credit courses per semester.

Overall, your baseline goal in your courses is this: get decently good grades. That’s it. You don’t have to get perfect grades.

This can be a stark change from your experience in undergrad or a prior Master’s degree. The reason is that every hour of time you spend on a course is one less hour that you’re spending on research. If you can spend 5 hours per week on a course and get a A-, that’s better than spending 15 hours per week on a course and getting an A. My expectation is that you’ll have an A- in at least four courses.

Now, you should use some discretion in deciding if certain courses are worth more effort and time for you. For example, I would expect you to get an A in a data compression course, since that’s a core are of research you will likely engage in. But I wouldn’t be bent out of shape if you got a B+ in an algorithms course.

Although courses take some time, your focus should already be on your research. Spend time with me discussing ideas, so we can start to identify a solid project for you to spend the next few years on.

After the third semester, you’ll have to do your qualifying exams, or “quals,” as some people call them. This is where you can be rewarded for strong grades, as you can avoid the breadth exam by having an A- or greater in a few courses. The depth exam, in contrast, focuses on your understanding of your chosen research topic, as we assess your preparedness to begin full-time research.

The last three-ish years

Once you’re done with courses, research is your one and only focus. You may still have some distractions through TA work (below) if there’s not relevant RA funding available, but your efforts as a TA will not be considered when your dissertation is being evaluated.

At this stage, you’ll need to organize your dissertation committee according to these guidelines. In addition to me, you should enlist at least three (my preference is four) other professors to evaluate your dissertation progress.

Towards the end of year 3 (or whenever you and I feel that you’re ready), you should submit your dissertation proposal. This will consist of a clear research question or thesis statement, a literature review, a discussion of your progress so far, and a thorough plan for what you intend to accomplish (and how). You’ll present this proposal to your committee, and once you pass you’ll officially be considered a PhD “candidate.”

From there, it’s full steam ahead. You should meet with your committee at least once every 6 months (i.e., once per semester) to report your progress and receive feedback. You’ll be working on papers that will get you closer to your dissertation goals, and weaving those papers into one giant, long dissertation document. Once you and I agree that you’ve made sufficient progress, you’ll submit your dissertation to your committee and arrange a meeting to defend it.

Your defense will involve an hour-long presentation, public questioning, private questioning from your committee members, and then private deliberation. If you pass, you’ll be able to include three more letters in your email signature! You’ll also be able to breathe for a minute and move on to the next phase of your career.

Grad school is a job… and a marathon

You should work roughly 40 hours per week, just like you would in a normal job. You should be proactive about scheduling regular meetings (once per week, except on holidays) with me to discuss your progress, and you should attend the weekly lab meetings.

Teaching assistants (TAs) are typically assigned 20 hours per week. If you’re working as a TA, keep a log of your hours. You should never work more than 20 hours in a week on a TA assignment. If you do, that means your professor is assigning you too much work. You should let me know, and I’ll talk to them about it for you. Research assistants (RAs) are also assigned in 20-hour blocks, but it’s not a bad thing if you go over 20 hours. Your work as an RA directly gets you closer to graduation.

Don’t work 60-hour weeks or anything ridiculous. There will occasionally be a day where you have to stay up late to meet a deadline, but this should never be the norm. In fact, if you take a careful approach to your time management, it’s possible to avoid late nights altogether. In the same vein, you should try to avoid working on weekends. You’ll come back on Monday refreshed and brimming with new ideas.

You can even take extended breaks, so long as they’re reasonable and you let me know in advance. Enjoy time with family over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Go on a big road trip during the summer. If you attend a conference in a fun location, use some of your savings to travel around the area afterwards. These are all things that I did as a PhD student, and I was a happier man for it.

You have a precious balance to maintain in your brain chemistry, spiritual and physical health, relationships, and degree progress. Plan ahead, make steady progress, and remember to stop and smell the roses.

Publish or perish?

I don’t have any firm requirements for publications, because I know that the reviewer lottery is sometimes particularly unfair. However, a good rule of thumb is this:

“Major” publications will typically be full-length papers in esteemed conferences or journals. “Minor” publications will be shorter papers, or full-length papers in not-so-good conferences. As your advisor, I can tell you what publication venues are good or “meh,” and my opinions won’t always align with the public rankings (which don’t really encompass multimedia very well).

Other expectations

These are “nice-to-haves” during your PhD that will greatly help you prepare to transition out grad school and start your career as an independent researcher:

I’m on your side

It’s my job to advocate for you to other faculty. It’s my job to help you get published. It’s my job to help you get a job yourself. My success is largely measured by your success.

If I give you any negative feedback, it’s because I’m trying to help you improve and succeed. Every week of grad school, you should be able to think back to the previous week and say, “I know more than I did, and I’m better than I was.”

If it’s really not working…

If, for whatever reason, I don’t think that you have any chance of being successful as my student, I will let you know in a kind but clear way. That’s my commitment to you. This is important, because it’s better to let you know early than allow you to flounder and waste your time.

On the other hand, you might also find yourself dissatisfied working with me. I expect you to let me know that as well. Maybe you don’t like my style, or you decide you’re not interested in the research topics available. That’s okay! It’s always possible to change your advisor, but it’s best to realize this need early on (within the first year or two), so that your degree progress isn’t delayed.

Personal notes for my students

Every advisor has his own idiosyncrasies and sources of irritation. I hope that I can be self-aware enough to be forthcoming of what mine are. To a certain extent, recognizing and accommodating these quirks can make life easier. You should also feel entitled, though, to call me out when I’m being unreasonable. I’m a sinner just like you, and I don’t always get it right.

  1. Don’t use “code” as a verb unless you’re talking about compression. You should instead say e.g., “program” or “write code.”

  2. Skip the formalities in your communication. Cut to the chase—we don’t have all day here! Communication should be focused and to-the-point of the business at hand. If there’s a lot of fluff, I won’t read it in detail. That’s not to say we won’t be personable. Rather, I’d prefer if you talk to me the same way you would one of your fellow grad students, rather than someone special. You should call me by my first name.

  3. If possible, send me a Teams DM instead of an email. Direct messages are much better for quick and interactive conversations. Emails should be more focused on separate tasks. For example, if you have a question about the methodology in a paper you’re reading, send me a DM. I can probably get back to you within a couple of hours during the work day. If you need me to sign some paperwork and it’s not due for two more weeks, send me an email. I’ll leave it flagged in my inbox until I have time to get to it.

    Also, 95% of the emails I get are completely unimportant. It’s easy for your message to get lost in the noise. A DM increases the likelihood that I’ll actually see it.